News

25 November 2015 / Club News

Cwmcarn RFC v Markham RFC 14/11/2015

 Cwmcarn 5 Markham 107
 
This was a day when Cwmcarm would discover that running backwards is a lot more tiring than running forwards.
 
Having to start the match with 8 players missing due to work committments and injury
Carn could have been forgiven for thinking they may spring a surprise on their unbeaten opponents, when they scored an excellent try within 10 minutes & were getting the better of early exchanges - Not something we've been noted for this season. There was a real determination in the first 10 minutes; but unfortunately Carn could not maintain the pressure & once Markham got their running/offload game going, it felt as though Carn were chasing shadows. Markham showed what a simple game rugby can be, if you have fit, fast, strong players who know their role, have good skills & above all - Go training regularly together & practise moves.
Carn could hardly lay a finger on Markham after 20 minutes, as they created space, broke through tackles & ran at speed. To Carn's credit, they did not capitulate, despite what the score-line suggests & kept trying to create things for themselves, with quick tap penalties & spinning the ball wide. Unfortunately, Markham were well drilled & very quick. Any spilt or turn-over ball was invariably snaffled up & more often than not, ended up as a try.
Markham scored a half century in each half & were dominant in every department, although the scrum was an even contest in the second half. This game was never going to be about scrums, as Markham essentially used scrums as a means to restart the game & get their running game going.
Carn's coach Andrew was able to identify that Carn's best option would be to stuff the ball up the jumper & play a narrow game. Unfortunately, we were unable to get sufficient ball to implement this strategy.
In the second half, Carn players were falling like flies, with a total of 6 people leaving the field of play for one reason or other. The young man who walked off without saying a word, did not help Carn's cause & we can only hope he shows greater dedication to the cause with another club.
Carn played most of the second half with 14 men, which made an already uneven contest very lop-sided.
Simon Hopkins showed good strength in the first half & along with Todd Sterry, broke the gain-line on a number of occasions. ? Lovell scored another good try & made his tackles, often as the last line of defence.
To any player reading this: These are the games that test your strength of character & Cwmcarn are not that far from matching these sides. What we lack, is a bit of self belief & organisation.
STAND OUT PLAYER/S:
Luke Lovell
Simon Hopkins
Todd Sterry

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