Stirling County v Boroughmuir - 21st February, 2010
Initial pressure came from Boroughmuir though the Edinburgh side missed the chance to go ahead after four minutes when a penalty attempt from Alistair Fraser fell short.
After the restart Stirling stepped on the gas and a break from captain Stephen Gillies saw him safely over the whitewash after eight minutes.
Stand-off Jack Urquhart’s conversion went wide, 5-0
With all the running from ‘Muir at this point, a swiftly-worked counter move through the numbers saw man-of-the-match Joel Fuentes cross for another try, four minutes later.
This time Jack’s conversion was successful; 12-0.
An infringement by County midway through the half gave the Edinburgh side the opportunity to put points on the board but Fraser’s kick went wide once more.
Some useful work by Stirling scrum half, Davie Copland, followed up with a deft chip led to the side’s third try within 20 minutes – this time from outside-centre Adam Tunaley.
The score was unconverted, 17-0.
Barely two minutes later, a cheeky steal from Joel looked like try number four was coming hot on the heels of the third however the ball was turned over by Boroughmuir once more to herald the beginning of some real end-to-end activity.
Always threatening, County’s Gillies ran onto a grubber from Adam Tunaley then went on the break to cross for Stirling’s fourth.
The try was duly converted by Jack to make the score 24-0 at half time.
Half time: 24-0
Boroughmuir regained some of the possession at the start of the second period but a high tackle from stand-off Fraser saw the side down to 14 men fifteen minutes into the half.
The resultant penalty, by Jack, put another three points on the County score.
Sustained Stirling pressure led to a fifth try when, with fifteen minutes to go, winger Brodie Clark, crossed the whitewash.
Jack maintained his accuracy and slotted the conversion before he capitalised on a rare missed penalty moments later when his kick rebounded off the post.
Lachie Walters reacted well and collected the ball before offloading to Will Vernon. Will passed to Jack Urquhart, who collected the ball and crossed for the try before getting his kicking back on track with the resulting conversion, 41-0.
One minute short of the final whistle, Boroughmuir’s efforts were rewarded when winger Claude Millee broke away to score, duly converted by stand off Fraser to make the final score 41-7.
The Stirling victory was a real team effort from front to back. The forwards denied Boroughmuir good possession throughout the match and in particular the scrum was awesome, winning the first four scrums against the head. The midfield men were on some good form and ran the angles to continually break the Boroughmuir defensive line with able support from the wings and full back. It was one of those days when picking man of the match would have been difficult as all played their part but congratulations must go to Joel in achieving the ‘double’ of being man of the match in both the U15 and U16 finals!!
Stirling County man of the match, Joel Fuentes said: “Boroughmuir are a strong side and I’m almost glad they got the score at the end so they have something to show for the hard work they put in.
“I can’t believe we’ve won again, I’m so happy. To come here and play on this beautiful pitch is just fantastic. This is my third time playing at Murrayfield. The first was when we go to the S1 final and lost to Stewart’s-Melville so we were delighted to come back and win the under-15 cup and now, to win the under-16 cup, is just brilliant.”
Well done lads, your coaching team, and the whole of the club, are not only very proud of your win but in the way you have achieved your success with commitment, discipline and flair!
See more photos at http://s499.photobucket.com/albums/rr359/SCRFC_photos/U16%20National%20Cup%20Final%2021-02-10/
