Bournemouth Soundly Beaten

Although soundly beaten, Bournemouth never let their heads drop and pushed Newbury hard on many of the aspects of play.

Newbury 50 - 5 Bournemouth

Tries: Toby (2), Elliot K (2), Fin, Ali, Joe, Bert,
Con: Fergus (3), Marcus, Elliot K.

Man of the Match - Xav. For tremendous non stop work rate and never missing a tackle.

Newbury shot out of the blocks after little game time recently and to be honest, Bournemouth did not know what had hit them.
We scored immediately with a well worked try passing through scrum hands and some lovely flowing backs play.
This style continued for the most part until Fin was rested and we became a little weary of getting to the break downs first.

We will need to concentrate on splitting into pods for rucks and mauls to ensure part of the team is at each breakdown. This is one to work on as by 45 minutes the boys were understandably beginning too become tired to get to every ruck and maul. Bournemouth became more and more effective with strong counter rucking causing a few problems.

Let's not take too much away from the boys though as when the ball flowed down the backs and was moved well in the loose scrum play we looked magnificent.
More often than not now the boys are thinking through their own backs moves as Game Management and on pitch game tactics must develop from how the game is being played in match time.
This is mature rugby and with more fitness we would push any team hard when at full strength.

Harry - worked very hard in both the set plays and loose scrums. Ran out of steam nearing the end of the match, but tried a 100% as he always does.

Callum - very powerful at hooker and strong in the loose, Threw in well at the line out. We played a shorter game because of the score and he missed out on a few more minutes play.

Sam - a quiet, but deadly player who is very strong in the set
plays
and has a good turn of speed in the loose. We now need to hear you more as with closer team work you will be even more effective.

Oliver D - another workmanlike game with some great tackling and support play.

Michael - between Michael and Oliver D you would be hard pressed to spot who is who as you play such a similar game style.

Xav - Man of the Match material with an awesome work rate of tackle after tackle. Even better than usual with an unstoppable attitude.
Protecting your scrum half is key and a skill you need to develop more and more.

Joe - great towering game with a non stop attitude. We would like to see more support pay when team mates break through, but a minor point due to a powerful game.

Fin - played just 15 minutes, through a lingering injury. But set the scene well with a blistering start and score.

Fraser - some great line out throws, but needs to build his skill set more with a more reliable tackling style.
It works sometimes, but cannot always be relied upon.

Oliver B - not his best game, penalised a few times for poor judgement in the loose scrum situations, but worked hard nevertheless.

Josh H - worked hard and with his new found enthusiasm starting to pay off has become a very effective scrum player using his size well.
A number of you need to speak more with your teammates and insist on more support.

Josh N - a little quiet game for him, although has been suffering a little recently from similar knocks and scrapes. Be careful of any head injuries, however small.

Nat - got annoyed with himself for some slightly loose play, which is the right attitude. Worked your hardest and supported your team mates 100%.

Fergus - some quick thinking and fast footwork created some great break through. Worked quite well with Max at 10. Kicked very well for conversions.
1 slight panicky kick from defence that went straight to Bournemouth.

Max - strong tackling and good team work with Fergus, but needs to vary play a little more. This will come with more experience with your new team mates.

Elliot K - tremendous tackling and a very mature game working well with Toby, Ali and Bert with some great moves. Scored a couple of lovely tries.

Toby - likewise very polished play with superb use of speed and fearless tackling. Scored a brace of fine tries.

Bert - strong running and good support. Tackling getting better. Run at players more using your strength and speed more. Worked hard when playing for Bournemouth.

Marcus - better strong running and straight in direction now more often than not! Lovely inter play with Ali and Elliot. Great tackling.

Ali - great running number 15 joining the backs when appropriate. A mature head on young shoulders.
Would like all the backs to talk a little more to one another as we could really see some great moves developing.

Rory - a much calmer and more consistent game keeping eyes on the ball to make clean catches. Developing well as a decent tackler. Could also play as a loose forward...

Elliot T - what a tackle on Bert! You really made your mark then.
Played for Bournemouth with all your heart and defied great odds with some superb defensive work.

A great game after a few weeks out, with some lovely backs moves and tremendous tackling. Must get to the break downs faster and protect number 9 and 10 at the loose scrums better.
Very encouraging play. Well done to all.
It bodes well!

David