We were found wanting in a big way, admits Rye coach

The New Roaders conceded 33 points in the first half en route to a hugely disappointing 38-3 loss away to Newick in Sussex Division Two. Nobbs said: “I went into that game hoping we could produce a win there, but we weren’t even close. We lost and lost badly. We basically were found wanting in a big way.” Rye had lost by seven points or less in their previous two games, both of which were against top three opposition, so they would’ve been hopeful of a positive result against mid-table Newick. Things started badly with a dropped pass right from the kick-off and moments later Rye were driven off their own ball at a scrum by a very formidable Newick pack. That seemed to be the cue for heads to go down and Rye started conceding tries all over the place due to missed or poor tackles and a lack of working together as a team. Rye shipped five tries in all during a very poor first half and four of them were converted by Newick’s very accurate kicker. Rye’s only response was an early Chris Edwards penalty. Nobbs let Rory Creavin, who wasn’t playing because of injury, address the players at half time and with the game effectively gone, the second half was about trying to restore some pride. Rye did at least produce a much better display after the turnaround. The scrum slowly got on terms and Rye held Newick out for long periods on a wet, cold and thoroughly unpleasant afternoon, conceding just one further try. “We had a very good training session on the Thursday before the game, but it all went to pieces on Saturday,” continued Nobbs. “It seemed like they (the players) lost the will to live within five minutes of the game starting, but we deserved a slightly better result in the second half than we got.” The result leaves Rye eighth in the 12-team division having lost six of their first nine matches and Nobbs says they must switch on mentally if they’re to start climbing the table. “It’s back to the drawing board,” he said. “We’ve lost the game, we’ve now got to go back and rethink. The basic thing the club’s got to do is get itself switched on mentally. “They all know what they need to do to win, but for whatever reason, they’re not switched on mentally and they’re not doing what they need to do. “The players are quite capable of winning games in this league and the reasons they’re not winning are in their own areas of control. “They’ve got to fix the formula themselves and the sooner they do it the better. The club deserves better and they’re capable of being better.” Rye will hope that a return to home soil this coming Saturday against 10th-placed Sussex Police will help spark an upturn in fortunes. Kick-off is 2.30pm. “We need to get a win under our belt, we need to turn that corner,” added Nobbs. “We’ve got to put together a performance that we’re capable of doing. It’s the same bunch of players largely that played last season (when Rye finished third).” See our comprehensive sports coverage in the Observer every Friday. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1 Make this website your homepage 2 Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/pages/Sport-Sussex 3 Follow us on Twitter @SportSussex 4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!