Away to Deeside/Garioch (DG)

Beautiful conditions to play rugby if a little cold to start off. There was a touch of frost overnight but the pitch was in good condition. Having 3 late call offs meant we were down to 10 so the game was always going to be classed as 'development'. DG kindly lent us 4 players each half and despite the score line - 12 tries to 2; the game was much more balanced. I'm no statistician but recon Colts had more possession and certainly more field position than DG overall. There was lots to be positive about. The DG coach was impressed at our improvement since our first game only 3 months ago and conceded the main difference between the teams was positioning and speed of execution. More than half of their tries came from break aways.
From the off we were recycling well and retaining possession as well as we have all season - great to see. DG scored up the line from a lineout on 7 minutes then a breakaway try; then another before borrowed player Marly took an offload at pace to score for us on 20 minutes - well converted by Lewis. Play was mixed up quite well which keeps the opposition thinking - the odd kick sometimes works but the real penetration comes from running onto the ball at pace. The times when Ryan, Alex and Malachi did this we really had front foot ball which is much easier to play. We need to get everyone running onto the ball and going forward with real purpose. 5 scores to 1 at half time.
Second half was more of the same. Generally good possession; retention was OK; some of the passing out to the wings was good. Alex had a fantastic breakaway down the right but tackled a metre from the line getting caught for holding on. Malachi scored a great try leaping Superman like over a ruck at the try line after a break prolonged build up involving pretty much the whole team. Great score - unfortunately we fell into the trap like so many teams by letting in an easy score just afterwards. Ryan had some strong runs, as did Malachi and Brodie had a particular good half. Work rate can improve for some. Most of the time we were getting caught on the outside - not man marking and being too bunched. DG were much more dynamic at penalties and restarts (i.e. moved forward at pace) where we suffered from shuffling the ball and getting sucked in (leaving overlaps out on the wings). Cameron had 4 vs 1 a few times. There were some unnecessarily big long passes - good for the Internationals but we need to do the basics well before going for glory! We practice in training the short pass and should use it more in a game. Discipline from both sets of player was commendable. We had a very experienced ref. who may have thought he was still reffing at the Hong Kong 7's rather than U14s but its all valuable experience for these impressively improving boys.
What went well:
- ball retention/recycling
- tackling
- Gibbons-Lawrence-Carton axis worked well
Things to work on:
- set plays - get organised and move quick & together
- defensive line - lining up against the opposition (hips towards the opposite posts not towards the ball)
- short passes combined with running at pace

Scorers: Marly (DG) & Malachi. Both converted by Lewis G
Man of the match: Alex Carton
Captain: Dylan
Injuries: none
Thanks to Fiona for cleaning shirts.