Post Newbury Reaction

Andre Bester

“We made nine or ten changes for this match in rotation of the squad. I was apprehensive about the continuity we would get, but that’s part of our purpose here. To develop a squad that in future years can not only compete, but compete at Premiership level in years to come.

I thought our scrimmaging wasn’t good, we had one good scrum. I think it’s a lack of creation with the many changes that we made. I think the referee didn’t allow us to scrum; he didn’t make a contest of the scrum. He just penalized everything immediately, which nullified us in some regards.

I’m happier with the fact with 14 men in the last ten minutes of the game we won 3-0 and that to me is very important. They scored three tries, two they never should have scored. But they’ve had some good results against some good sides, they are a good team.

Our defending in the second half was outstanding. I think a lot of that had to do with Greg Mitchell coming in today at outside centre. He’s very very good, he’s really physical and he’s a very good communicator.

Today was good preparation for the Harlequins game; it was played at a high tempo. I think there’s certain things that we have improved on and the line out was better in the second half.

I thought Strettle’s performance was very good, but he’ll be critical of himself. If you ask him he’ll tell you he’s not happy, because he’ll know how I will look at it. He’ll tell you he maybe could have got something out of the other opportunities he got.

His physicality has improved immensely and we put a high emphasis on physicality. It’s all about potential and David Strettle has got plenty. David Strettle is going to be a special player and it’s absolutely fantastic to work with him.

It is also interesting how Strettle, Blackett and Golding have developed this year. They’re young guys and they’ve had to stand up and start talking in front of players and start to take the lead. If any of these went to another club they would be very strong indeed.

Looking ahead to the Harlequins game we are definitely looking to win that one, we are not here to make up the numbers. We will prepare for the win and that’s what we’ll go for. We are a lot better side than our league position suggests. I expect a win from the players – I demand a win!”

“I twisted my knee and ankle; I think Andre took me off as a precaution with the big game next week in mind. Nothing will stop me from playing in that one.

We said at the start we wanted a 100% home record with all wins, I think that’s important. We’ve had three tough home games so far and we’ve come away with the points every single time. I don’t see why we can’t keep this going against Harlequins next week and pick up five points.

We played well in patches today, but I think we’ve got a lot more to come from this team and when it does click we’ll be a very dangerous side. We looked at their game plan and it has been touchline to touchline and they just wait for the defence to make a mistake. They are a very good side and they’ve shown that throughout this year and they are fourth at the moment.

They do throw it around a lot like sevens, but we are very proud of our defence today because we never slipped up and gave them that chance to make a break. They had to force everything and that’s when we put pressure on them and that’s when they started to drop the ball.

I think you tend to up your game when you’re down to 14 men. You really push yourself that extra yard to cover for Chris who’s in the sin bin. I think it was a pretty soft decision myself, it was just a tackle.

I don’t know when I’ll get my first try; I’m just happy doing the dirty work and grafting away. I’ll let the other boys – the Prima Dona’s – like Scotty Donald, Shrek and Chris Hala’ufia pick up the tries. I’m quite happy just doing the hard graft because you need someone to do that.

We take each game as it comes; it’s about how we perform on the day. It’s not about Harlequins, it’s about us. If we perform up to our potential and keep getting better and better with each performance then there’s no reason why we can’t overturn Harlequins.”

“I always intended to return to Rotherham ever since Andre joined the club last season. Although the game in this division hasn’t changed much, we have as a team. I think there is a lot more structure and a much more sense of unity and it’s nice to come back to that.

Although I played in the second row today I don’t care what position I play, just as long as I play. Newbury are a good side and when they had ball in hand, they really threw it around. I think if it had been a dry pitch it could have been a lot closer, the weather suited our game a bit more.

I’m really looking forward to the Quins game next week.  It will be a good opportunity to measure ourselves against what is really a Premiership side. And you know rugby is a funny thing, anything can happen. We’ll have the crowd behind us and everybody will be going for the win.”