Gulf Coast 7's Tourney RECAP

[coach ron]

The day started good. We had 8 players make it to St. Pete and the day
was sunny. Our first match against PAC was played very well. We had
good passing, good teamwork, good defense. We won 20-0 and things
looked good.

Then it got cloudy, the rains came, and we fell apart. The next 3
games were almost identical. In poring rains, we mis-handled the ball
alot (expected) and made a lot of bad decisions (unexpected) and lost
our cool (unacceptable).

We first played the Bradendon B side. Penalty after penalty kept us in
our own end. Poor tackles added to our problems in this one. We lose
7-17. They were not a very good team.

We then play Cape Coral. They played very basic 7's rugby. They did
not have very good individual players but played well as a team. Their
teamwork frustrated us. We made BAD decisions and more penalties and
lost 0-7 in a game we should have won.

We then played Bradenton's A team. We knew what to do. Move the ball
outside and work on their backs. This team had just lost to PAC and
was reeling. All we had to do was move the ball. Unfortunately, we
could not. Our winger never saw the ball in the first half. We
actually played good defense here. The end of the game we had a 5-0
lead after 7 minutes. Then another penalty and a couple of missed
tackles and they score to tie it up as the whistl blows. They miss a
very easy kick to put into OT. The winner of this game playes for the
championship against Cape Coral who is now 4-0. We start the game with
a blown line out and they score easily for the win 5-10.

In a poring rain, dropped balls by all teams prevailed. We had our
share. We have to keep our heads at all times and work as a team above
all else. No one beat us today, we beat ourselves in 3 close games
that we should have won easily. Instead of getting mad, get focussed
on the game and on what you should be doing. You played stupid and
lose because of it.

Get ready for this week now. Get to practice. Focus on passing and
good tackling. Be certain your teammate is with you when you pass.
Keep your boots in your pocket. We should not be kicking!!! Almost
every kick ended up in disaster. We will work on a plan for lineouts,
both offense and defense. We had no idea what to do in a defense
lineout and that cost us 2 tries and 2 losses. We will have a plan for
this Saturday.

Our forwards played very well. We won most scrums and moved around the
field well. We need to improve our quick taps, but we did a good job
of getting the other teams going backwards. We just need to learn how
to finish.

Coach Ron