RICHMOND HEAVIES VS ARMY MASTERS

Friday 2 February 2018 Rosslyn Park
On a dry, cool and windless evening the Army Masters lined up for only their second full fixture after trails matches held before Christmas. This now traditional fixture versus the experienced Richmond Heavies is normally the last fixture of the regular season before the start of their defence of the Inter Services Crown. However this game had to be brought forward due to the scheduled dates for the Inter Services competition this year. The final score of 52-5 to the Masters reflected the conditions and the venue (3G) which suited their style of play.
A tight game at times with the majority of the possession and territory being dominated by the Army Masters; this was exploited with bursts of pace, precise ball handling and individual skill to create many try scoring opportunities from both backs and forwards. A bright start by the Masters both in attack and in defence showed the intensity in which they wanted to play at. With the Heavies forwards normally having an exceptional maul the Masters forwards spent time during training developing their technic on how to nullify this asset. This intent was shown from the off when the Heavies were given a line out about 15 meters from the try line which the Masters defended superbly. This same intent was also shown in the scrum and lineout, with the Masters dominating most of the set piece for the duration of the match. With the majority of the run of play going the Masters way and the forwards setting a good platform for the backs; this allowed well executed set plays to exploit holes through the Heavies defence. Although the forwards did their jobs well, there were some big defensive hits put in by the backs which stopped the advances of Richmond on several occasions.
The coaches will now look at how the Masters can improve on mistakes made during the game in what was overall a very good performance by the Masters. This was an important game for the players who now have asked some questions of our coaches on who will make the starting line-up for our next game against Torbay Sharks on the 23 February at Paignton