Dans Rugby Report

Rugby Report

Anyone who was at Kenilworth on Saturday probably saw an insight into our season so far. For 50 minutes we seemed off the pace only to turn the game on its head in a magnificent last 30 minutes coming back from 31-10 to win 41-38.

One of the features of the first month has been the impact Ed Spalding has had on games from fullback and this was no different with a 60 metre try and another 40 metre dash to find one of our new players Wil Llewllynn to gallop over from 40 metres.

In terms of the results we have had magnificent victories away at Bridgnorth and Kenilworth, we’ve also beaten Derby at home, and lost to Oxford Harlequins and Stoke. The Stoke result is the one that really hurts as we just didn’t turn up on the day and seemed a bit complacent. It was a great reminder that you have to be on it every week.

In many ways though the results and performances are to be expected as we are embedding a number of new players into the squad which takes time and patience. Alex Wilkinson, Wil Llewllynn, Jordan Maddocks, George Meader, have all performed admirably in the 1st XV so far and are only going to get better as we develop.

Rugby is not just about the 1st XV though and one of the major achievements so far this season has been that on 3 weekends we have put out 4 teams when other clubs are struggling to put out 2. That is a testament to the work Steve Rose has done with the 3s and Martin Lakeman with the Crusaders.

One of the big drivers is to develop home grown talent and to this end we have launched our own Academy, with Jamie Rodden is heading up. We have recognised that the gaps between junior rugby and the 1st XV needed more input such as Strength and Conditioning and a better coaching programme and this is what we are working towards. Like with anything new there will be teething problems but with time and patience it should be of great benefit to the club and the players.

One of the reasons we put our 2nd XV in the league structure was to provide a better stepping stone into the 1st XV and stop players leaving to play for other local clubs 1st XV’s The 2nd XV have had a tough run of fixtures at level 7 playing the 3 top teams in the division. In all those games though they showed a huge amount of potential and that has been backed up by great victories away at Old Cov’s and a superb Friday Night victory over Droitwich. Harvey Causer kicking the winning penalty with the last kick.  What is most please though is that that team is packed with home grown players such as Dan Ingram, Matt Sprigg, Jack Pugh, Kev Salisbury, Henry Beech, Joel Rimmel, Liam Colgan, Oli Ingram, Luke Bimson. A great blend of youth and experience!