Bournville’s focus on defence was the key to their victory over previously unbeaten National Two West leaders Loughborough Students at Avery Fields.
The Students had not dropped a point before they arrived in west Birmingham but Bournville successfully implemented a plan hatched by Alex Grove to starve them of quick ball.
Former Scotland and Worcester Warriors centre Grove is now Bournville’s Defence Coach and he was delighted with the way the players implemented the tactics honed on the training field which helped to secure a 43-24 win.
“The challenge for the coaching team and the players before the game was: how do we slow their ball down?” Grove said.
“Loughborough are a team that want to play really fast as do we normally. But we were conscious of their threat going through the phases and how, if we didn’t stop them at source or at first phase defensively, their ball would get faster and faster and they would become even harder to deal with.
“I thought we fronted up defensively really well. There was a bit more of a defensive focus in training during the week because of that threat but we managed to put that on to the field and we executed our defensive plan really well.
“In attack we thought our point of difference would be our physicality. We kept the ball for more phases than ordinarily we would do which I think tired them out. It made them make tackles, we got rewarded as the team generally going forward and when we got the opportunity to take three points we did.
“We were conscious of having something to show on the scoreboard for our possession and territory.
“We did make some silly mistakes in the middle third, indiscipline which enabled Loughborough to get field position and then into a driving maul but on balance we were good today.”
Bournville were also able to select a side that enabled them to implement their tactics by making five changes to their starting XV which Grove believes reflects the greater strength in depth of the squad this season.
“Loughborough are a team that try and scare you with the pace of the game they want to play at. That happened here last season. They came out 100 mph and wanted to play, play, play. It took us ten minutes to recognise that and we managed to find a way to win,” he said.
“This time we selected a side that was probably more defensively-minded and we were able to impose our defence on their attack.
“We have a bigger squad and a more competitive squad. We have more players who can play at first team level than we have ever had so you can pick players on how they are training or playing for the Blues so you are not just your best 15 players. There isn’t that best 15 players.
“A good example is Kier Henderson who made his first appearance for the first team. He was playing for Sutton Coldfield last season so this is the highest level he has played at.
“But Kier, in terms of his attitude and application for the Blues and training, has played and trained his way into a first team starting spot and he was one of our best forwards out there today.”
Bournville did lose flanker Chris Idehen and tighthead prop Stef Thorp with first-half injuries during the first-half on Saturday with Idehen’s the more serious.
“Chris has an ankle or Achilles injury. We are not quite sure which yet but we are not expecting him to be back any time soon,” Grove said.
