Congleton Out-Powered

Given the number of changes from the team that took Liverpool University apart last week, Congleton were always going to find the big, strong and well drilled Buxton side a handful. The score line, however, flattered the home side who, despite being the better team, managed to grab a couple of soft tries after clear knock-ons were not spotted by the referee.
Congleton didn’t help themselves in the contact area as too many times forwards were held up in the tackle and the support just wasn’t quick enough. Congleton went in too upright and Buxton held them up. Simples! In defence too, whilst the integrity of the Congleton defensive structure remained good, they tackled too high when they should have taken the big runners down early allowing Buxton to get over the gain line and wear the away side down. By half time, despite plenty of territory and possession, Congleton found themselves four tries down.
There were of course positives to be taken from the match. The scrum once again looked powerful for the first hour but struggled late on once they were tired. With so few replacements it was a big ask to mix it with the constantly rotating Buxton front row. The Congleton backs, despite several key changes looked sharp when given time and space – a pity there wasn’t as much as they would have liked. Wood and Whitley went well at centre who, with Willis, worked out how to get round the Buxton defence. It was a fine Willis miss pass that allowed Wood to break free mid-way through the second half. A nifty back handed offload gave Beresford the chance to finish and he did so with panache, out muscling several defenders to squeeze over in the corner. Broderick was also immense at 15 with several telling tackles and he and Whitley showed on a number of occasions how to take the ball into contact against powerful defenders. They accelerated and got low when being tackled to ensure the ball came back on the Congleton side.
The lineouts against softer sides have been good but against a large competing pack, Congleton were too ponderous. On their own throw Congleton will need to work on the speed and dynamism of the jumper and the lifters – get that right and they will have a stable platform.
Onlookers suggested that the team did well but that ultimately there needs to be more intensity – just like they showed in the first 15 minutes or so. The team were up for it and excited to be there. However, once this zip had dissipated, it was an uphill struggle. It appeared that only a handful of players really wanted to get their hands on the ball and show their metal. There needs to be far greater desire to be the one to make something happen. Fighting in the trenches has never been easy as it takes guts and passion when things are tough. There are several big units in the Congleton side who can all carry the ball forward but they need to share the load as there are still sterner tests to come.
Perhaps this appears a little harsh as any away fixture to Buxton is a tough assignment and Congleton has only been playing together with their defence and attack patterns for 5 weeks. One of the Congleton players was heard after the match telling a coach “Let’s be honest. A team that trains together, learns together and will fight tooth and nail for each other. I wanna win” This weekend sees league leaders Prenton, another large side, visit Hankinson’s Field and oh what a scalp that would be. Bring it on.