Halifax RUFC V Leicester Lions: Blades believes enthusiasm is key
Published Date:
20 September 2008
By John Metcalfe
ADAM Blades will be encouraging his Halifax teammates to step up the intensity as they look to bounce back following consecutive defeats in National Three (North).
Blades was one of five familiar faces who entered last weekend's fray at Huddersfield from the bench after Halifax had found themselves trailing 24-3 at the break.
And their impact was immediate as Halifax prevented Huddersfield from adding to their tally.
However, Blades was still disappointed that Halifax were unable to raise their own game sufficiently to pile much-needed pressure on the home side.
That, Blades believes, was because Huddersfield wanted the win more than Halifax did, claiming the Ovenden Park side had been 'out-enthused'
"We didn't start off too badly," said Blades. "We seemed to be doing the basics okay, but at the end of the day they were keener than us, it is as simple as that.
"They have a lot of good young lads and while, with respect, they aren't the greatest team in the world they wanted it more than we did.
"They were quicker than us, they showed a little more dog at the breakdown and we were found wanting a little bit.
"We were probably a stone heavier to a man than the Huddersfield pack but we kept getting pushed back in the scrums.
"You have to think 'Why is that happening?'"
"I don't think we can put it down to a lack of confidence.
"We know we are a good enough team so really we shouldn't have any excuses apart from the fact we have been a little bit lazy, we're not killing games off and we're not getting excited about the prospect of winning."
Blades does accept that losing can become a habit just as much as winning can and that habit can be hard to break
"It is a shame because once we fall a couple of tries behind we find it hard to break out of that losing mould," he added. "It is not just us, it happens to a lot of teams
"We have to start thinking that there is still time to pull the scores back. It showed on Saturday when Huddersfield scored all their points in the first half and we should have been thinking about scoring all ours in the second.
"Unfortunately that never happened."
Coach Rhys Morgan rang the changes by bringing Blades, Ian Spence, Martin Smith and Craig Emmerson on and their determined approach helped to steady the ship.
"We saw how flat the game was from the sidelines and we just said to each other "Let's get on and try to lift it a bit.
"It looked as though we were lacking a bit of fight in the tackle areas and when running with the ball.
"We wanted to bring a bit more enthusiasm into our game.
"None of us want to be on the bench either, so it was a question of getting on and proving a point as well."
Despite the setbacks, Blades is certain that once the tide turns Halifax will go on to have a productive season.
"I can see it coming together," he said.
"We have had some good sessions and the spirit among the players has stayed good.
"I think the first game was maybe a week early for everyone in terms of preparation. There are still areas we need to concentrate on and enthusiasm is one of them.
"There is no reason why we shouldn't be successful and be a top half team.
"We have played two games and lost them both - games we had targeted as winnable so we are already down in that respect.
"We have to start turning some of these games into wins now - especially at home and before Christmas.
"If not, we are going to find ourselves struggling."
Fixtures
Today: Caldy v Hull Ionians, Fylde v Nuneaton, Halifax v Leicester Lions, Harrogate v Huddersfield, Kendal v Bradford & Bingley, Loughborough Students v Darlington Mowden Park, Macclesfield v Preston Grasshoppers.
September 27: Bradford & Bingley v Caldy, Fylde v Loughborough Students, Huddersfield v Macclesfield, Hull Ionians v Darlington Mowden Park, Leicester Lions v Harrogate, Nuneaton v Halifax, Preston Grasshoppers v Kendal.
The full article contains 707 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
19 September 2008 4:37 PM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Halifax