‘Content’ is a word that Adam Bowman used to describe his feeling after a weekend that saw all three sides win their matches against Hove, Tunbridge Wells and Vigo. After challenging his players to ‘back up their performance’ from the week before, Bowman was pleased to see his sides come away with three wins across the board and all in a fairly convincing manner.
‘Clearly we were pleased with the players rising to the challenge and backing up the results from the week before. Our execution though was probably not where we wanted it to be and it’s something we will work on this week. Yes, the conditions were difficult and the ball was like a bar of soap at times, but that still doesn’t excuse some of the basic errors we made. As a group, we want to be more honest with each other and when we don’t hit the standards we set ourselves, then we will say so.’
Oaks Leighton Ralph looks to burst through in Oaks last home match to Chobham. Photo credit: David Purday
The 1st XV face Cobham RFC this weekend, who like Oaks, have had a reasonable start to the season, narrowly losing to Brighton Blues last weekend by four points and only losing by two points in their other loss to Chobham. With both sides winning away from home against each other last season and with only two points separating them in the league, Saturday’s match at the Paddock is going to be nip and tuck. ‘We’ve just got to keep on building on what we have done so far’ says Bowman. ‘To have three wins out of four is a good start, but the match against Cornish showed that if you are off your game for a small part, then sides will take advantage. We have to keep our concentration and make sure we are mentally at the races each week, which is something that perhaps we have lacked in the past. If we can do that, then we will give ourselves a much better chance of winning games on a Saturday afternoon. We know Cobham like to move the ball around and have some very skillful players across the board – the Paddock will probably suit them in that respect and it will be a good game to watch for the supporters no doubt’
Head Coach Adam Bowman described himself as ‘content’ this week after Oaks victories
Whilst the Gents had a week off, the 2nd and 3rd XV both put in good performances to overcome Tunbridge Wells and Vigo respectively, with the 2nd XV pacy backs running riot in the second half, whilst the 3rd XV were 28-0 up before conceding two tries late on. This week sees the 2nd XV, 3rd XV and Gents all away from home in challenging fixtures, playing Old Elthamians Development, Maidstone and Ashford. Selection, once again, has not been easy. ‘We are in a positive position at the moment where we have a number of players fighting for shirts. It means that players can’t rest on their laurels and we will certainly have players moving up and down across the sides this week. Our message to our squad is always the same – train consistently, play well and you will get the opportunity. We still have a few players on the side lines with injuries or unavailability, so I hope that competition for shirts will only increase over the coming weeks and months. But it’s those players who run out of Saturday that need to make it count and keep a hold of their shirt.’
Kick off for the 1st XV match at Knole Paddock is at 3:00pm; entry is free, the bar will be open and the Club extends a warm invitation to members, supporters and visitors to come and enjoy the action.
Senior Fixtures | Saturday 29th September
Sevenoaks RFC 1st XV v. Cobham RFC 1st XV
Old Elthamians Development XV v. Sevenoaks RFC 2nd XV
Maidstone 2nd XV v. Sevenoaks RFC 3rd XV
Ashford RFC 2nd XV v. Sevenoaks RFC Gents