Rees: Fourth place is not out of reach (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Rees: Fourth place is not out of reach

8:00am Wednesday 3rd March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

DAN Rees says that he and his Basingstoke RFC teammates are capable of winning all of their remaining games as they look to claim fourth spot in National Three London.

’Stoke have had an impressive season in a league they were only promoted into at the end of the last campaign.

And, while finishing in the top four would be a real achievement, Basingstoke have a way to go if they are to catch Hertford, the current fourth-placed team, but flanker Rees says that is the aim.

“I don’t think we are going to get into the top two and Bracknell might be just a bit too far ahead as well but we are looking to hunt Hertford down for that fourth spot,” he said. “We are capable of winning all of our remaining games and just have to see where that takes us.

“The trips to Old Albanians and Bracknell will be tough but we beat Bracknell last time and were competitive against Old Albanians.”

’Stoke were fourth in the table before Christmas but find |themselves lagging behind after a slow start to 2010.

Rees thinks that the cold snap was to blame, claiming that the disruption to training and cancellation of matches left the players ring rusty.

“I have been quite confident that I have been doing my job but then, as individuals, I think most people can say that,” the 23-year-old said. “It has mainly been our unit skills going wrong.

“You need everybody to be on song together and you get that through training. It is almost like we forgot some of the |patterns because we were unable to get on the training ground.

“We are back in the swing of things now though and, although we have not been playing our best, we have picked up a couple of results. I do not think it was anything more than needing to get back into it.”

Next up for ’Stoke is a home game against Diss on Saturday.

Basingstoke won 35-30 when they travelled to Norfolk earlier in the season but Rees says the team were far from happy with their performance on that |occasion and will be looking to secure a comfortable victory this time around.

“It was quite frustrating when we went up there because we should have dominated them more than we did,” he said. “We were not firing on all cylinders so I am hoping for a good win when they come to our place.

“We have got a few of the lower teams coming to play us at home and we need to pick up bonus points. That will be the aim against Diss.”

Basingstoke’s results this |season have been even more impressive when the young average age of the squad is taken into consideration. Rees admits that the future of the club could be rosy – as long as the players can be retained.

“If definitely bodes well that most of the squad are under 25,” he said. “That shows how well we are doing but the trouble is that not everyone knows what they are doing next year.

“A few of the guys are at university and have things going on there, others are just finishing their studies and need to get jobs. If we can keep hold of people, the future of the club looks good but it’s not professional so people are going to go where is best for them.”