1st XV vs. Basingstoke - Sat 8th September 2007

Written by Administrator

Monday, 10 September 2007

Shelford 28 - 16 Basingstoke A win was the most important objective for Shelford 1st XV on Saturday and that's exactly what we achieved. There were many positives to take from this opening fixture, that included several new and important combinations of players throughout the side. The performances of the "new boys" was great to see and they slotted into the side almost seemlessly, helping to control the game, scoring tries, putting in punishing tackles in defence and strong runs in attack. The first half saw some great team plays, good structure and excellent communication; key elements that Sam and Baz have been concentrating on in training. Three well-worked tries put us in a commanding position at half time and the lead could have been greater if our execution had been only slightly more precise. Patience in our opponents 22 and clinical execution will be two development areas for the team going forwards. The structure of the team loosened slightly in the second half, as players began to tire and we began to give away penalties around the breakdown. Consequently, this gave easy points, possession and territory to our opponents. Against stronger teams, we will be punished more severely for these errors and again better discipline is something that the coaches will drill into us in training and we will work on in subsequent matches. However, the spirit within the team remained strong and superior fitness allowed us to finish the game the better team. We secured the last score of the game to conclude with a comfortable margin of victory, which places us in 5th position in the early season table. We play away against Worthing next week in what will be a much sterner test of our skills and character. Our main objective is exactly the same, however, and we will go down to Worthing, determined to improve on our last performance and secure our second win of the season.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 September 2007 )

 

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