SANDBACH PROCESS IS PAYING OFF AFTER IMPRESSIVE START TO SEASON
ANDY Bird says Sandbach’s philosophy is paying off as they take a well-earned break from action this weekend.
Sandbach have completed their first block of six Midlands Premier matches with five wins to their credit, which has left them in second place in the early standings.
The only blot on their copybook was a home defeat by Newport, which saw them beaten by a try in the closing stages of the contest.
But after a sustained spell without competitive action because of the coronavirus pandemic, director of rugby Bird has put a tick in the box after their impressive efforts.
“We are chuffed as a group with the start,” said the 37-year-old. “Has it exceeded expectations? Probably not, but we didn’t quite know what we were going in to this season.
“Clubs have come out of the last 18 months without rugby in different ways, some have stabilised, others have looked to progress.
“In previous years you knew what to expect from sides, but there has been personnel changes.
“It’s a good start. We knew we were capable of it, but it was about producing the goods.
“The big takeaway for us as a coaching staff has been the decision-making and problem solving out on the pitch.
“We’ve shown maturity and are confident without being arrogant. The lads are not old, but most of them have played a lot of rugby.
“Being greedy, we would have liked to be sat with six wins out of six, but the Newport game was one of those things.
“It was our line in the sand if you like, and they took their chances better than us. If we played them 10 times, it would probably be five wins apiece, but on that day it went their way.”
Bird has Sandbach’s philosophy woven through him as they develop their own players through their impressive junior and academy set-up.
And at the top end of the club structure - the first XV - they are competing in a division where money can be a significant factor.
But that is not the case at Sandbach.
“At the minute there is still a bit of jostling and working people out in the division,” explained Bird.
“The division looks like it has developed into two segments. There are six, seven, eight teams, who are well prepared and playing well, while there might be a couple who have their tin hats on wondering what’s going to happen.
“The majority of the clubs in our league will be spending money. In our division clubs can spend £30,000 per year, which sounds a lot but over 26 weeks, for a squad of say 20 plus backroom team, probably isn’t.
“In the league above, the cap is £100,000. But we are strictly amateur and we are proud of that fact, it’s our USP.
“Our model will not change. Sustainability is a big thing for us and we are extremely proud of the mini and junior sides as well. Our aim is to continually improve.”
Sandbach, though, are not just content to be an established Midlands Premier club.
They have aspirations to move up the ladder, but Bird, in his second year as DOR, insists that they will stick to their processes.
“We want to win more games than we’ve ever won, we want to score more points than we’ve ever done, and concede less than ever,” he added.
“We are a process-based team and if those things happen then the results will take care of themselves and we will be in the top three.
“In the past the top side has gone up and the team in second has gone into a play-off. But there is a restructure of rugby and this year the top two are promoted and the third-placed team might face a play-off.”
The first XV may well be the flagship team from an outside perspective, but all players - both junior and senior - are made to feel part of the Sandbach family.
“This weekend the firsts don’t have a game so the seconds have been the priority in training,” said Bird.
“We normally have a coach for first-team away matches as well, the seconds are away this weekend so we are putting on transport for them.
“We might not pay players, but we want to do as much as we can for them and make it as stress-free as possible, so they enjoy it.
“And we also focus on our juniors as well. Every two weeks we run what we call a transition session for the under-16s, 17s and 18s.
“It’s like a booster session, but it’s for the players who will soon not be so young to get familiar with the coaches and what we expect.
“It means the whole experience of stepping up to senior rugby isn’t scary.”
TWO of our local sides are in Midlands Two West North action this weekend.
LEEK entertain Camp Hill, while NEWCASTLE play host to Old Saltleians.