After being frozen out last weekend, we have three matches on Saturday, with two being played at the Paddock. The First XV welcome Rochford Hundred and the Third XV play Canterbury, whilst the Second XV travel to Canterbury for their match. These fixtures come after mixed fortunes for our sides last time out. The 2s delivered a great result against Westcombe Park 2s to open up a four point gap at the top of the Counties 2 Kent league whilst the 1s suffered a painful defeat away to an impressive Dorking team. It was a horrible feeling to be “nilled” and the coaching staff and players were hurting after the Dorking game. It was a reminder, if one was needed, that in National 2 East nothing short of 100% intensity is required to get something out of a game.
During training over the last two weeks we have reminded ourselves how well we have competed this season so far: securing points with good wins and when suffering narrow defeats. There is real belief amongst the squad that we can return to delivering competitive performances and build momentum for the rest of the season.
The visit of Rochford will see us facing an opponent we know from our London and SE days. Back then and in the Nat 2 fixture earlier in the season we faced a strong opposition who play a forward dominated game, with backs who can take their chances. The boys are aware they need to step up their intensity this weekend, knowing that anything less will result in defeat. Rochford sits one place and two points ahead of us in the league. We know securing points against teams around us in the table this season will be vital. We are 12th place in the league but there is a lot of rugby still to play.
Every match this season is critical, so it is vital we maintain our “Fortress Paddock” mentality in particular, making it an uncomfortable place to visit for any opponent. As I have said before, the noisy support we receive at home really spurs the boys on; as witnessed in the excellent second half performance against Worthing three weeks ago.
We look forward to seeing you cheering on the 1s and 3s at home and I promise we will be giving everything to deliver a strong performance. Thanks in advance.