Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Mental strength key
PRATT SAYS ATTITUDE MUST BE RIGHT IN GAMES AGAINST LOWER-RANKED TEAMS
Head of rugby Andy Pratt says Canterbury still need to master the mental side of being a National 2 South top side.
With Saturday’s come-frombehind 48-38 victory over bottom side Exmouth at the Marine Travel Ground, the city club have won five in a row to move into the division’s top-six and ignite hopes in some quarters of a promotion push in the second half of the campaign.
However, Pratt remained characteristically cool-headed and remained focused on the task of making it six in a row when they head to Barnes on Saturday (3pm).
He said: “We had won four games against teams that were higher than us in the table.
“Saturday was the first time we’d come up against a lower team in the table when we’ve maybe been expected to win since we’ve been on this run.
“We were on a bit of a hiding to nothing. It was a dangerous game. We knew Exmouth were a good side having watched the videos of them. Every side in this division has their strengths.”
He added: “It’s important to get the mental side of the game right with games like this.
“You can talk until you are blue in the face about being right mentally, but it’s a matter of actually going out there and doing it.
“You need every individual to get their preparation right otherwise you can come unstuck in this league.”
Pratt claimed that some aspects of Saturday’s performance weren’t good enough but vowed to get it right at Barnes, another side in the bottom reaches of the table.
Pratt said: “Everything is on this game. It will be tough. They will be capable with dangerous players and they are at home. They will have targeted us.
“Whether you are pushing at the right end or the wrong end of the table, the games are always tight – it’s a case of whether you can come out on top in those tight games.
“We can look back at what might have been in this game or others but there will be other teams who look back at games they played against us and wonder what might have been, too.”
The top-five teams are separated by just seven points with a further nine-point jump to Canterbury, the best of the rest.
‘We were on a bit of a hiding to nothing. It was a dangerous game’
Pratt, however, warned: “There is a lot more rugby to be played. I don’t think the gap between the topthree and the bottom-three in the division is massive.
“You can’t take anything for granted and there will be shock results to come.
“Those five teams are probably the best in the league but it will get tighter by the end of the season.”
Royce Cadman is available after a ban but a back issue means he won’t start, although fellow forward Tom Rogers (wrist) is fit.