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Sat 12 Jan 2013
Stags (2XV/Development)Bracknell II
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52
Game of two halves.....
Martin Radford13 Jan 2013 - 08:11
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With a weekend without a League Fixture, it made perfect sense for Bracknell’s 2nd XV to undertake a friendly fixture with a view to continuing the great momentum they have attained so far in being unbeaten in all games.
Match Report: Bracknell 2nds v Sutton & Epsom 2nds @ Sutton & Epsom
With a weekend without a League Fixture, it made perfect sense for Bracknell’s 2nd XV to undertake a friendly fixture with a view to continuing the great momentum they have attained so far in being unbeaten in all games.
Sutton & Epsom play in the Canterbury Shield 3S, a league that Bracknell are likely to be playing in next season. With a good history of being a strong club all round and with a pitch that was in amazing condition given the recent poor weather, it had all the makings of being a good encounter with two teams that looked evenly matched.
Sutton & Epsom showed from the outset that they wanted to impose themselves on the game and in particular to run hard and direct down all channels trying to find weakness. For the most part Bracknell held there own only to be put under immense pressure inside their own 22 and to lose ball by a sloppy offload which resulted in a try for the home side. S&E continued to hit hard and to make inroads deep into Bracknell territory and it has to be said that Bracknell helped the S&E cause by constantly trying to tackle too high and above the waist and to allow the home team to drive their legs and get in behind the defense in numbers. Bracknell also need to learn to pick up the defense structures of the opposition as early as possible and effect a way to work through it in order to make the most of the early ball they work hard to win.
Not all of the first half was fruitless but even when Bracknell made good hard yards and broke into the S&E half the lack of accuracy into the final pass was just eluding them. After a number of infringements and again S&E attacking in numbers a further couple of well worked tries and penalties resulted in a much-needed half time break with a score of 23-6 to Sutton & Epsom, which it has to be said they deserved.
The half time team talked consisted of an honest and clear discussion on what is expected of the players in this situation and Coach Paul Hancock rallied his squad to step up and deliver the rugby style that we all know the players in this talented squad are capable of.
From the outset of the second half it was clear for all to see that Bracknell had at last woken up. Firstly deep penetrating runs and great support lines in numbers were being offered up to the crowd. Ben Nowak who has clearly worked his way back from injury,was showing all of his experience and helped suck in defenders and offload some great balls through to the likes of Chris Bennett, Rob Stewart and Richard Brember who continued the attacks into S&E territory resulting in a couple of exceptionally well worked tries.
Louis Marshall playing his first game at 9 in a while just continued doing the basics well by moving the troops around the field with some intelligent play and when the ball was released ,Andy Slade, who had come on into his familiar position at 10 and the back row of Matt Lawes, Greg Redpath and Joe Clapson ran riot causing S&E all sorts of issues, with the pick of the tries coming from a Joe Clapson 60-70 yard bruising run full of flair and adventure ending with him going over in the corner which in anyone’s book was an awesome effort for any level of the game and on this form surely a return to the 1st XV Squad is not far away.
This special try seemed to have killed off Sutton & Epsom’s enthusiasm and resulted in the flood gates opening as they dropped off of tackles, went to uncontested scrums and basically failed to be able to stem the flow with all the Bracknell players now doing what comes naturally to a winning team and that is brutally finishing the opposition off, fitness was by far superior and all the hard work in the gym and at training was showing…. further tries being added by Bennett, Naji, Brember, Laidler and probably the one that made everyone smile was the try by young Dean Axton who was making his debut. Selection for the coming weeks is going to be very tough indeed!!
Regardless of the way in which Bracknell started this match, this turned out to be a pleasing victory, the team again showed lots of resolve and character. The more experienced players stepped up when needed and the young players gave their all , which is all you can ask of any player.
