As the 34-0 nil score line suggests, Scots 3 were clearly the better team, but it wasn't quite one sided as the score would suggest.
The two teams were pretty equal in the forwards. It was the big and fast Scots backs throwing the ball round who did the damage. The TAS boys tackled well and never gave up, but when a tackle was missed Scots quickly gained an overlap. They also used the kick well on two occasions. On the few occasions when TAS could molest properly, weaknesses showed up.
TAS lacked penetration. ...
To my mind, and i don't pretend expertise now, the TAS backs weren't playing well today. There were too many handling errors, long passes, too much running back into traffic. There weren't the multiple passes and penetration that has made the TAS backs dangerous in recent years. On the positive side, they tackled and tackled, with Scots denying them the opportunity to settle and play a more open game.
Yeah, I agree with much of that assessment, Jim.
The forward clashes pretty much cancelled each other out.
The respective D’s, despite the lopsided scoreline, was quite solid on both sides of the field.
The conditions certainly affected all that were out there - frigid-as (espesh on delicate receiving fingers late in a half!), the wind turning the ball into a floating balloon on occasion, from throwing in hookers to both sets of halves!
But maybe because of that, the Scots lads trended to keep the Gilbert a little bit tighter as the match progressed.
I thought the real difference today was the directness of the Scots’ runners. They really pointed up way better than the lads from the Tablelands, forcing the TAS lads into having to work in overdrive in defense.
Can only think that the Scots’ 3’s will be chuffed-as to have chalked up that one straight away in the 3’s Comp proper.
As no doubt will those Grammarians, both current and old!, getting one over the Cerise and Blue. As someone else said, maybe it was QH?, ALL wins over the JoeBoys, are pretty special! Well done the Black & Yellow!