Army Senior Men head coach, Lt Col Tim Osman, acknowledged after the red shirts’ loss away to Oxford University that there are several areas for improvement ahead of the squad’s final two matches before the Inter-Services Championship.
The red shirts faced a Varsity double in the space of seven days, following up last week’s trip to Grange Road with a second game on the road at Oxford’s Iffley Road ground.
But while two late scores saw the Army be pipped at Cambridge University, against the Dark Blues they found themselves on the back foot for long periods, thanks in no small part to a string of penalties being conceded across various facets of the game.
Despite having three scores ruled out Oxford nevertheless recorded a 26-point margin of victory, turning a 19-0 half-time score into a 31-5 full-time result.
“We’ve had some decent individual performances and we’re at the start of something,” commented Lt Col Osman. “Certainly training’s been pretty good. But we’ve struggled to put that into practice as a team and there’s some cohesion missing at the moment.
“Our discipline, our management of the game and the officiating, and the ruck area, have been poor, and there’s work to do in these specific areas. We’ve got to get them sorted very quickly.”
Lt Col Osman added that the opening 10 minutes were crucial, when the red shirts conceded no fewer than half-a-dozen penalties in their own 22, as well as the opening try.
“There were some poor decisions at the breakdown and we put pressure on ourselves,” he said. “This put our defence under stress.
“But both Varsity teams have been well drilled. They’ve played a lot together and that’s been the telling factor.
“We don’t have access all the time. We’re not a professional outfit and people have jobs to go and do, and between now and the French Army we’ve got Corps finals as well, when a lot of the players will be involved in different set-ups with different ways of playing.”
However, Lt Col Osman also praised the impact of the replacements in getting the Army onto the front foot in the final quarter, even if by then the contest was over.
The try they scored was certainly well crafted.
A chip from Bdr Davies (RA) made the most of the lack of a sweeper to get the Army going, and when Oxford prop Michael Fankah saw yellow for a trip on LCpl Ratukadreu (REME) there was no hesitation in sending the ball to the corner.
Capt Ackers (Rifles) came close to the tryline from the peel, and LCpl Vereti (REME) hit a good line to crash over the whitewash.
“Sometimes it’s a bit easier to see what’s going wrong when you’re not involved from the outset, so some clarity came and there was some decent impact from the bench,” Lt Osman commented.
The Army Senior Men host the French Army at Aldershot on Wednesday, March 15th. Entry is free and all are welcome for this much anticipated capped international.
Tickets for the 2023 Inter-Services Championship are now on sale.
CLICK HERE for information about the Army v RAF at Kingsholm, Gloucester, on Saturday, April 15th.
CLICK HERE for information about Army Navy at Twickenham on Saturday, May 13th.
Words © New Dogs, Old Tricks
Header and featured image – Alligin Photography © Neil Kennedy
