DAN Protherough was left to rue an under-par performance by his Bromsgrove side in a 26-13 defeat at Bournville last weekend.
Hugh Lockhart scored the only try of the afternoon for the Boars in the Midlands Premier clash, with the visitors unable to find an answer to the 14-0 deficit they faced inside the opening ten minutes of the game.
The director of rugby felt his side should have put up much more of a fight, as has become customary against other big club.
“We shot ourselves in the foot in the opening ten minutes, going 14-0 down and having to chase the game after that,” said Protherough.
“We got to 14-10 before the break, but then conceded another score just before half time.
“We were playing into the wind in the second half although Bournville were the better team – we didn’t cope with them.
“We didn’t play to our potential. The opposition stopped us playing, so I’m disappointed with how we performed against a top side.
“If we performed to our potential the outcome could have been different, we’ve got to look at why that is.”
Protherough compared rugby at this level and in Midlands One West, and said the difference is slowly becoming clear.
“I think last year we were allowed bad periods in games,” he said.
“Whereas this year, you get punished, we should be working harder in those moments, especially in the game just gone by in the second half.”
Eighth-placed Bromsgrove, who have two wins and two defeats from four games, now look ahead to a meeting with tenth-placed Bridgnorth at Finstall Road on Saturday (3pm). Bridgnorth beat Broadstreet 55-34 last week and it is a game which the Boars chief expects to be a closely-fought encounter.
“It’ll be a very tough game, especially with it being a local derby,” said Protherough.
“We were even when we played them in pre-season, both teams went hammer and tongs for the win, so we’d expect the same again this weekend.”
