We (MR:) had a chance to catch up with the developmental 15s (poor name for a very strong side) Man of the Match Andrew LaMarca (AL) fresh off an absolute thrashing of upstart D2 side VCU.
MR: Second 15’s game of the season hows the side improving each week?
AL: 15s is improving with each practice. For a lot of the players these were their first couple of starts all year long so I believe they will all only getting better with experience.
MR: You guys really ran VCU off the pitch, what were the differentiating factors, fitness, skill, numbers?
AL: I think that our efficiency in set pieces factored into our victory. We won all of our set pieces and stole quite a few of theirs. Possession is key and I think we dominated in that area.
MR:Where do you see the most room for improvement in the side?
AL: I think the greatest opportunity for improvement is confidence. I believe that these past few games have been dominated a bit by the veterans of the team but when the newer players start to get a little more confidence and start to communicate, organize, and operate like the veterans they should see a greater impact on the game.
MR: A lot of guys who find themselves in the 23 were playing, how does that help the younger more inexperienced guys?
As I’ve said before, game experience is the quickest way to gain confidence. These (young) players are getting the opportunity to showcase their skills (with veterans) and this will all go a long way towards improving overall team development and morale.
MR: Any predictions on the Catholic game?
AL: I honestly don’t have any predictions for Catholic but we had a good week of practice and should come out sharp. We drilled defensive alignment and breakdown decision making so we’ll be looking for a suffocating defensive performance.*
*Editors note, we predict Mother’s will continue a sustained pattern of dominance over Catholic, according to our records (quite incomplete) we have not lost to them in at least a decade.