DAN Protherough is wary of suffering from further dips in commitment levels after witnessing Bromsgrove throw away a lead in a 27-24 defeat to Nuneaton.
The Boars looked well placed to win the Midlands Premier clash thanks to tries from Tom Sadler (2), Jay Morton and Hugh Lockhart, until two late scores handed the visitors a sixth victory of the campaign.
Will Harris successfully kicked three of the four conversions he was tasked with during a defeat that closed the gap between sixth-placed Bromsgrove and Nuneaton, now in seventh, to two points.
Protherough was nonetheless delighted with what he saw from his side at Finstall Road, and said: “We played incredible well for 65 minutes, but then threw the game away in the last 15 minutes.
“For 65 minutes I was really pleased with how the lads played up to that point. Momentum switched and we looked leggy.
“We didn’t see it out which was a shame, we were perhaps guilty of not being clinical enough, especially with some of the chances that we had at the end of the first half.
“Maybe it was that we got a bit complacent towards the end, energy levels dipped, it’s just one of those things – it just wasn’t meant to be.
“More than anything, we’ve got to build on the 65 minutes of great rugby and we’ll over it in training, but at the same time there’s no point in over-analysing it.”
With the games continuing to come thick and fast, Bromsgrove visit Nottingham-based side Paviors on Saturday (2.15pm), a side ninth in the table with a near-identical record in terms of points scored and conceded – scoring 304 and conceding 305.
The Boars director of rugby believes his troops can benefit from an increase in fatigue amongst teams in the division, adding: “It’s a funny time of year, with teams looking towards Christmas and with it being a long, hard slog since July.
“We’ve just got to turn up and be ready.
“When we lost to Newport (November 23) I put my hands up, they were the better side. But we’ve conceded tries in the latter stages of games, such as last weekend, and I don’t want to see that repeated.”
Ed Krawiecki is set to be welcomed back into the team this weekend, though fellow-forward James Gunther is out of action until the New Year.
