Monday 18 December, 2017, by Oli Masters
25th November
Salcombe v OPMs (3-36)
First with the positives, having struggled in recent weeks to even be in a position to field a full 15, it was good to see that Salcombe were able to bring together a full squad complete with substitutes on Saturday. That the score line is not what they would have hoped for will be disappointing for the home side who had chances to make a greater impression on the game than they did. Another positive was the overall age of the squad assembled, with a number of older players absent due to injury and a wedding the Crabs were forced to field what would have been the youngest starting line up in a league match for some time, hopefully this will be a small glimpse into the future.
As for the match itself Salcombe would probably admit to being bullied for most of it with the OPMs strike runners doing most of the damage in the first half and the Crabs showing their trademark resoluteness in defence. That said the first half ended 3 – 10 with Salcombe very much in the game having been unlucky with a try scoring opportunity close to the away teams line being turned over at the key moment. Unfortunately the second half turned was not as close as OPM’s began to run away with the match eventually winning 3 – 36 thus making it difficult for Salcombe to take anything meaningful away from the fixture other than some good individual performances.
With that in mind the strong work that has been started on the training field needs to continue with the added impetus of some new players such as Silas Winterbottom and Henry Watts who made their league debut on Saturday along with those returning fro
m injury in the near future. Lets try and give the Coaches the numbers they deserve to be able to put our game plan into action, the players and the talent is definitely there, what is required is for everyone to buy into the philosophy that is being put forward and begin to realise the potential the team is capable of.
A run of winnable matches now begins culminating with a grudge match against local league rivals Buckfastleigh on the 16th of December that is a must win for Salcombe if they are to show the sort of progression that is so passionately wanted from the Coaches and Players alike.