Poor tackling and costly turnovers were the key culprits in St. Albert's 53-12 loss to the Clansmen in Alberta Cup rugby action on Friday night at Ellerslie.
Despite handling the ball well and advancing during the first few minutes of the match, all it took was one dropped ball that allowed the Clan to score early and from that point on, often.
"We had the run of play for the first five minutes, then there was an unfortunate drop of the ball," said coach Gareth Scott. "The Clan ran 60 yards and scored right under the post. For some reason, panic set in."
The Clan would score another three tries within the first 20 minutes of the game as St. Albert's first 15 struggled to find a way to counter the Clan's momentum. But instead of working harder together, Scott said players simply started trying to do too much with the ball on their own.
"A lot of our guys were trying to do too much at the wrong time, making bad choices. It just went from bad to worse."
Scott said the team played well running into contact, and that their line-outs were significantly improved over their last match — a loss to the Druids — as was their scrummaging. But porous defensive holes and incomplete tackles meant the Clan were able to score from 20 to 30 yards out.
"They were able to score from that far out just running at us and were able to break through tackles," Scott said. "They weren't running up the score but they continued to score and we weren't able to stop them.
By halftime Scott was asking his players to dig deep, insisting that the deficit wasn't insurmountable at that point. And to some degree the firsts responded.
"There were literally sweeping moments when we looked good, ran the ball aggressively at them. We even ended scoring the last try of the game so we were still trying to play right up until the end," Scott said. "It was never close. We never got back into it."
Fullback Matt Herod said the team played better than the score showed.
"It was one of those things where we had a good opportunity in the first 10 minutes to go ahead and never took advantage. One mistake and they capitalized," Herod said. "One missed tackle turned into a try and then too many missed tackles turned into other tries."
Tough start
The loss is the second in a row for the first 15 after losing to the Druids 9-6 last week in a defensive grudge match, but Herod said the team isn't panicking.
Last year the firsts started 0-3 before they won a game, with no bonus points. This year the team is 0-2 with one bonus point.
"It's just a matter of weathering the storm," Herod said.
What will get them on the winning track isn't rocket science, both Herod and Scott agree — it will be a back-to-basics approach.
"The stuff we need to bring to the next game isn't technical. It's just rugby stuff. We have to work a bit more of our defensive presence on the field. It's simple rugby."
Scott hopes the team spends the next two weeks before its next match evaluating its compete level.
"I'm hoping the guys are asking some questions of themselves, as individuals and members of the team. We had a good discussion on the field after the game. Some of the leaders on the team spoke up. As much as it doesn't feel very good, it's necessary," Scott said.
The firsts next play June 2 against the Calgary Canadian Irish Athletic Club (CCIAC) at the St. Albert Rugby Football Club.
