Wow! What a mind bending performance from the boys and such a pity that the score line did not reflect the dominance that this u16A team had over rivals, Paul Roos on that day.
Yes, we lost 20 nil, but 2 try opportunities went a-begging, whilst the Paul Roos tries, although well finished, came from silly, stupid errors from ourselves. What remains the most frustrating thing about this team, is that despite such a sterling performance on Saturday, their efforts went unrewarded.
The boys completely dominated the first half, holding out on our 5 meter line for 10mins before turning the attack on and running everything against the wind, to put Paul Roos under massive pressure. The boys defence was simply superb, in fact the best I have ever seen from them. They really wanted this win and as such they were awake and reacted to everything the visitors threw at them. Had we kept that up for the 2nd half, a win was most definitely on the cards.
Going into the 2nd half 3 points down, was an accurate reflection of the game at that stage, and if ever there was a moment for the boys to finish off a close game this was it. Unfortunately it was not to be as the boys fluffed 2 vital lineouts, lost 2 scrums, and messed up two try opportunities! 6 errors on attack that ensured this was yet another opportunity lost where they could have beaten a much more fancied team.
What I must commend the boys on, is their attitude to this game, for their team spirit and composure under pressure was phenomenal, with the last 10mins defining the team more than anything else in that they never once displayed any sign of throwing in the towel. They threw themselves at Paul Roos, even though it was a lost cause at that stage, displaying quality of character and determination which simply cannot be bought.
This game was the most complete performance I have seen from the boys to date, and had they done this earlier in the season, we would today be sitting in a much better position, but that is how it goes sometimes. All I can say is that they are playing out of their socks every game and are improving at a rate that is scary, and it is exciting to think about where they will end up by the end of the season.
The challenge for the boys now is to keep raising the standards they have set for themselves, they cannot play such brilliant rugby as they did on Saturday and not keep raising the bar themselves for every game so that they can reach their full potential!
This team has something seriously special going on, unfortunately (or fortunately) it has taken longer than we expected or wanted, but if these boys develop into truly competitive, determined and the most complete players they can be, then this year will have been a success. Yes, we are judged by results, but when you consider where these boys started and where they are now, you will not recognise them.
That performance was something to be proud of but at the same time makes us both annoyed and somewhat angry as we did not finish Paul Roos off when they were there for the taking. That killer instinct is definitely something we lack and we will work on it, for once they possess that, they will be very, very difficult to beat.
-Ross Williams