With the disappointment of a cancelled game v Oundle behind us, a misty, cold morning greeted the boys as they made their way to team breakfast at 07.40 this morning. A week of change, not only in the weather, but in personnel too. Two changes to the normal starting XV with Foster and Wade making their way into the team. Choices made to help develop the depth of the squad ahead of tough challenges that lie in wait. Thursday was one of those proper old fashioned sessions.....lots of mud, hard work and perhaps, fun! On Friday we trained against Bigside which was a lovely way to finish the season's hard work on the training pitch.
Again the focus has been built upon options that we can use in phase play to fix defenders with a slice pattern starting to offer more double layered attack and therefore difficulty for defenders. This started to emerge against Tonbridge but only in the second half. The challenge was to do it from the off this week. We have also worked hard on the basics of ball retention this week, something which neglected us in the first half at Tonbridge where we coughed up the ball far too easily in contact.
The pre match focus seemed better than at Tonbridge. Radley received kick off and a very physical encounter began. Marlborough were excellent at the breakdown and brough superb line speed in defence. Radley forced the play a little too much before Bremner started to pull the strings beautifully. His 50/22 was a kick of immense skill and vision. Tries from Bremner himself, Carter Shaw, Bullen and Hoar followed but Marlborough were resilient and competitive throughout. These two teams will have really competitive fixtures as they move up through their respective schools. Man of the match was shared between Sundavadra and King, both of whom have been immense contributors throughout the season. Carter Shaw, captaining the side for the first time was also superb. Arkell made his debut and will go on to challenge hard for a place in JC1 next year. Foster, also on his first start, also did brilliantly.
A huge thank you to the support that we have been given by the parents throughout the season. It has made a huge difference, especially when on the road at places like Sherborne and Tonbridge.