Skevies First XV Beat the Weather & Xavier
Our game against Xavier on the weekend was a see-sawing affair with a bit of inconsistent Rugby in the first half.
We seemed to start with a belief that we could come out and score tries without too much opposition. Our basic skills were missing and our set piece was not up to scratch. Although we played in Xavier’s territory for the majority of the first half, we took our eyes off the ball allowing Xavier to score first, and the heads dropped.
From the next kick off the intensity had to lift and so it did. With good field positioning we were able to hit back through a rampaging Will ‘the Bull” Chalmers to get a score on the board.
In the second half it was like a whole new team had come onto the field. Mitch James led by example positioning and playing well in the difficult weather. The forwards stepped up in the set piece and we were able to put the points on the board.
It was an important learning step for our team that we changed the way in which we approached the second half. Wet weather means that the ball is slippery and it is hard to keep possession and play continual rugby. Generally, we kept field position by kicking in an attempt to create mistakes from the opposition, such as not giving low percentage balls (long loopy passes) or as simple as taking it down in lineouts.
A fine example of smart play in these conditions was when Mitch James put a perfect low skidding kick into the corner which was pounced on by Jeremy Tait for a try. It put the pressure on Xavier and resulted in a try to Jeremy Tait. A few more smart plays like this had Xavier back pedaling and allowed us to push through with another few tries to end the game 37 – 5. An excellent result considering the weather and our first half sluggishness.
The manner in which we train this week will determine the result on Saturday against the newcomers Haileybury. I’m positive that the team can lift and play good rugby for a full game. Let’s show the opposition and the other schools that we are determined to hold onto the Championship trophy and continue to be the No.1 team in this competition.
