Freezing Conditions

Bancroft U12s v Old Brentwoods U12s

A late rescheduling exercise mean’t several OBs teams (including the U12s), played their fixtures away at Bancroft’s ground in Buckhurst Hill.

The car said the temperature was 1 degree Celsius when we arrived. I think the car was lying. Whatever the veracity of that particular piece of German engineering, one thing is certain. It got colder. At the end of the match, Josh claimed to have lost all feeling in his hands, and he wasn’t the only one to struggle with the conditions. The ground was very heavy as well, although given the amount of water around, it was remarkable that the surface was as playable as it was.

Notwithstanding the conditions, the boys gave it their all against a decent Bancroft side, the final score being 4 tries each. Some of the sparkle of recent performances was absent in this game, and that would appear to be entirely due to the freezing cold.

Bancroft played some good rugby, especially at the breakdown. The subdued performance from the Acorns was most apparent in the rucks. They didn’t seem as committed, or able to get numbers and support to the breakdown in the way they have done throughout this season. There was however, one thing that was different to all the other games this season. The weather. Rugby is a winter sport, and sides need to adapt to all conditions. That said, even with thermal skins underneath their shirts, the boys were freezing. So it wasn’t the case that their outstanding ability at the breakdown, usually so prominent, had deserted them. It was just very cold.

They were brave though, and tackled really well. Jack was carrying a finger injury from the last game, but it didn’t stop him fully committing to his work once Jason had taped his finger up. Everyone tried their hardest, and no one can ask any more than that.

One observation made by Ammo, echoes those made by the coaches and others recently. Namely, they are not drawing in their man before offloading the pass to team mates outside/ inside them, preferring instead to try and take on the whole of the opposition individually. Occasionally it works (maybe once every 20-30 attempts), more often though, it leads to the opposition getting turnover ball, especially when the breakdown is not going so well. If that happens when players around them are in space, then the offence is one of a criminal nature, due to what is clearly intentional recklessness.

Joking apart, It seems harsh to level any criticism at the boys. If they weren’t so good, and didn’t have such high standards, then it wouldn’t happen. That’s just the way it is when you have a terrific side. There were a couple of high tackles, but again, that is not characteristic of the way this team plays, it was just an aberration resulting from the conditions.

They may not have played their best rugby on Sunday, but nobody has been good enough to beat them yet, and given the conditions, and a determined opposition, a draw was a fair result for both sides.