The Coaches Comments from the Win against Old Redcliffians

Tony Yapp

With over 12 regular players unavailable for the last three weeks, it’s caused quite a lot of disruption and proved very tough for the players and coaches alike, and the last three results have really highlighted this. Despite an heroic effort from the boys against Rams who we’d have likely beaten had it not been for the Red card and through no lack of effort on a long away trip to a very good Tonbridge side, those results have drawn quite a lot of negative press and comments, so Saturday was a welcome boost for everyone in terms of league points and a win after a tough few weeks.

Despite some negativity I must credit the players who despite this have never wavered or faltered in their training and commitment and despite the tough run we are all still working very hard to turn things around and get things moving in the right direction again  

Many people have said what a great second half it was against Old Reds scoring 5 tries and they are not far off, but for me the real damage was done in the first half. Despite going in at half time 3 points down we were confident that the constant battering in attack and the tempo at which we were playing at would take it’s toll, and so it proved. Local derby’s are always fully committed so it was always going to be a case of being patient and working them hard enough in the first half to get our reward in the second and so it proved. A slight tinker at half time set the players up nicely to push on and put the game to bed with enough time to enjoy the last 20 minutes. The tempo at which the boys played paved the way to a comfortable win in the end against a very committed Reds side and it was great in that second half to seethe confidence of the players come flooding back.

With players slowly returning to the squad over the coming weeks we are hopeful we can get the ball rolling again and have a good run into Xmas and put ourselves in a position to push on in the new year.

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Chris Brown

Saturday was a stern challenge for us in a local derby, - and a character test to examine whether we could stick to our guns given the conditions and our recent run of results. Sometimes when things have not been going your way, it is easy to try something else,instead of sticking to your guns and the things that have previously worked well for you

On Saturday, I felt we gave a great account of ourselves as a team. The forwards worked tirelessly to produce front foot ball and the backs cut the spaces on frequent occasions. At halftime, although we were behind, there was a sense of calm that we had actually done a lot of damage and that we could go on to do more.

The team must take the credit for a pleasing performance on Saturday, - they have worked hard in training and have applied themselves. Next Saturday we have an opportunity to double up in what we will be a tough fixture at Dings, - who from what I have seen on video are a good outfit and we will have to be at our best

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