TEST BY THE BEST

SATURDAY PREVIEW

When you are up against the best in the league the opening ten minutes and the early exchanges can set the tone for the rest of the game. Last time out, against Tonbridge, within the first ten minutes we had conceded two tries from driving mauls and were under pressure. We responded well with three penalties of our own but another two scores before half time sent us in 9-22 at the break. For most of the second half, until the final ten minutes, the score sat at 16-25. In this period we needed to convert the opportunities we created to turn up the heat on Tonbridge. We did work into threatening field positions but, to their credit, the Tonbridge defence was strong all game. Errors at crucial times prevented us from getting over the line until the final play. We know we are not the finished article but, when reviewing the game, we all came away feeling that we hadn’t given our best shot. It’s not lost on me that this will always be much more difficult against teams at the top of the table and performing under the extra intensity of these encounters is one of the next steps in our development.

The week off has given the group a great opportunity to rejuvenate and we have been able to get some players back into training. Tomorrow, we face another stern test as we travel to Barnes, a place in recent seasons that has not seen us put in a performance to be proud of. We couldn’t ask for a better fixture to test ourselves against another team at the top of the league.

The Pilgrims march into the final four games of their season with a five-point lead in the Counties Kent One table. Last time out we had a hard-fought win against Beccehamians which allowed our winning run to continue. We now have back-to-back home games as Dover travel to the Marine Travel ground on Saturday. This has been a fiercely competitive fixture over the last couple of seasons. We’ve had fireworks before, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from the rugby on the pitch this weekend.

Matt Corker, Head Coach