Coaches Corner - Preview of Old Priorians Match Sat 8th
Welcome to another home match week as we gear up to face Old Priorians on Saturday.
We are back in action after a catch up week where the only activity in our league was Brunel Uni establishing themselves at the top of the league with a comfortable victory away against Teddington.
Our last action was the fantastic performance away against Irish Wildgeese where we were 22-49 winners. Hazelwood has been a happy hunting ground for us recently with last season’s game at their place being one of our best performances. This year was no different with club Chairman Noel O’Mahony raving about the quality on show in front of a strong travelling support. At the forefront of the display was club captain Luke Davis who dominated in his attacking carrying and defensive work. Luke has not been a regular for us the past two seasons, mainly due to his shift patterns as a copper and some injury set backs but he is a great example of the quality we have across our back row all of whom have the ability to command a game at this level. For me it was a strong display of attacking intent and execution. I thought Joey Thomas at fullback brought a huge amount of quality and his link up play with Owain at 10 really brought our backline to life. More about Joey later. Of course I cannot take any credit for the performance having been away for the Half Term. As a teacher with a 7 year old when the holidays come along it’s time to take a break and we went to see my Mother who lives out in Cyprus. I always enjoy the chance to get away and reflect on my coaching and generally have some time to do some reading (Gibert Enoka’s Become Unstoppable is the current book of choice). I’m blessed that we have a coaching team of genuine quality who can all cover and fill in where necessary and Lee and Aled did an exceptional job at preparing and supporting the boys through Saturday’s fixture whilst I nervously followed the score on the various Whatsapp groups.
This week we welcome Old Priorians back to Windsor End. Last season we had two really tightly contested affairs with us winning at their place by 7 points and then they beat us at home by 9 points. OP’s have been in fine form recently and look to be one of the best sides in this year's league. They have lost to Brunel and had a really narrow loss to Belsize. This will probably be our toughest test to date and will really show if we have the credentials to mount a serious title challenge. It’s an interesting time of year as the weather starts to change and normally you need a different style of rugby to continue to pick up points. I am fully confident that our pack has the quality to put us on the front foot both at set piece and in their physicality around the park. We continue to work hard on our fitness and know that come 60 minutes we can maintain our energy levels and turn the screw on the opposition.
In terms of selection, we continue to experience a bit of an injury nightmare. This week we have lost Owain Griffiths and Callum Saganowski. We get our talisman in Braiden Broughan back but we don’t seem to get any closer to having a full strength side out. What’s exciting is that boys get the chance to step up and show how they can contribute in different roles. Freddie Hooper will lead us at 10, his physicality, excellent vision and strong boot will allow us to play to the conditions and our strengths. A special mention again for Joey Thomas who makes his 50th appearance for the club. Joey is an incredible rugby player who possesses vision and guile that not many others at this level have. He has the ability to consistently impact games of rugby and is becoming an influential leader in our team. As a player who has come up through the mini and youth system it is a proud day for the club and I am sure it won’t be long before we are talking about Joey’s 100th appearance.
Another proud moment for the club today is that Freddie Taylor, our current colts captain will make his 1st XV debut from the bench. Freddie has earned this opportunity through incredible hard work and learning in training over the past few months. Freddie understands the game well, is an excellent lineout operator and brings a level of speed and physicality to his game that belies his young age. Freddie is a fantastic example for all of our minis and juniors and we hope to see many more of this year's colts playing senior rugby before the season is done.
A couple of other things to mention. Our 2nds put in a strong performance against Oxford University Whippetts last Friday night. The link came through our Forwards Coach Lee Goodall who is working with Oxford to prepare both their men's and women’s teams for this year's varsity games. It's great to play against an institution steeped in so much history and we are hopeful of organising a return fixture in the new year so our lads can play at the iconic Iffley Road.
The women’s team continues to grow and thrive. It’s great to see them playing (and winning) their fixtures. They had a strong presence at our festival the other weekend and I hope that the young girls throughout our minis section were inspired to become future Panthers.
Finally as the season progresses issues with injuries and availability start to play their part. It’s never too late to come and get involved so if you feel like putting the boots back on or know of someone that should then please point them in our direction. We’d love to welcome new or returning players into the group.
Forecast for Saturday is looking bright so get yourself along for a 2.30pm KO and show your support for the lads. Enjoy what is left of your week and see you on Saturday.
Russ