LAST time out, Nottingham Rugby got the right result; today, head coach Martin Haag wants them to show the right attitude.
Having secured another year in the Championship with their 29-24 victory over Moseley, there is nothing left for the Green and Whites to play for in their final game of the season, at London Welsh this afternoon.
But Haag doesn’t want any let-up from his team, and has called for a performance of similar fight and quality against the side sat second in the table.
“This weekend, for me, is about our attitude,” he said.
“It’s about saying, ‘OK, we had a good weekend last week, but we’re playing a top of the league side, the potential champions of the Championship’.
“We haven’t over-trained this week, so therefore, we won’t improve massively on certain things. It will be more about our attitude – going out there and playing as a team, playing in a Nottingham shirt, some people for the last time.
“If we get the attitude right then hopefully the performance and the aspects we saw last Friday will come through.
“I don’t think this group are the type (to let-up), but it’s certainly something we’ve mentioned because we’re playing against a very, very good team.
“Our attitude has to be spot on.
“We had a good win and scored some good tries last week; now can we back it up and go there and be competitive?
“At this late stage of the season, you’ve done all the technical and tactical side of things, it’s really just about making sure we turn up on the day and give it a go.”
Haag will be without Tom Calladine this afternoon as the back rower sustained a recurrence of an old knee problem against Moseley.
A hefty injury list has undoubtedly played a part in a difficult campaign which has seen Nottingham notch only five wins and languish at the lower end of the table.
The future though, looks positive, according to Haag.
“This season has given us plenty to build on,” he said.
“At times we have had to dig deep. I think the players and the staff can be very proud of their efforts because we’ve been very close and very competitive in a number of games this year.
“We haven’t quite finished where we wanted to, and probably are a few points shy of where we should be.
“But there is a lot to be positive about and a lot to work on in the summer.
“We still face massive challenges. As a group, we need to come together and make sure we work on that team aspect, make sure we get more Ws.”
One thing the Greens chief is keen to see more of from the game against Moseley, is putting teams under pressure from the off.
They took a 26-5 lead into the half-time break at Meadow Lane last week, having racked up four tries.
“If you look at some of our results this year, we’ve probably not started that well and been behind, then had to chase the game in the second half,” said Haag.
“Last week, we started well and got four tries in the first half, which made the second half easier – not necessarily a foregone conclusion but certainly easier.
“That’s something we’ll need to make sure we do in the future.
“Last week, there was probably a bit more ambitiousness in terms of what we did. I think individually a number of players played really well, and as a team they played well.
“Lots of things went right for us.
“Our accuracy was superb and I thought the intensity in the game was excellent, and we came out the other side with a W.”
Nottingham Rugby line-up today: Henry Purdy, Ryan Hough, Joe Munro, Javiah Pohe, George Catchpole, Matthew Jarvis, Harrison Lee-Everton, Campese Ma’afu, Jon Vickers, Michael Holford, Toby Freeman, Dan Montagu, Rupert Cooper, Joe Burton, Alex Shaw. Replacements: Ryan Bower, Alun Walker, Harry Williams, Morgan Eames, Sean Romans, Alfie Molloy, Jacob Knight.
Article source: http://www.irishexaminer.com/business/rugby-stars-firms-profits-race-ahead-255170.html
Martin Haag wants Nottingham Rugby to show "right attitude" at London Welsh
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