Bonus Post Varsity Interview with Head Coach Dave Morris
Dave Morris began coaching the St Andrews Rugby mens performance squad in 2021. Since then he has coached in three Varsity Cup games against the University of Edinburgh and won two of them – both away from home. This interview is one for the rugby purists as Dave takes us beneath the surface of the teams performance, outlining how your prepare to win a game like this, and giving fascinating insight into how he saw the Saints performance in what was a rather different first and second half . After looking at the technical side to the Saints victory, he also gives us a more emotional side of the win towards the end.
Q – How did you plan and prepare to beat Edinburgh University: a side who are in the BUCS league above us?
A – “Having really good situational awareness. Your situation is you’ve got a short pre-season, returning players and new players who, though you do due diligence on them, you don’t really how they might fit into the team till they are with you training, and probably until you have played your first preseason game which allows you to see whether they have got that essential warrior mentality. After looking at our players and wanting to make ourselves a hard team to beat, we focused intensely on our defence because it suited our players. We had a couple sessions with someone I used to coach with who’s defensive principles align to how our team could be successful defending, which all the lads brought into really really well. We also looked at our kick chase, or our kick sprint as we call it: how do we gain territory on the field economically and without expending energy, so we can then expend energy in the right areas of the field. We micro-dosed contact training through pre-season because we knew that Edinburgh were going to be very physical. Also we insured our set piece could be used as a weapon to launch our attack and potentially gain penalties.”
What was your impression of the first half, and what adjustments did you ask the team to make in the second half?
“We knew our 9 and 10 could kick the ball a long way, but they were struggling to get much distance on their kicks or control their kicks for contest. It was quite clear that there was a fair bit of testosterone around in the first 20 minutes, people were flying around trying to make the big shot rather than getting two in the tackle, consequently bouncing off an Edinburgh ball carrier and still allowing them to go forward with the ball. We still needed to defend with aggression, but smarter way with more connection. Our ball presentation also needed to be tidied up a bit. Our 9 kept getting scragged by Edinburgh and we weren’t always keeping the channels clear from 9 – 10, forwards showing great intent and work rate getting a little bit overeager. Edinburgh were also pretty sharp at holding ball carriers up in the tackle, it was one of our players actually who identified that we needed to lower our body height in the carry.”
“In terms of the second half, my message was about situational awareness. We were in a great position because everything that we had worked on in pre-season in terms of kicking for territory, applying pressure with our defence and coming alive when we got back the ball was really relevant to what we needed to do in the second half. I knew the kicking duel would swing our favour as we now had the wind at our backs. We didn’t have to conjure up any special plays, we were had specific plays that were designed for playing Edinburgh that we hadn’t shown in the first half, so we felt in a very good place at halftime, just three points down. We just had to go and do what we had drilled during preseason, and we felt confident we could execute our game plan and win.”
Did you have a favourite play or moment of the game? One that summed up to you what Saints rugby is all about perhaps?
“I love The boys put out a completely committed performance out there for the shirt and the club and that was something that was asked for by Chris Reekie (Outgoing Honorary President), who has been involved with the club since 2005 and has been our honorary president for the last couple years. He gave a talk to the boys during the shirt presentation the day before we played and really laid down what the boys were playing for and what was required from them. I think the boys delivered for him. My favourite moment was walking up to a very emotional Chris after the game and hearing him say – “it just means so much” – and I think that’s just how everybody felt. It just means so much seeing the players run over to the support we had, celebrating with our fellow Saints was really special, looking round the supporters and seeing our men of the club, our women of the club, our alumni of the club, our parents of the club and our staff in the club who do so much for us.”
How does this compare to your other varsity wins?
“I guess they are all quite special, this my third varsity and my second win. I think what was really nice, was the event being held at the Hive and having so many supporters come through and watch. It was really nice to showcase the players from St Andrews and University of Edinburgh, it was really cool for that event to be put on to showcase student rugby in Scotland and the two institutions. This game couldn’t have happened without an immense amount of collaboration between the two institutions behind the scenes that will not get the praise and adulation that the players do. Also the support of Edinburgh Rugby in using their venue and guiding us through their event plan made the day possible.”
In selfless fashion, Dave didn’t mention the significant role he played in this victory. For a team to perform with the heart and passion that the Saints showed on against Edinburgh you must build a good environment within the squad, something that the coach plays a significant role in. Saints rugby is very welcoming to all, but also drives standards of hard work and integrity. While this doesn’t solely come from the coach, you can’t ignore Dave’s influence in getting the team to buy into all the sacrifices that come with such a demanding sport as rugby.