Sunday 13 December - Bracknell at home

Bracknell came to us with similar numbers which made for balanced sessions with the drills and games at the end.

Warm up drills started before 10am for players as they arrived to keep everyone moving and to try and prevent players getting cold. By 10am we were already running the session drills which involved passing and competing for the ball. The latter drill involved having a little lie down on the ground before leaping up to compete with the opposing player!?

With the numbers being fairly equal, two teams were fielded with substitutes, so everyone got game time against Bracknell. The Blacks played the Bracknell A team and the Golds played the Bracknell B team. The A's played well, competing for the ball with solid tackling and strong play in the ruck/maul situation. The Blacks won all three of their games - well done.

The Golds were fairly evenly matched against the Bracknell B team, but due to too many missed tackles and not being as quick to the ball at the breakdown missed out on a victory of their own in their two games played. Keep at them Golds!

With the change in temperature too many players suffered from the cold. The knocks and bangs that were suffered smarted the more for the cold too. It shouldn't need to be said, but plenty of layers (under the shirt and shorts), gloves, hats etc are now the order for the day.

Next week - London Irish (probably at home)