Match Report Sevenoaks 30-Cobham 24

This weeks report comes from Director of rugby Steve Pope

 

Since my arrival at the club Sevenoaks have been somewhat of a bogey side for us. They always give us a very competitive fixture home and away, yesterday was no exception. 

 

Not dissimilar to Cobham in their open and attacking approach to how they try to play football. Clearly currently form would suggest a good side in a very open league. 

 

Sevenoaks are a lovely club always welcoming on and off the field nice to play against home and away. Conditions were great and with two exciting sides ready to play this was always going to be a tight affair. 

 

Unfortunately yet again we were the victims of our own mistakes and unforced errors, I think it is fair to say the game was there for the taking. 

We might well have put it to bed and even just hung on at 20-24, the delight of the home side and there supporters at the final whistle again highlighted a much closer game than score suggests. 

Not to take anything away from the home side who were physical, hungry and effective for the full 80 minutes of the game. 

I'm sure lots of sides will struggle to get anything against Sevenoaks if they can replicate that level of competition week on week. 

The score changed hands back and forth throughout the game 5 - 0 to the home side then Cobham 7 - 5 , Sevenoaks 12 - 7 , Half time score 15 - 7 to the hosts. 

We were very much second best in the first half in regards our game control, decision making and in our physicality in contact areas. 

 

A solid response straight after the break saw us pull it back to 15 -14 , Then go ahead 17 -15. For decent periods the momentum changed between the two sides, the large and very vociferous home support did a great job of assisting the referee with every single decision.Credit to them I think they may of even convinced him on a few that he wasn't quite sure of. It's great to see a home crowd get so behind their side and be so vocal on the touch line. 

 

Not to detract from the home side's endeavors, hard work and commitment. We played some really nice attacking football of our own in patches. 

 

Our Achilles heel unfortunately is our first up tackling and our own inability to 're gain and maintain possession of the ball for any time immediately after scoring points. 

The score changed hands again. .. 20 -17 ... 20 -24... 25 - 24 ... with the killer blow coming right at the death 30 -24. 

A very physical and evenly matched contest saw us finish a close second ... 

Congratulations to the home side, we were on our knees as the game drew to a close and at the end of another bruising encounter in as many weeks unfortunately came up second best. 

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see we are not a million miles away from what could be a very good season. 

 

If lady luck blows our way and the boys can work in the time during the week we need to practice as a group. We may even begin to show more than glimpses of the side I know we can be. 

 

I'm not knocking anyone .. boys have lives to live I just hope we are starting to get to the point where the rugby is starting to become an important factor in each week. We played like our lives depended on it come Saturday ... But we are getting by on individual talent ... and team spirit come match day. 

 

I know we can be do much better if we practice together in the week. 

Played 5 ... won 2 ...Lost 3 ... those 3 all very close ... and very much down to our performance not the opposition on more than one occasion. 

 

Thank you to all of the boys that stepped up this week to do the job. Debut for Andrew Jones - Davis, which was great to see. 

A number of quality performances again across the team. Andy Murphy back in the side , James Mitchell, Ben Latimer, to mention a few. 

 

Here's to a quality week of training ahead of the visit from Westcombe Park on Saturday. 

 

 

 

 

2ndxv 39 Wimbledon 29

3rdxv 19 Old Whitgiftians 28

 

Jordan Oldershaw was winner of 2nd XV Man of Match.

Jordan won lunch for two at George & Dragon, Thames Ditton. https://www.georgeanddragonthamesditton.co.uk/home

Thanks to Duncan Townsend and his team for their generous support.