Sunday Plans - Two Matches, Split Squad

Wednesday TRAINING CANCELLED

Sorry about this one. As we are restricted to the area under the lights by the changing rooms we have had to make a call and training is off due to the rain. Although there are parts of the park that are firm, after inspecting this area earlier today it is not fit for training at the moment, especially if the rain continues as forecast.

Details for this weekend to follow.

With the disappointment of the bad weather continuing we have confirmed 2 matches for next Sunday. Half will play Waunarlwydd and half will play Morriston. This is the ideal chance for a full match for everyone - but will only work if we have a good turn out.

Please let me know during the week if you are going to be unavailable, or would like help with arranging lifts etc... It is set to warm up a little towards the end of the week, so GAME ON!

All off this morning unfortuntely

Frozen pitches

Sunday Plans: Bonymaen at home

Weather update: obviously some chance of frost in the morning. But the game is ON until you hear otherwise by teamer or on this blog.

Great training session tonight lads. Remember: Nice LOW Body Position for pick and drive in attack and defence.

Slight change of plan this Sunday. And a bit complicated. Hopefully this will work and we are at home so not much travelling. Meet Bishopston at 10:15.

Details: Last week at SG we ended up with more boys there than originally planned. So we will pick predominantly from those who missed last week, but will send invites out to the whole squad. All other players will get some game time, and a training session.

Main squad for Sunday:

Ethan

Owen

Luke

Josh B

Myles

Tom H

Kieran

Connor

Rolling subs from everyone else. Everyone who comes will have some game time.

Advanced warning for the following week (6th Feb): 2 matches and split squad so three line whip!

South Gower - Match report

At the beginning of the match we asked for three things to be concentrated on. These were making sure we didn't get offside at the tackle line, don't throw wild, loose passes and don't run into touch. We were delighted that the boys listened to these instructions and carried out these tactics.

The main difference between the two sides today was the tackling. Simply, South Gower were able to tackle our runners, whereas we were unable to stop them from picking and driving up the middle of the pitch at key moments.

However this does not detract from some great play from the boys. We once again prove we are capable of scoring lovely tries and passing. Tries today were scored by Josh, Cam, Lloyd and Ike. Considering we were 3-1 down at half time we did very well to come back, however a strong final few minutes from South Gower saw them scoring 2 late tries to make the final score 6-4.

Well done boys, progress was made today, and a valuable lesson learnt.

Coming up: Training on Wednesday 4:30 Underhill. Home match next Sunday (Bonymaen).

Sunday Match Plans

We couldn't come up with a second fixture this weekend, so we have the following plan for the next couple of weeks. This Sunday there is obviously a risk of frost, meaning possible cancellation or waiting around for ground to soften. After the cold and wet at Dunvant last week we don't want too many players hanging round on the touchline. So we will therefore split the squad. Those not playing against South Gower will be first choice next weekend at home against Bonymaen. The following weekend we already have 2 fixtures confirmed. So hopefully everyone will get 2 matches out of 3 and everyone will play a large part in each game with no standing around.

Teamer invites for this Sunday have now gone out - please reply with availability. These boys are to meet at South Gower RFC at 10:30:

Arthur
Sam
Josh R
Cam
Dylan
Tom R
Lloyd
Ike
Fin
Owen
Ethan
Luca
Duncan
Luke

Training Wednesday

Training 4:30 at Underhill.

Please try and arrive in good time so we can make the most of the light.

Hoping to split squad on Sunday and have 2 matches - Please let us know if you are NOT available this weekend.

Dunvant Match Report

A good old fashioned battle in the rain and mud for the Wildcats this morning. As expected Dunvant came looking for revenge and again took the early lead. This time the game remained close throughout, and with no chance for the flyers on the slow slippery pitch each yard was hard fought. Everyone put in tackles and again the small difference between the sides was the Mumbles defence making tackles behind the gain line. A few key moments to highlight: pick and drive from Josh, Myles and Owen, excellent controlled passing in difficult conditions from Arthur at scrum half and crunching tackles from Cam. Champagne moment was Harry's try, bulldozing in at the corner when it looked like the defence had the line covered. Other scores came from Josh (3), Cam, Luca and Sam. The most pleasing aspect of the performance for the coaches was the contribution throughout the squad, with everyone remaining focused in the cold and rain, and finishing strongly after a 2-2 mid third. Final score 7-4. Thanks again to Dunvant for warm welcome and for putting on the match when the weekend was a washout all over Swansea.

Things to work on: Still creeping offside at the tackle. We want everyone to press forward in defence, but too many penalties!

Sunday - Dunvant the Return

CONFIRMED - GAME ON

This Sunday - back at Dunvant. Meet there at 10:00

So far the game is on - but any more rain and a cancellation is likely. Keep an eye on the Blog and Teamer for any updates first thing in the morning.

They'll be looking for revenge so the boys need to take the lessons from their second half performance last week.

Match Report - Dunvant - 9th January

It was a Happy New Year this morning for the Wild Cats! As can always be expected, Dunvant will be well organised and give us a great game. We were lucky this morning that Dunvant wanted to play three thirds of ten minutes. Given we had 17 players for the WildCats it meant we could try to give all boys an equal share of time on the pitch.

We started the game slowly. The team for the first third were slow to get into the game, and didn't respond to some fine running by the Dunvant players. However at the end of that third the score was 3-1 to Dunvant. After a right roasting some advice from Mike and Ian, the next third was visibly different.

The main change saw the boys putting loads of pressure on Dunvant players. We didn't let them get a head of steam up in attack, and "got in their faces" in defence. The key to the second (and third) thirds victory was pushing up in defence and making first up tackles. This makes the other team play "on the back foot" and gives us momentum.

The score for the second third was 0-4 to the WildCats.

The advice for the last third was the same, keep the pressure up, push up in the defensive line and make the tackles. The boys did exactly that which was great from a coaching point of view. The score for that third was 1-4 meaning the overall score was 4-9 to the WildCats.

Scorers today were Lloyd (2), Duncan (1), Sam (1), Dylan (2), Josh R (3)

Also there were other great performances all round, its obvious from the sidelines that all players are gaining confidence and developing their skills. Fantastic to see, keep up the progress boys!

First Match of the Year

We were struggling for a fixture this Sunday, but luckily Dunvant have jumped in at the last minute and offered to host us.

Meet at 10:00 at the Broadacre ground. Directions here.

New Year Training

Back in action for the Wildcats this Wednesday.

Underhill Park 4:30 Under the Lights.