Geoff Says
Geoff Sluman the director of rugby at Bridgwater and Albion admitted that Saturday’s game against Lydney was a difficult one, but pleased with the way that the squad went about their task.
Reflecting on the match which ended in a 17-11 triumph for the hosts Geoff said: “That was a very difficult game for us to navigate through. You never get an easy ride against any Gloucestershire side, it is usually a very physical encounter.
“It is a demonstration of the standards the squad are setting that they were slightly disappointed with the result which I think is a credit to the guys.
“From my perspective it was a good performance. I have talked before about performance being as important as the result in some instances but in league rugby the result means everything. We put in a good performance to get the result so how can we not be happy with that.
“I know we didn’t play the expansive rugby that we are capable of playing, but, there is a time and a place for that. In all honesty we wanted to play it, to give our supporters a good afternoon, but with opposition like Lydney and the way the game progressed it was simply not the time and the place for the expansive approach.
“We needed to keep things tight and just “dog” it out. That is one of the reasons why I was pleased with the performance. We recognised the need for a change in approach and adapted to it rather than just sticking to a pre defined plan that was not delivering. The guys adapted to it, I know that meant we didn’t have the free flowing game for our supporters but there is not much point in doing that unless you pull off the win and getting the win was the first priority.
“It is accurate to say we made plenty of mistakes and at times didn’t make the right decisions too. But mostly we fronted up to the challenge and did the right things.
“We also had to cope with a couple of injuries during the game that required some positional changes that did disrupt us a little but I am pleased to say the injuries look like relatively quick recoveries so everyone should be available for our next league game.”
Looking to this Saturday the Albion rugby boss said: “ We have no First XV league fixture next weekend. However our 2nd XV are playing at home against Stothert & Pitt RFC in Somerset 1. We have been enjoying a good run in the 2s recently.
“The kick off is at 14:30 so we can finish before showing the Wales v England Six Nations game on the big screen in the clubhouse. Please come along and support the Seconds if you can because it is a great opportunity to get some live rugby in the fresh air and then watch the International match.”
Category: Previews / Reports -XV
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