DIRECTOR of rugby Dan Protherough knows all too well the saying ‘taking one game at a time’ is cliched but he stressed table-topping Bromsgrove would not be getting carried away with themselves.
The Boars sit top of the league table having won all five of their opening fixtures and they will be looking to extend their 100 per cent winning record tomorrow (Saturday) when they visit Malvern.
Protherough’s side had won ten Midlands One West games on the spin last season before they fell to their first defeat, but the Bromsgrove boss revealed he had noticed a drop in effort before then.
“As a squad last year I could see our focus was dipping as our winning run continued,” he said.
“If you are performing at just 70 per cent that’s when you get turned over and I felt that was how we was performing before we suffered that first defeat.
“We have a good side and if we play well and perform at 90 per cent we know we will win games.
“It’s hard to to tell the lads that as you don’t want to seem like you’re telling them off just because you want them to strive for perfection.
“It’s important after every game we refocus, reset and put our minds to training and then the next game at hand.
“We have got to keep our feet on the ground.”
Although Malvern sit 12th in the table, Protherough insists the county derby clash will be a stern test.
“I understand they’ve got a different side now with players coming back from injury and a number of new signings,” he added.
“We will make sure we are ready and if we prepare well I know we can win.”
Bromsgrove head into the trip to Malvern on the back of an 82-5 drubbing over basement boys Longton.
Josh Holt (4), George Amphlett (2), Tom Sadler (2), Drew Harper, Hugh Lockhart, Jamie Atkin and Ed Spalding bagged the tries while Will Harris and James Upton kicked the remaining points between them.
Although the game was brought to a surprising early end, Protherough was pleased with the ruthless nature of the performance.
“There was a good seven or eight minutes left but he was a young referee so hopefully he’ll learn from his mistake and move on from it,” he said.
“Last year we were nowhere near as clinical as the likes of Burton and Dudley Kingswinford and that’s something we focused on improving for this season.
“Our target is six tries a game because even if you fall short of that we are going to at least have crossed the line four or five times.
“It’s always about trying to get that extra two per cent from the players.”
