Coaches Column - The season so far.

With only 3 games left to play ahead of the Christmas break, we caught up with Forwards Coach, George Thomas, and asked him to review the season so far. Take a look at what he had to say below:

?As we head into what is perhaps our toughest block of games, with 2 difficult away fixtures as well as a tricky obstacle in Newport at home, it’s a good time to reflect on where this squad is now. At the time of writing we sit 7th in the league, 7 points adrift of 2nd which on the face of things is a positive place to be if we compare to recent years, however, with the squad we have it would be wrong to consider this an achievement in itself. We have missed opportunities and there are still many areas where we can and must improve-like my old school reports used to say- “could do better”!

?That’s not to be taken as a negative either, I truly believe that we have the makings of a great Luctonians side that can be real contenders and so we must now be ambitious with what this group could and should achieve.?

?The young team that was largely built during our season in Midlands Premier are operating at a truly semi-pro level both on and off the field. There is a noticeably different, more serious atmosphere around the group now, with a new level of accountability as well as a better understanding of how we want to play the game.

?There is a huge amount of competition within the senior squad, with the 2nd team off to a flying start and the 3rds putting together some good performances, no one can afford to be complacent and it’s a great position for us to be in. (Even if it does lead to some heavily protracted selection meetings on a Tuesday night and some tough phone calls on the Wednesday!)

?Joe White in his first season as captain, whilst also becoming a new father is doing an excellent job, a serious operator and the cornerstone of this team.

?The Clee Hill contingent (despite requiring a translator at times) and their peers are the backbone of this squad and have set the bar high in terms of what can be achieved with some proper application. The level that some of these “home grown” lads constantly hit week on week doesn’t happen by accident and is a great example to any junior player at the club. I’m a great believer in the old adage “you earn your fun”, and boy do these lads earn it.

What’s brilliant is it’s the young lads driving the standard for our more senior players as well, our very own Statler and Waldorf in Brad Marler and Dan Powell, amongst others, are benefitting hugely from the S&C work they are doing in order to keep up with the young bucks and their performances of late are testament to that.

New additions like Archie Benson have had a big impact, Tom Smith gets better each week and Charlie Grimes is currently in a cracking vein of form.

?That’s not to forget the “old guard” either. The likes of Hackers and Seb still outperform bigger and more illustrious opposition each week and are critical to our fortunes. The saying “it’s not the size of the dog, it’s the fight in it” could not be more true than with these two, the way they operate and the example they set is the very DNA of this club.

Sam Jones, Louis Silver, TJ Et al. are consistently operating at a high level and give us great balance, we have a cracking blend of youthful exuberance blended with the experience and grit these lads bring.

?For the first time, we find ourselves as potential favourites rather than the plucky underdog of old going into many games. It’s a change in mindset with which as a group we aren’t yet fully comfortable but, certainly, since the Loughborough game we have witnessed a significant improvement in our tactical application and game management. The work rate, physicality and pride that has always been at the core of this Lucs side is still present, the challenge now, certainly for the coaching team and senior player group is to ensure the squad are prepped and fully understand how to execute at a high level week on week.

?From my strategically placed location high up in the grandstand (out of the official’s earshot) I’ve witnessed these lads play some of the best attacking rugby I’ve seen at this level and certainly at our club for which Ryan must be highly commended.

?Our defence, which is what this squad is built on is currently 2nd best in the league, the work Crossy and has done over the last three years is outstanding and the boys have fully bought in. Also critical is work OJ and Brett do, ensuring that the 2’s receive outstanding coaching which means that we have a large number of lads capable of stepping up to National 2 when required.

?The challenge now is to turn a promising start into real results.

?On a lighter note, it was a pleasure listening to my old coach and mate Ben “Bull” McGowan on the latest edition of what I can only assume was a heavily edited podcast. Having been on said minibus as an impressionable young 13 year old, watching our coach roll out from under the cricket covers, still in his No 1s from the night before to drive us to god knows-where, getting the boys to roll his fags as he drove is something I’ll never forget!

?Those old tales and from the previous podcasts are great and I think it’s hugely important for those at the club now to know what and who went before, even if some of the stories from the “44” might be slightly embellished-reminiscing isn’t what it used to be!

?It does make you remember what makes this place special, the type of people who play and work for this club are the same generation to generation. They, along with the countless volunteers are the magic ingredient that makes Lucs what it is!

As we witness the demise of Warriors and Wasps, as well as the national trend of player dropout, you realise how lucky we are to be involved in an organisation like this which, led by Smithy, is driven by motivated, professional people with a community spirit at their heart and it’s a pleasure to be part of.

?Have a very good Christmas

?GT