Glen Innes-Guyra were unable to secure three New England Rugby wins in a row after narrowly missing out on one when they played the Barbarians on Saturday.
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The GhostStags ventured down the hill to Armidale to clash with the Baa Baas at fortress Alcatraz and, through some opportunities going awry, fell 15-12.
There wasn't much momentum built from either team and it was pretty scrappy, a lot of dropped ball.
- Whata Rogers
The combined side posted two wins on the trot against Armidale Blues and Robb College and were out for their third but some “scrappy” play denied them the victory.
“Baa Baas deserved to win in the end,” coach Whata Rogers said.
“I didn't think it was a very good game from either team.
“There wasn't much momentum built from either team and it was pretty scrappy, a lot of dropped ball.
“We didn't execute properly, I don't think they executed properly, it was quite poor from both teams.”
The team was tipped to be one to watch as the season rolls on with opposition coaches of the belief that with a bit of match fitness, the GhostStags would pose a formidable task.
The match fitness has improved but execution let them down on Saturday.
“They took their chances, we didn't finish off what we were meant to be doing,” Rogers said.
“When there was an opportunity to score or put points on the board, you should take them and we let them slip.
“A couple of things in that game we weren't just getting a flow on.
“We just weren't completing the structured plays like how we should be.”
The competition has passed the midway point of the season and has one more month of regular round matches before semifinals start.
Glen Innes-Guyra are back down the hill again this Saturday against the undefeated reigning premiers St Albert’s College. Rogers said his side will have to be sharper or risk a bigger margin against a fast students’ team.
“We will have to make a few improvements and build on our game,” he said.
“In the last game we didn't get any momentum at all, it was too scrappy, too much dropped ball.
“They are still the benchmark, they are undefeated this year so if we would like to win we just have to put in a bit more effort and make those passes stick.”
Albies haven’t played since the start of the month when they beat university rivals Robb College in a re-scheduled round 10 match.
Co-coach Chris Kelly said after the game his side will have to perform a lot better than they did to continue their winning ways.
“We need to pay a bit of attention to ourselves in the sense that if we are going to be premiership favourites, we have to start actually putting in on the field,” he said.