Scots College – Learning. For Life.

Scots College headed out to Upper Hutt to take on the local college in a Premier Trophy contest. Upper Hutt have found themselves in Premier 1 due to HIBS declining the opportunity to play in the grade. Upper Hutt have done well to come from bottom of Premier Div 3 in 2009 to play in the top grade and win in 2010.

Played on a heavy ground Scots start was probably an omen for the game. Electing to kick off Scots allowed Upper Hutt to run and set up a contest from which a good box kick saw Scots knock the ball on and any advantage that was hoped to be gained from pinning Upper Hutt down were quickly erased. Scots had plenty of ball to work with but poor choices and electing to play with the ball in our own half led to Upper Hutt having a easy time defensively. Most of the match was played between the two 22m lines. Testimony to this was Jackson Garden-Bachop attempting 1 shot at goal.

Upper Hutt grabbed what was a small window of opportunity 8min from the break when a kick was spilled at the back and Upper Hutt pounced in the chase and scored what was even then a match winning try.

Halftime: Scots 0 Upper Hutt 5

The second half was all Upper Hutt as they played the tactic of territory through kicking and a good chase. No matter who got the ball they hoofed it down field and chased hard, locking Scots into a corner and throwing away the key.

Scots despite small periods of intensity were never in it and a penalty goal in the 23rdmin to Upper Hutt meant it was a 2 score game. Scots finished at the right end of the field and were rewarded with a penalty to Jackson Garden-Bachop with 2min left to play. A bonus point loss

Fulltime: Scots 3 Upper Hutt 8

This loss was very disappointing due to the lack of preparation mentally and physically. The reality is we are playing in the top division of an equally top competition. A competition that sees Wellington College ranked annually in the Top 4 teams in New Zealand. This is all about learning from our experiences and taking and converting opportunity when the door is open. This is Wellington and during winter, grounds are ankle deep in mud, boot selection is vital and to be playing a game with nothing other than long studs is suicidal - these are little things that separate the good from the very good. We have no problem getting ourselves up for the games against the so called top teams but struggle mentally with teams that are around us. We need to learn that mental preparation is an individual responsibility and that it will bring rewards. We went through this back in 2007/08 while playing Prem 2. The teams of those 2 years developed this attitude and passed it down to what is now our senior players, now this group of seniors is tasked with developing a more consistent mental and physical approach and passing it on. The attention to individual skill sets and positional related skills need to be worked at continuously and improvement needs to happen over the course of a season.

We were on a 48hr game turnaround this week and consideration has to be given to what is done in recovery and eaten in that time. Likewise we are on a 4 day turnaround to Lindisfarne and 3 day to Wellington College on our return. Injuries need to be R.I.C.E.D. It is a game of inches and today we let ourselves down.

The good thing about this game of rugby is that it mirrors life - it pushes you into places, some of them dark, that you would not ordinarily go, it tests character and fortitude, however from past experiences the sun will come up tomorrow - maybe just a little cloudy, scones will be on the aftermatch menu next week (I hope) and the boys will have learnt something about themselves and the team that will add to their character. Therefore this week will be an accelerated learning week.

Developing Character - Building Community

Scorers:

J.Garden-Bachop; Pen

MVP

3.H.Vance

2.H.Prescott

1.JG.Bradbrook

Dave Meaclem