By Dan Henderson, Director of Rugby
There is a lot to consider when stepping into the sights of the Balmain rugby club and for players the first general area of concern is to check the Balmain pitch has grass on it. Thankfully, there was plenty of grass this year!
Our 4s put together a grinding win to start the day off well. Several onlookers were impressed with the plays being put together by what is largely a social side – noting some old faces back in the Dirty Red Jersey.
3rd grade’s result was not a reflection of the even contest, which blew out in the final 10 minutes.
As a club we need to see a strong pool of players who in the years to come can talk of the good ol’ days when they were Colts … and days like this will remain a very fond memory our u21’s side to recall. Our Colts put in a stellar performance, racking up over half a ton in points.
2nd grade’s 15-8 loss was – in a word – average. The 2nd grade referee’s performance certainly helped ruin what could have been a great contest too as he awarded an astounding ratio of 18-8 penalties against.
Seconds never really found any continuity, possession or territory but they did do well to restrict the favoured home team to a seven-point loss.
Our 1st graders stepped onto the pitch with a point to prove and started the match with clear intentions showing structure, shape and physical dominance. When these attributes are working, it’s easy to score points (as demonstrated by Colts).
With a fantastic build from the kick-off and a well-worked game-shape, we looked like we could really stamp out a solid performance after scoring a great try in the first few minutes. Unfortunately, this was not the case!
When this team learns how to DRIVE the nail home, so to speak, and show a determined mindset to focus on winning – they will be very hard to stop.
Instead, many of us were left wondering how this team could be behind when we were clearly the better and stronger team for 76mins.
A positive was again this side’s defence – with easily the best “points against” in the competition, we desperately wait for that moment when we can consistently execute in attack and “Click”!
Next up – table toppers Mosman.