Okay chaps, time to dip my toe into the murky world of 'Inter-Club Politics'!
After taking some time out to reflect on what might have been on Saturday, my mate AH's comment on FB makes a lot of sense. Undoubtedly we were fully up for the game. Undoubtedly the pitch was in near perfect condition. Undoubtedly the weather in Guisborough WAS a factor in them not wanting to travel. Undoubtedly they were taking the fixture VERY seriously as they had selected the strongest possible team 'within the rules' by selecting a few 'special' players who 'may not have been performing to their potential in their other team' (BIG HINT!).
Now to our future. Dick Best said it first, "If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best." We have to concentrate on being the best we can on the pitch, regardless of who is in front of us. As I see it, Guisborough did us a favour for two reasons:
1. By postponing the game, they have given us an edge, a hunger to win and a desire to show them exactly what they would have gotten had they come down to 'Fortress Theakston Lane'. It has also stengthened our resolve to beat them and beat them well.
2. The second thing they did was to give us more respect than they probably should have. By selecting 'special players' they have made clear their intent. They illustrated how precariously their confidence is balanced following the debacle at their pitch. Despite beating us, albeit by one point, they don't believe that they can do it again. This, in my humble opinion is not fair; their '57 Old Farts' have put pressure on their players and almost publicly admitted that they don't believe their 'normal XV' are 'up to it' in their own right.
Whichever way you cut it, this is not a good thing in our level of rugby. Players play rugby because they enjoy it; sadly(?!) none of us should be holding our breath next to the phone waiting for Big Martin to call for a Twickenham appearance! So we need to ensure that we, as players and backroom staff, get as much out of our game as we can. If that means getting beaten then so be it, it is afterall part of the game!
As long as a player, or coach, can look back at the collective performance of the team and believe that there is nothing more that could have been done within the 80 minutes (ish!) of the game then the result is largely irrelevant. Yes it would be nice to win every game with a cricket score but if that was to happen, realistically, we are in the wrong place. Teams need to test themselves, the harder the test the sweeter the victory, etc. etc. the cliche's go on forever but you get my drift.
What I believe we, Richmondshire Rugby Union Football Club, need to do now is look within ourselves and face up to what we see. Do we see a core of committed players who are willing to put their bodies on the line week after week? (and that includes training chaps!) Do we also see a single cohesive body of men who trust each other and are willing to go the extra yard when the chips are down? - I'd like to think the answer is yes to both of those questions. What I hope we don't see is a team on the brink; a team who's confidence is so fragile that we need to look for any excuse as to why we lose the occasional game. Let's leave that sort of thing to others, I believe that Richmondshire Rugby Club is bigger and better than that!
Now let's look forward, let's get down to training and leave the talking behind. Let our actions on the pitch, both in training and playing, speak for themselves. Let's convert our great team spirit into some really great performances, and that also includes the third half chaps and chapesses!
When all is said and done, let's enjoy ourselves, work hard, train hard, play hard and party hard!
Sorry to have sounded like a preacher but I truly believe that there are really great things yet to come this season!
COME ON THE 'SHIRE
Subject: Lost Games - Guisborough 
Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:52 pm