Next week we are back in League action with a tough home game against Windsor 2nds who will be very keen to reverse the home defeat inflicted on them by Bracknell earlier in the season. On the performance of the second half of this game, Bracknell should not have any concerns…. HOWEVER…they must learn to start a game in this fashion and dominate from the outset….Final Result Sutton & Epsom 23 Bracknell 52
Paul Hancock – Head Coach 2nd XV
With a weekend without a League Fixture, it made perfect sense for Bracknell’s 2nd XV to undertake a friendly fixture with a view to continuing the great momentum they have attained so far in being unbeaten in all games.
Sutton & Epsom play in the Canterbury Shield 3S, a league that Bracknell are likely to be playing in next season. With a good history of being a strong club all round and with a pitch that was in amazing condition given the recent poor weather, it had all the makings of being a good encounter with two teams that looked evenly matched.
Sutton & Epsom showed from the outset that they wanted to impose themselves on the game and in particular to run hard and direct down all channels trying to find weakness. For the most part Bracknell held there own only to be put under immense pressure inside their own 22 and to lose ball by a sloppy offload which resulted in a try for the home side. S&E continued to hit hard and to make inroads deep into Bracknell territory and it has to be said that Bracknell helped the S&E cause by constantly trying to tackle too high and above the waist and to allow the home team to drive their legs and get in behind the defense in numbers. Bracknell also need to learn to pick up the defense structures of the opposition as early as possible and effect a way to work through it in order to make the most of the early ball they work hard to win.
Not all of the first half was fruitless but even when Bracknell made good hard yards and broke into the S&E half the lack of accuracy into the final pass was just eluding them. After a number of infringements and again S&E attacking in numbers a further couple of well worked tries and penalties resulted in a much-needed half time break with a score of 23-6 to Sutton & Epsom, which it has to be said they deserved.
The half time team talked consisted of an honest and clear discussion on what is expected of the players in this situation and Coach Paul Hancock rallied his squad to step up and deliver the rugby style that we all know the players in this talented squad are capable of.
From the outset of the second half it was clear for all to see that Bracknell had at last woken up. Firstly deep penetrating runs and great support lines in numbers were being offered up to the crowd. Ben Nowak who has clearly worked his way back from injury,was showing all of his experience and helped suck in defenders and offload some great balls through to the likes of Chris Bennett, Rob Stewart and Richard Brember who continued the attacks into S&E territory resulting in a couple of exceptionally well worked tries.
Louis Marshall playing his first game at 9 in a while just continued doing the basics well by moving the troops around the field with some intelligent play and when the ball was released ,Andy Slade, who had come on into his familiar position at 10 and the back row of Matt Lawes, Greg Redpath and Joe Clapson ran riot causing S&E all sorts of issues, with the pick of the tries coming from a Joe Clapson 60-70 yard bruising run full of flair and adventure ending with him going over in the corner which in anyone’s book was an awesome effort for any level of the game and on this form surely a return to the 1st XV Squad is not far away.
This special try seemed to have killed off Sutton & Epsom’s enthusiasm and resulted in the flood gates opening as they dropped off of tackles, went to uncontested scrums and basically failed to be able to stem the flow with all the Bracknell players now doing what comes naturally to a winning team and that is brutally finishing the opposition off, fitness was by far superior and all the hard work in the gym and at training was showing…. further tries being added by Bennett, Naji, Brember, Laidler and probably the one that made everyone smile was the try by young Dean Axton who was making his debut. Selection for the coming weeks is going to be very tough indeed!!
Regardless of the way in which Bracknell started this match, this turned out to be a pleasing victory, the team again showed lots of resolve and character. The more experienced players stepped up when needed and the young players gave their all , which is all you can ask of any player.
Next week we are back in League action with a tough home game against Windsor 2nds who will be very keen to reverse the home defeat inflicted on them by Bracknell earlier in the season. On the performance of the second half of this game, Bracknell should not have any concerns…. HOWEVER…they must learn to start a game in this fashion and dominate from the outset….Final Result Sutton & Epsom 23 Bracknell 52
Paul Hancock – Head Coach 2nd XV
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