U15s sow the seeds of their own downfall

Marlow U15s 39pts v Maidenhead U15s 10pts
Sunday 11th December 2005

Marlow U15s are a good, well balanced side, who do the simple things well and who, if given the ball, will score tries. As a team, they do not rely on individual performances, but rather on their ability to work together as a cohesive unit. Maidenhead’s U 15s will do well to reflect on Marlow’s performance and think how they can match their all round team commitment. It is not a question of ability, but rather of finding the desire to win and to play for the team.

On a raw, misty Sunday morning Marlow scored seven tries to Maids one, mainly because Maidenhead gifted them possession on so many occasions it was impossible to count them. It is true that Maids were without 3 key players, but the value of the squad system is that it should enable a team to cope with losing a few players on any given day.

Maids’ troubles began in the forwards. A larger Marlow pack had them under constant pressure in the tight, taking several balls against the head and ensuring that any Maids’ possession was slow and difficult for the backs to use to good advantage. It was in the rucks and mauls that the Maids pack really failed to deliver. They showed that they had the ability to drive Marlow backwards, but all too often Maids would go into a maul with the ball, only to see it emerge on the Marlow side. Similarly, when a player was tackled and presented good ruck ball, it was usually the Marlow pack that would clear the ruck and win it. Too many Maids’ players gave the impression that they thought it was sufficient to turn up and watch.

The inertia and lack of commitment of the forwards spread to the backs. Passes were dropped; the defensive line was uneven and left overlaps for Marlow; panic set in when Marlow were attacking the line and chronic indecision left players caught in possession.

It is very frustrating for the Maids coaching team, particularly as there were some positive points. The lines out went well for Maidenhead and, given the amount of possession that Marlow had, they found it hard to penetrate some determined Maids tackling. The individual players have ability, what they appear to lack is the will to win and the desire to play for each other.

Although Marlow dominated in the forwards, most of their tries came from the backs, relying on uncomplicated handling moves to put their possession to good effect. Maids’ only reply came in the first half when Aaron Lambert ran in for an individual try.