A very good win and some great signs of progress.
The defence has become a very strong card, excellent line speed, positioning, drift and everyone's tackling anything that moves. McCrae has done a great job, what a difference from last season.
The second notable improvement is in speed, mobility and keeping the ball alive, all from the GT playbook I guess. The back 5 forwards were all very good at carrying up and clearing out, good to see CdP and Gilchrist getting back to their best and Crosbie is a real find. And the front row are just about as mobile and did some great work in the rucks.
Third key element for me was how well the backs are playing, without exception, constant attack with ball in hand, very good passing and support play and everyone having a go at breaking the line. They are at last staggering their line in attack and not drifting into playing flat, so players have the space to get up to speed and manoeuvre and the Os were really struggling to contain our runners. Burleigh and Tovey are both playing very well just now but the most improved I think is Fowles, who was always in the right place and whipping out fast, accurate passes, keeping everything moving at tremendous pace in the second half. Well done to the lad on his first try, he looks to be getting a bit of confidence now and so he should. I was watching Glenn Bryce when he came on, he is a very good player too, goes looking for work and makes his mark.
It wasn't a classic and will be a lot harder to pull off against the top teams, but very pleased with the progress so far, well done all.