I'll keep this short and sweet.  Barbos dominated from start to finish.  We had a physical mismatch at every position so it wasn't really competitive.  Set pieces were a lot better, but obviously against weaker competition.  Kicking was better.  Rucking was great, especially offensively, but there was a lot of selfish play out of the rucks.  A lot of that can be put on scrumhalf play since we didn't have anyone with experience to play the position. 

 

Biggest area that needs improvement is keeping a coherent attack and defense.  Guys were running off without support, and defensively we bunched up at the breakdown allowing overloads.  Davidson didn't take advantage but they were still mistakes.  Only way to get better is practice, especially scrimmaging.  If we don't have the numbers, even if we scrimmage we can't really work on kiwis and back line defense.

 

Please, for the love of everything holy come to practice and bring a friend.  We have some tough games coming up and the sloppiness we showed against Davidson won't cut it.

Great game once again boys.  After giving up 10 quick points on some sloppy play, the Barbarians dominated the game to win impressively 55-13.  Set pieces were much improved, especially lineouts.  Still not dominant but getting better.  The backs continued their great play including some new players that filled in and scored tries.

 

Pros

-Improved set pieces.  Lineouts and scrums were 50/50 whether it was ours or theirs.  Still not great but a decent showing against a team with a lot of size.

-Improved offensive rucking, especially as the game went on.  Once again improved as the game went on showing poise.  Scrumhalf was effective directing traffic around the ruck.

-Tackling was very good across the board.  Defensive rucking was better and we were more aggressive turning the ball over.

-Much better recycling the ball within the pack and having support.
-Continued improvement from less experience pack players and new backs made an instant impact with their speed.

 

Cons

-Kicking continued to be a problem.  Several kicks did not find touch and became turnovers.  Also several times where players did not kick when deep in their own territory.

-Scrums and lineouts need consistency.

-Receiving kickoffs where misplayed on at least two occasions.  It is a good thing that they had to kickoff so many times, but if we give up possession after scoring it can be a huge momentum swing for the other team.

 

What to work on

-I'm not a back, but situational kicking needs to improve.  I would suggest kicking before practice not just for distance but for accuracy.  Pick out a target and try to hit it.  Especially wings and fullbacks must be able to kick on the run.

-Both scrums and kickoffs can only be improved with numbers at practice.  We have to have enough guys to practice against each other.  We had twelve pack guys at the game and were still missing a couple, we need you at practice.

 

As you can see, the pros are starting to outweigh the cons and the things that need work are getting more specific.  We are getting better as a team and individually.  We have a game against Davidson this week, then some off weeks and away games coming up.  Arrange your schedule appropriately.  We can't afford to slack off in practice or travel light.  Let's keep it up and keep kicking ass.

First an overview of the game for those who weren't there. We drew first blood early utilizing the backs speed on the outside to go up 7-0. The Socialites struck back by dominating set pieces and strong team play, maintaining possession through many phases until they punched it in. Socialites led 12-7 at halftime. We scored again early in the second half off of great back play, getting the ball all the way out to the wing and took back the lead 14-12. Midway through the half the Socialites were able to retake the lead off a penalty kick 15-14, but were unable to create much offense because the pack stepped up and was more competitive in both scrums and lineouts and team defense played more aggressively. Red scored the go-ahead try soon after getting out of the sin bin, and Tyrus sealed the deal with a late try for his third of the game. Final score 28-15.

 

Pros

 

Cons

 

I would like to note that we improved offensive rucking, pack support, and backs getting the ball wide from last week. That is great improvement in one week and we would not have won this game without making those improvements. If we can improve in the following area we should be in good position against Table Rock

 

(Posted on Behalf of Phil Munn)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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