MIKE Umaga says Nuneaton RFC must make the most of having two weeks without a game after the weekend defeat to Harrogate.
The Nuns were in charge at half-time but went on to lose 27-21 and with no match this Saturday, the director of rugby says it is important to use the break as a positive.
He said: “We’ve got a week to reflect and come back stronger.
“We seemed to go to sleep against Harrogate.
“They scored a couple of soft tries. We failed to react and that’s hard to take.
“It would have been nice to have taken four points going into a week off.
“We’ve not got a chance to put it right for a while but we’ve not had a week off yet so it will be nice for some front line guys to have a break.”
Umaga, who is hoping to organise a friendly for the weekend, felt the Nuns capitulated too easily in the second half against Harrogate as they lost a 21-10 lead at the break.
“You could say we threw it away. It was a bitter pill to swallow as we did everything we talked about.
“After half-time we were in the ascendancy in their 22 and we came away with no points. We didn’t get the scoreboard ticking over.
“To be fair to them they upped the tempo and kicked well. We seemed to just fold.
“Losing came down to a couple of key moments.
“If we could have just come away with three points when we got in their 22 it would have made the difference.
“There were some positives. It was great to see Matt Aston back after his time away,” he said.
The former Samoan international was also unhappy with the match officials as he felt key decisions went Harrogate’s way.
“The officials seemed to think we were offending in some areas. I’ve had a long talk with him.
“He made crucial calls that he felt had no bearing on the game.
“We felt he let some things go for the other team but then pinged us for the same offence,” he said.
