A tough very even game yesterday.
The New side would be the largest I have ever seen. It looked like gullivers travels.
New had a very specific strategy of going from set piece to set piece. They slowed the game down and controlled the pace of it.
Joeys also let them do this by kicking the ball back to the repeatedly and the new 15 and 10 and 12 are class and nearly always won the kicking.
Initially news forwards of new made it count and joeys had trouble stopping them pretty much every time they got into joeys 22 they got points.
Joeys made ground and scored points through their backs. The scrum surprisingly was even.
The post contact meters of the new pack meant that the 9 and 10 jad time to do what they wanted. Their backline is sharp.
There were some brilliant individual tries, the new 12 and the joeys 15 who bull dozed his way down the touchline.
Joeys led for most of the first half by 1-3 points, but, the last play of half time say an opportunistic try that the new wing scored and it was not the league player.
Joeys scored straight away in the second half but the goal kicking was hard but missing whereas News was on point and not. He only missed one the entire game.
In second half new scored two consecutive tries as Joeys continued to kick and get punished for it.
Because New would take short breaks on every scrum and lineout and get into a huddle and then clap, coupled with joeys kicking which slowed the game down meant new did not tire.
Joeys then decided to run, and keep the ball in hand and hile new was well ahead, their forwards started to gag. The New coach ramped up his yelling at the ref and touchie from the sideline.
Joeys forwards started making metres. Scoring close range tries. It felt like the comeback was on.
Here the ref had a say and justice was very upset about it. Joeys mauled from a lineout and were making meters at will and then it sheared and continued and the ref got someone for obstruction. Some heads dropped New kicked and the ball took a few wicked bounces and the new 4 ended up scoring in the corner. A very fortuitous try that reminded me of the joeys scots 2018 last play.
The last 5 with Joeys training was all joeys. They missed a simple penalty kick scored and closed the gap to 1 but it was not to be. Ironically, it ended with someone from joeys kicking the ball back to new and new let it go dean. The scrum was the last play of the day.
Things I saw.
1. This is the largest schoolboy side I have seen and the pacific presence was very very evident which did not exist in the other grades 16A's aside.
2. New in 1-2's were very well drilled at the breakdown very good at slowing your ball and keeping you away from theirs
3. New's backs the 10,12 and 15 were all as good as Joeys.
4. Either side who lost would have thought they should have won it. New did enough to get the chocolates but it was not comfortable.
5. For Joeys the whole forward pack played well and direct. The side looked best with the ball in play and keeping it close rather than spreading it from side to side.
6. The Joeys centres are strong rather than deceptive. They play the same way and are a bit one dimensional. The back 3 were all class.
7. Goalkicking is going to be important. Both Joeys 10's in 1st and seconds have alot of work to do here. The fact is that if you move the kicking accuracy across from New to Joeys, Joeys win and win by more than 1 or 2. The seconds scoreline greatly understates the dominance joeys had because so many conversions were missed.
8. Hard to judge the joeys 9-10 combination as so much of their ball was slow first phase or back foot.
9. Joeys needs to learn that kicking your possession away only works if you make the kicks contestable or you are gaining real ground. Neither happened yesterday.
It was brutal, If the game went another 10, joeys would have won it. maybe not even that long. There will be alot of sore boys at Joeys this morning. There was alot of shock on their faces at the end. Whoever they play next has a big opportunity.
This New side will be beaten by sides that like to run and keep the ball in play for extended periods, and having the caption query the 'short breaks' at each lineout and scrum. If you want to play set piece footy, beware. They will play that all day and are very very good at it.
New Controlled the tempo, the deserved the chocolates.
Beef Out.
