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Match Story Board: HRFC v Old Albanian (W37-29)

Match Image slideshow:

Touchline Opinion:

• Always billed as a pivotal fixture and a key result, OA now firmly situated in the core mid-table group above us will consequently feature in our targeted 'must win/ must secure points' fixtures. Today's 5pt win will have been a good tonic for the coaches, who probably ..after lots of relative platitudes and sage advice from 'the great and the good' about how we were doing in the first phase of the season, have effectively seen their team deliver a good solid standard of rugby against solid opposition, only to trip-up in small functional areas and then be severely punished. One thing for certain - playing rugby at this level can be ruthless! 😳 
• Going into this fixture with a record of 2W/5L does not really highlight how this team have been performing (most havant games have been against the top of the table types), but is probably more an indication that our total match performance, at this level, is still in development and we haven't yet acquired all the necessary skillsets to shut a game down when in control. The need to play the percentage game is never more real, and unlike the relative looser freedoms of last season, we probably now have to be more conservative in our game-play and manage the timeline/ scoreline risks better. 
• Worth having a look at Adam King's Senior Round-up on Fb for the detail, but in my humble my opinion - although we generated a good solid first half output, HT 19-10, the two side’s abilities were probably never very far apart and even though our ability to further extend the lead in the early second half period appeared to indicate that we were starting to get the measure of them (29-10), it didn't last! When OA suddenly woke up and delivered 3 tries on the bounce in a 15min period, it was pretty clear that we hadn't really worked out how to contain them ... in fact the speed of change was a shock and somewhat silenced our home crowd as we arrived at 29-29 (shades of 'Shock and Awe') with 10 mins to play …
• ...happily, and not withstanding the OA resurgent effort, our resilience didn't desert us and having survived the onslaught we were able to patiently re-generate field position and threaten their line again; the very prominent Jack Phillips subsequently pouncing on a loose ball after a structured attack to nab an important nerve-settling try to re-establish the lead, (34-29) followed by a quick Captain's penalty to make it a two score finish (FT37-29) and deny the opposition a losing bonus point.. and with that, the afternoon entertainment was complete!

Midfield defence was tested Midfield Defence was being tested right from the off.	1st phase set piece working well Set Piece functioned well and delivered good 1st phase possession
Strong carries featured throughout MD6_8315-74	Heavy hits for Heavy blokes MD6_9479-219
Jack Attack OA attack	Airborne Defence   MD6_7814-18

• ** Special mention to the OA Fullback (Alex Noot 15) for his solo try effort from 70m out, running through approx 4 or even 5(?) havant tackle opportunities was quite something to watch, both with his footwork, change of direction and pace, backed up by sheer bloody mindedness to get through the havant defensive traffic and get it over the line. Superb to watch! (Obvs not superb for us! 😉) #hatsofftoyou 👏**

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Applause for the Home Crowd Support

• A 'Win's a Win', and this one secured a much needed league 5pts - the coaches should be rightly proud of their squad's performance this week; while there's not much change on the table, this was undoubtedly a highly competitive fixture and required a mature team performance to secure the win and maximise the points - we are clearly going to need more of the same next month, with plenty of similar mid-table, closely balanced games ahead of us. #stillnoeasygames! While no doubt quietly celebrating, I'm pretty certain our analysts will also soon be hard at work reviewing the video to identify our definitive weaknesses and understand the associated symptoms, such that we can shore up our fragilities ready for the next league phase and our bid to consolidate in the mid-table area.
• Next job will obviously be restoring the squad's fitness/ regrouping / maybe rethinking some of the tactical approaches and game planning and then getting ready to go again for the next round of important league fixtures in Nov. (Bury/ Henley/ Oxford Quins) #upthehill

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HRFC Most Capped Player - Steve Cruddas handing over his mantle to Joel Knight

Next Job: Bury St Edmunds

Havant Rugby Football Club
Old Albanian RFC