Southwell 73 Casuals 14

Midlands 2 East North
4th March 2017

Southwell 73 Nottingham Casuals 14

It was difficult to understand where Casuals' fighting spirit had disappeared to, as a seemingly very jaded side were taken apart by a well organised, determined, purposeful Southwell side, much to the joy of their supporters.
Not the spectacle of Rugby Casuals' supporters had hoped for, as Southwell ran in 7 tries, 6 converted, before half time, and a further 4 after 1/2 time.
Nevertheless there were moments when Casuals showed what they could construct as they scored 2 tries, courtesy of the forwards, one for Liam Annable and the second from Jack Weedon, both converted by James Wood.
Scrums and lineouts were effective, and Casuals had a reasonable amount of possession. The amount of ball surrendered cheaply was worrying, and the gaps in defence, awful.
The result is not indicative of what Casuals are capable of, and certainly not the performance witnessed at West Bridgford, which will be the level that Casuals need to achieve next week away at Spalding, to keep alive their hopes of a place in this league for next season.

The tackling certainly needs to improve massively, fairly obvious to all, but the pain will no doubt be worth it for the 5 league points that can be secured.
Also the totally inexplicable panic passing should be consigned to history, and a return to the controlled patterns of play is the order of the day. Keep it simple, play to your strengths, and there is no reason why you should not get your rewards.

Self belief from the players, and the hope that the side has not lost it's spirit because of one daft game.
And, lots of encouragement, don't cut them to bits.

PLEASE