P5's draw with Musselburgh

This week we welcomed Musselburgh to McKane Park, and enjoyed a set of well contested matches, played at a decent level of intensity, and in a good spirit from the players, coaches and supporters.
Musselburgh brought one team with several big lads amongst their ranks. We again had enough players for two teams, so split the players into the following teams:
Dark Blues: Andrew, Ben K, Duncan, Emma, Gregor, Harry, Kailo, Matthew
Light Blues: Austin, Brodie, Cole, Ian, Jamie A, Jamie U, Kian, Mackenzie

First up were the Dark Blues against Musselburgh.
The visitors were quick out of the blocks and scored right from the start with some direct running and good passing, then immediately followed this up by aggressive defending to turn Dunfermline over, resulting in another try for Musselburgh.
It was beginning to look like a long, hard morning, but Dunfermline rallied, and opened their scoring account with a well taken passing move.
With both teams having settled into the match, the game was then very even throughout, with both teams attempting to play a nice style of rugby by looking to pass the ball into space. The final score was probably a draw, certainly no more than a score in it either way.
Dark Blues 6 – 6 Musselburgh

The Light Blues then took on Musselburgh in a match which was played in the same manner as the first match, with the team trying to play an expansive game.
The play of the match was a lovely passing move through everyone’s hands to Kian, who made ground down the wing….only to be stopped by a thumping tackle from the opposing winger! Great play from both sides for different reasons!
Once again the score was pretty even, maybe Musselburgh shaded it at the end, with our good play in attack matched by our generosity in defence! Plenty of good tackles going in, but we need to make sure that it’s a team activity.
Light Blues 5 – 6 Musselburgh

Last up was a match, played as a straight half, between the two Dunfermline squads. This was played at a lower intensity level - perhaps the players were tired out from tackling the big lads from Musselburgh, perhaps they find it a little harder to raise their game against each other and get stuck in. Probably another draw here.
Light Blues 4 - 4 Dark Blues

In general, the coaches were happy with the performances from all players today. It's always good to be able to split our squad into two teams and still be competitive. Everyone is working hard for each other in defence and attack, and we continue to see improvements in the skill level and execution during our handling moves. Wednesday night sessions have made a huge difference this year.
Tackling-wise, we’re still seeing a mixed bag of some committed tackles with an equal number of missed attempts – more work required on the training field to ensure everyone is well practised in the contact area. The same goes for rucking, where we were out-fought again at the rucks - we need to encourage the players to relish the physical challenges!