U11s Away v. Notts Corsairs

We were informed Corsairs had two teams and with a number of unavailables we decided to take the full available squad of 24 to Nottingham on a beautifully clear and crisp December Sunday morning, the earlier start of 9.30am put a few players on the back foot before they even started! Unfortunately we arrived in Nottingham to be told Corsairs only had enough players for one team so decided their boys would play one game each against both Newark squads.

Blue Squad:
Coaches: Rushie and Nigel.
Team: Alexander, Teddy, Lewis, James, Harley, Henry, Calum, Thomas, Reuben, Dom, Matthew W

Game 1

First half saw Newark Blues in total control of territory and possession against Nottingham Corsairs, despite some very good technical and aggressive rucking from the hosts.

Newark handled the ball with accuracy, passing was well timed and exploited the space created. Corsairs had no answer for this as Newark capitalised each time and took their opportunities to score. Some of the best and coherent running rugby we've shown this season.

The second half, Newark didn't sustain the same level of performance and Corsairs responded well. The passing and off-loading, which was the benchmark of the first-half, had deserted them as all players were guilty of passing too late, disappointingly we got drawn into a battle with Corsairs strong aggressive rucking that was costing Newark possession. However, Newark rallied and improved their breakdown work which allowed them to regain control of the game.

It has to be said that tackling was much improved from recent weeks but today was evidence of how important it is to pass with accuracy, draw the defender and time the pass before contact is made, especially when beyond the gainline and in space. A really good team performance, with every player contributing to team success. Player of the week awarded to James who was involved in almost everything, winning and moving the ball into space!

Check out a small video clip of the first half on match centre!

White Squad:
Coaches: Richard, Ian and Vince
Team: Alex G, Josh, Finn, Joe D, Kye, Alfie, Freddie, Elliot, Oscar, Noah, Matthew G and Harvey

Game 2

Then the White squad played Corsairs but we did not start well and seemed to struggle to find their feet! pretty much the worst half of rugby we've seen the squad produce in many season's! They obviously played Corsairs second so should have been fresh and all over Corsairs however it appears too many had been watching England the day before and matched the opening half in much the same way. More tackles were missed than was possible to count and when we did they were generally too high.

Even though they were told before the game the lads really struggled to listen to the referee and adapt their game accordingly. When the ref repeatedly says No Hands in the Ruck.....and continues to penalise you then it's wise to listen! The big weakness in our first half game was poor defensive line organization giving their fast runners (who were quite throughout the previous game) space to generate pace and resulted in a large number of missed tackles, way too many penalise due to hands in the ruck and a total lack of aggression when clearing out.

Despite a disappointing first half I'm pleased to say the boys really stepped up their game and found their feet in the second half (much like England did yesterday; maybe it was the Eddie Jones/Alan Staines half time team talk that changed the game around!).

We spent almost all of the second half in Corsairs half and kept on the pressure which enabled us to score a large number of tries. A real lesson learned and we will be focussing on the basics of tackling and rucking over the coming weeks. Kyle played his first game today for Newark and did some good steps and was involved in the game throughout. Player of the week awarded to Alex G who was one of the team who competed throughout at the ruck. The second half performance showed the lads understood what they needed to do, in future let’s start the game as a team and always listen to the ref! but well done for pulling together and turning this game round.

Training next week at Kelham road as usual

Written by: Andy Rush and Richard Marshall
Verified by: Alan Staines