Entertaining match v All MACs

Nottingham Casuals welcomed a combined 'All MACs' team from four clubs (Melbourne, Ashby, Coalville and Castle Donington). Well done and thank you to Elizabeth, Mille and Alice who all gave around 20 minutes to play for the All MACS who were a player short, allowing us to start the game with 15-a-side. Injuries to both teams reduced the teams to 13-a-side in the last quarter and disrupted the flow of the game, and losing both Lily and Eleanor to injury was a significant loss to the Casuals team. We all hope they recover soon.

Casuals got off to a flying start, firing off a few shots in attack and scored a couple of early tries after some controlled phases through the forwards generated space and created gaps for some slick handling and direct running from the backs to finish. The recent training focus paid off, with Casuals speed and competitiveness at the breakdown improving significantly and they looked after the ball well. The Casuals defence was solid, knocking the opposition back and forcing errors from the all MACs.

After showing such power, discipline and accuracy at the start of the game, Casuals looked set to dominate, but couldn't maintain the momentum. The team started to lose focus, structure and patience as loose passes conceded possession and territory, and Casuals were turned over too many times at the breakdown. All MACs were able to capitalise on the home side's lapse in concentration to send their winger over to score twice in quick succession.

Despite losing players to injury, after defending superbly over multiple phases and holding the ball up over the line on a couple of occasions, Casuals broke from their own 22 to score a fabulous length of the pitch try. Momentum swung again and although Casuals scored another good try after working through several phases, errors and penalties gave away too much possession and territory in the final quarter to the All MACs, who finished strong and just squeezed a win by one score.

It was a very positive performance and the improvement in Casuals play is significant already this season, and they look a really good team who play together well, from one to fifteen. When they 'click', stay calm and remember to do the basics well, Casuals are a match for any team they have come up against this season and can be encouraged that they probably lost the game through simple errors rather than being beaten by a better rugby team, which can be put right when they get back to training. Well done girls on a terrific performance, giving 100%, and giving the spectators a very competitive, enjoyable match.

Special congratulations to TREDS (Rugby Core Values) player of the match, Sofija, who played in her first proper game and looked as though she had been playing for much longer than a few weeks. The 'E' in TREDS stands for enjoyment and it was great to see Sofija grow in confidence through the game, and enjoy her first game for Casuals.