Players left themselves too much to do, admits McAuley

South Wales Argus

a day ago

Leicestershire head coach Chris McAuley accepts his players left themselves too much to do in their Bill Beaumont Men's County Championship Division 3 final against Hertfordshire at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
McAuley's side found their opponents in a clinical mood in the first half of their 29-10 defeat at the home of English rugby as four tries put Hertfordshire on a dominant position they never looked like giving up.
The Foxes appeared to have a glimmer of hope when lock Jack Burrows plunged over for a try in the 55th minute, but any hope of a comeback was quickly snuffed out by another Herts score.
Leicestershire found themselves a man up after Hertfordshire's Luke Mongston was sent off for a dangerous tackle, but they couldn't find a way through some determined defence.
McAuley said: 'I think we left ourselves with a lot to do – if you look back at the time, there were a few 'patience errors'.
'We coughed up possession a bit easily, we got a bit excited at times.
'I think their last try was indicative of the game – if you look at the tries they scored, I think they had to work for one of them, but they are a really good threat on the counter attack.
'We knew that when we knew we'd be playing against them and it's just one of those things, if they've got a weapon they can use, they can really hurt you.'
Despite it ending in defeat, McAuley looks back on Leicestershire's campaign with a lot of pride as it continued the progress the county's current crop of players, who have trained at Leicester Forest RFC, have made in recent years.
No longer being able to select players from the National Leagues may mean they have to look at players from lower in the rugby pyramid, but it has also increased their options.
McAuley, who has recently left positions as Leicester Lions backs coach and Leicester De Montfort University head coach, said: 'With how we were originally, we were struggling for players because we'd always been choosing from National League clubs – we had three of them.
'So, for this new Level 5 and below rule there's so many clubs and it gives so many players access to something they'd never had before.
'In the early stage it was difficult trying to find players, whereas now we've restored a lot of pride in it and now it's become something cherished by the players.'
To see all the results from the County Championship Finals visit EnglandRugby.com or follow @RFU on X to see all the in-play highlights.