Attitude is everything for Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club head coach Ollie Smith.
The West Suffolk outfit travel to Canterbury tomorrow in a match which again gives Smith’s side the chance to turn over a top six squad – Bury sit seventh in the early National League Two South table, while their foes are in fourth.
In recent weeks, Bury have run both sixth-placed Redruth (9-12) and leaders Taunton (20-26) close – indeed they could well have beaten the latter had Conan Osborne’s late try not been ruled out for a foot in touch.
They got back to winning ways with a 37-30 home triumph over strugglers Worthing last week, but having established a 37-15 lead, they allowed their opponents to score 15 points in the last ten minutes.
And Smith says his still-gelling squad have to keep focused.
“Canterbury will be a tough game, they’re fourth in the table and have won four in a row,” he said, “I think for us, if we turn up with the right attitude we have a very good chance of beating anyone.
“But if we turn up with the wrong attitude we will struggle against everyone and get hammered by the top teams. The reality is that we’re in control of our own destiny. At the moment we’re our own worst enemies.”
Of the late collapse against Worthing, Smith added: “There’s taking your foot off the gas and there’s parking up, going into the pub and having a drink! It was a little bit disappointing.
“For the middle 45-50 minutes of that game we were superb, scoring 34 unanswered points, but to switch off like that was disappointing as, to put it bluntly, good teams don’t do that.
“We are just lacking that little bit of ruthlessness. We pushed Taunton close at home, but if we want to get promoted in the next couple of years – which of course we do – we have to find a way of beating the top teams on the road.”
Smith and his side travel to Canterbury with no major injury worries, and the coach says he’s still not sure just how good his squad can be.
“We’re still getting there, I don’t really know where our peak is just yet,” he said. “I don’t know if the mistakes that players are making are because we’ve not had enough time together, or because the players aren’t good enough, that’s the reality.
“I think there’s more to come – I just don’t know how much more!”
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