Bracknell come up against a brick wall

A little one sided on the scorecard this week, but recollections of the game itself will remain somewhat different, as Reeds took their chances – all 4 of them, and Bracknell took none of theirs.

Introspectively we could feel irritated at the lack of score from the Bracknell side but the fact is that the Reeds boys defended superbly, none more so than their full back who seemed to make try-saving tackle after try-saving tackle, so whilst there is no question that the Bracknell boys could have done better in a number of areas, the opposition certainly worked hard to maintain the integrity of their try-line.

Bracknell started the game very, very well, with great efficiency at the breakdown and with ball in hand, and for the first 10 minutes or so the Reeds boys barely touched the ball. Almost from receiving the kickoff, breakdown work and speed of the ball out to the three quarters worked very well, punching holes in the first up defence and gobbling up the territory to encamp deep into the opposition 22m area.

Thereafter it was to same story for much of the game, with a combination of little errors and tough defence which kept the Bracknell attackers at bay. Interspersed with breakouts from Reeds that inevitably led to tries. Four of them through the game, three of them involving length of the field multi-phase plays that had resulted from turned over Bracknell ball – and great credit to Reeds for executing their opportunities so effectively.

As for Bracknell, there was much to be pleased with, and right to the very end, the boys were still breaking the Reeds line only to be caught before the line time and again, which was very encouraging to see as they managed to control their increasing frustration at the lop-sided scoreline. In terms of the performance itself, despite some frustration around the nature of the breakdowns the boys’ effort and execution were a lot better than the previous week, the lineouts went well, and the scrums were excellent. Behind the pack, the ball was moved very quickly when in hand, and considering the lack of experience in the three-quarters, the midfield and wide defence was very good, getting better through the course of the game.

A day to ignore the end score, and recall the many positives and overall improvement from the previous week.