U9
From Ellon to Edinburgh.......and five matches against Stew Mel Yellow, Black and Red teams interspersed with Currie and ending with a strong Watsonians side. The fixture list for the 'round robin' resembled a term's worth of work by a maths teacher......but we made sense of it (in the end) and got some great rugby underway.
Our first match was against Stew Mel Yellow team. Stirling played, tackled and passed well from the beginning to the end of this encounter. Ball distribution was better than that at the Calcutta cup match...not difficult, but our boys could at least finish what they started which produced an 8-3 victory to County.
The sun still shining....and Currie came to the table. Both teams were determined to do themselves proud for this one. Again, the Under 9s worked well as a team and covered a lot of the sandy surface with quick running and a good eye for the gaps. Tackling remained strong for the most of this match although there were signs that more practice would be needed next Saturday. Nevertheless, Stirling played an excellent standard of rugby throughout and won 5 tries to 2 at the final whistle. It was good to see both sides blood new players all of whom will have learnt a lot from their day.
Thirsts developing........and this time the Stew Mel Black team on pitch 1. This game saw the boys confidence reach a high point foor the day with quick passes, side stepping and well timed off-loads leading to a 6-2 victory. The fine weather and good playing surface gave Stirling the chance to show off their ruthless finishing. This was great to watch.
Clouds gathering...and a tough match against the Stew Mel Red team. Here we saw some real character and a never say die attitude from our under 9s as they came back from 5-2 down to earn a draw. A win may have been a possibility but too many missed tackles meant that Stew Mel were gifted a couple of very easy run ins. The boys were also slow to the breakdown and too often played the role of spectators when the ball went loose. Another thing to take to the training ground at Bridgehaugh next week.
Cool wind blowing....and a fresh looking Watsonian's team gave a display of fine running rugby. The speed of movement and quality of finishing was superb. County made a fist of things in the second half but tiredness and a lack of concentration enabled Watsonians to get an unassailable lead. County's tackles were too high and our players not wily enough to seize possession when the ball went to ground. Watsonian's were deserved winners, 8-5.
So....some hard fought contests and one of two hefty blows in the tackles but 3 wins, a draw and a solitary loss were a very good day's effort from our youngsters - well done boys, and many thanks to Stew Mel for organising such a good and full fixture.
U10
After a few months of very little rugby, possibly the best weather all season greeted us in Stewarts-Melville. Unfortunately, the perfect pitch conditions at Bridgehaugh were not mirrored by our host’s grounds with a very hard sandy surface in prospect for the afternoon. Stew-Mel had put out three U10 teams, so County would be playing each team once.
The first game started off a bit cautiously with both teams tentatively testing the hard ground. With some very quick hands and strong running, Stew-Mel took the advantage to score first. Seeing a chink in the armour of County, they then went on to continue with sustained crash-balls down the middle of the park with some great support play, exposing some ineffective tackling to increase their lead. County made the most of what little procession they had to open up the gaps on the wings to eventually make it over the line. Half-time score put County 4-2 down. The second half started off a little more promising with some sustained passages of play from County resulting in a much more balanced game. However, Stew-Mel showed that they were masters of exposing missed tackles and won the game with a final score of 8-4.
The second game started off much the same as the first, however, Stirling managed to put in some much improved tackling to hold down a couple of very large, impressive runners on this Stew-Mel side. With County 3-0 down within the first few minutes, it was not looking good, however, they were unlucky on a couple of occasions, going in at half-time 6-1, with the score, not really a fair reflection of the performance. The second half saw a rejuvenated Stirling side come out and start to play a much tighter game, making more out of their chances and making their tackles count. The final whistle came and the game finished 10-5.
The third and final game saw Stirling County up against probably the best of the three Stew-Mel sides. Tackles kept coming and support play was much slicker and finally County looked like the side they knew they were. An aggressive display from Stew-Mel at the ruck, secured a couple of turn-overs and tries, meaning County were behind 3-0 at the half-time whistle. The second half came and County were fired up for one last roll of the dice. A much improved defensive and rucking game opened up some opportunities and County started their side of the scoreboard at last. Despite a spirited performance and a vast improvement compared to the previous two games, the final score gave Stew-Mel the victory with a scoreline of 6-2.
It has to be said that the pitch conditions, coupled with a lack of match-play and some interesting interpretations of the rules of rucking made for a tough day at the office for the U10s. However, with each match came improvement and the team developed well over the course of the afternoon…if only Stew-Mel had put out a fourth team, who knows…
U11
After the excitement of winning the Ellon tournament, the U11 team squad came back to earth with a bit of a bang at the weekend.
We took the opportunity to travel with 24 players, to give everyone as much match practice as possible. We were facing Stewart's Melville and Watson's, who each put out one team. It meant they had their strongest players together.
In their first games the County teams looked like they might be overwhelmed, in the face of bigger and more aggressive opposition. The Stirling boys were trying to spread the ball wide but were often being driven backwards in the tackle and being driven off the ball at rucks. Castle lost their game 4-1 to Watson's and Monument lost 4-0 to Stew Mel.
In the second round of games there was progression from both County sides. They started to support the ball carrier better, which meant that more ball was being won at the breakdown. There were also a few players who were beginning to understand when to spread the ball wide and when to reset possession. Monument scored twice in a 4-2 defeat to Watson's. Castle lost 4-0 to Stew Mel, but for a long periods of the game had held their own. Many of the Stirling boys can be very proud of the way they stuck to their task through to the end.
We finished with a game between Castle and Monument which ended in a 3-3 draw, saving any recriminations at the final whistle! Overall, there was lots to learn from the day. The opposition was strong. As well as the County squad is playing, these matches showed players and coaches that we have more to do.
U12
P7’s turned out at Stew Mel with a squad of 11 and we were informed that we only had the hosts to play who had a squad of 18 so it was decided to play 4 x 10 minute periods. From the start the boys were put under pressure due to the size of the opponents. With some good tackling by the backs the StewMel attack was cut short however insufficient numbers in the ruck resulted in Stew Mel capitalising and moved the ball left to right and scored in the corner. Play continued much in the same manner with a lack of players competing at the breakdown resulting in the hosts scoring a further 3 tries. This with the number of rolling subs they had made it hard work for our boys in the 1st period. A quick talk at the end of the 1st period and we were off again. This time after the good tackling by the back line, the boys quickly cleared the ruck and quick ball allowed our pace to show and we were on the score sheet. The boys now understood that quick ball did pay off! Stew Mel hit back using size and power scoring a further 2 tries meaning we were 6-1 down. After another chat/regroup and reiteration of the need for fast hands, County were back in it with a great line by the centre to score in the corner. The fitness of the Stirling boys really showed through in the final 2 periods and the pace of the backs and support from the forwards as a secondary line resulted in 3 further tries to County. The final score was 6-5. The boys played some really good rugby in parts but consistency is needed throughout the entire game. Well done boys a good effort by all.
