New rules, new opposition.....As keen as ever the Wildcats managed to have a last minute match against Neath Athletic this morning, on a damp and fairly miserable early season Sunday morning. Many thanks to their coaches and team who gave us our biggest ever test.
We split the teams up into two even sides as our squad numbers are now beginning to swell to its allowable maximum. Quarters were decided upon and we were soon back into the swing of things.
From the sidelines, the new rules seem to allow for a faster game. Obviously with it being only our second run out of the new season we were rusty. However the boys stuck at the task in hand and we did manage to score 3 tries. Luca, Lloyd and Ethan being the try scorers for this first game. However it's plain for all to see, we will no longer be able to perform like we have for the last two seasons without putting in hard work in training, and then transferring that to the match on Sunday.
There are many things we did well, some of our running was strong and direct. There were some good passes in open play, and some extremely good tackles coming in, all great to see!
However there are many things for us to work on.
- Our defensive line needs to get in position and put pressure on the attacking team quicker. If we hang back to try to think of where their runner is going, by the time he is near us, he will be running at full speed and difficult to stop.
- We need to get in position when we are attacking. We need to leave the tackle area alone and line up across the pitch. This will mean that within one pass, the ball will be out in open spaces where our fast strong runners will be able to have a go at scoring.
- As we did last season, we need to run hard onto the ball and not take it standing still. This will mean by the time the player is approaching tacklers, they will be at full speed and difficult to stop.
See you Wednesday at 4.30 to begin to get these areas sorted!
