Rochford U10 vs Thames, 13 March 2011

Another match against Thames with both sides visibly tiring. Rochford again playing with great heart and not a little style but ultimately the strength of the Thames team in particular their Under 11 shone through. However this was another close match with some impressive defending and attacking play.

With Rochford concentrating on ripping the ball rather than tackle the player it was good to see Tyler Scott put in a crunching tackle on the Thames Under 11, showing his team mates how to stop a bigger player and make them release the ball.

The Thames domination owed more to strength than style. It would be interesting to see how they fare again Rochford when they are on top of their game. Plenty to work on for the Essex Cup on Sunday.

There are some real positives to take from this fixture despite the results, especially the domination of the line-outs and the team being more willing to bring the wingers into play by passing down the line. In addition the team were instinctively rucking, though a little more strength in the rucks would have seen fewer turnovers.

The team do however need to work on their tackling. Far too often we saw the team try and rip the ball from an opponent with the result becoming a wrestling match rather than tackling the player round the legs and making them release the ball. If they are to fulfil their potential at the Essex Cup they need to get back to basics and tackle the player.