U9
On a fantastic sunny day Stirling County
brought ‘shining’ rugby to the Biggar Tournament. Teams from Currie,
Boroughmuir and Edinburgh Accies were in Stirling’s
group.
Stirling came up against Boroughmuir first and played some great rugby. Good
passing, open space and fine running. Stirling
running out 6-1 winners. Next up was Edinburgh Accies a good match with plenty
of running rugby by both teams. More accurate tackling by both teams reduced
the amount of open play. But Stirling still
managed to run out 3-1 winners. The games were now getting tougher and more so
with Currie. Currie were more organised and harder in the contact areas. This
was a tough game with both teams giving it their all. This was a close match
with Stirling edging out Currie 5-4. Both sets
of players were completely exhausted and had earned the right to go the semi
finals.
Stirling being group winners played Melrose in the first
semi-final. Stirling’s running game was back,
with some great flowing rugby. Off loading in the tackle was also good to see
happening. Stirling was well worthy of their
8-1 win.
The final was against Currie. Again it was
very strong tackling and a hard contact match. Currie shut down Stirling’s space and ability to pass and run its lines.
Currie was very quick in the tackle areas and just didn’t give Stirling time on the ball. The sunshine still shone but
the shine was now off Stirling’s pace, and
exhaustion took its toll. Currie were worthy winners, but with a close 5-3
score line. Well done to all the players, who played their heart out and were
overjoyed to come back to Stirling
County with a medal.
U10
A strange afternoon in the hot South Lanarkshire sun for the Under 10s, many of whom
were making their first appearance of the season in County
colours. The boys were pitted in a strong group which produced the eventual
finalists so there was no disgrace in the team's valiant but sadly losing
performances. First up was Selkirk who prevailed 6-4
and who benefited from some rustiness in defence and some ineffectual tackling
from County. Next up was a strong Currie side who had beaten these boys in the
final the last year at the P4 age group. Again Currie ran out comfortable
winners 6-2. Credit to the boys though as they rallied for the final game
against Melrose
and took the Borderers and eventual winners all the way eventually losing 5-3
in a tough game.
County played some good rugby with strong
support play and running, but they let themselves down with lapses in defence
as too often they lost their line defending in 1s and 2s rather than a unit.
The situation was not helped by interpretation at the breakdown which caused
confusion for the players and coaches as to what was and wasn't being allowed.
With their natural attacking ability undisputed, some stiffened defence should
see this young side enjoy more success this season.
U11
Stirling U11's started off with a well
deserved 4-0 win against Melrose, tackling being
excellent with Melrose
hardly breaching the halfway line. However better use of the ball would have
resulted in a far higher scoreline. Next up were Edinburgh Accies. A great 1st
half saw Stirling open up a 3-0 lead, however
the boys switched off in the 2nd half eventually finishing nervy 3-2
winners. The last game in the pool was against the hosts Biggar where the winner
of this would avoid the favourites, Currie. A very intensive game ensued; Stirling scored the 1st try with a quick response from
Biggar. The 2nd half followed the same pattern as the 1st however the will to
win and great tackling meant Stirling deservedly
won 2-1.
The semi final against Selkirk
was a low key event. Selkirk grabbed the opening try
but Stirling responded well with great tackling and good use of the ball meant
a 6-1 victory for Stirling.
With all the boys looking forward to the
final with Currie, Currie opened the scoring immediately from the start with Stirling responding. However better aggression at the
ruck saw Currie eventual 6-3 winners. The open play and tackling was matched
with Currie, but as in every defeat coaches and kids always learn. WELL DONE TO ALL THE BOYS
U12
Our 1st game was against Currie. From the
start it was evident that our boys were not going to run through the opposition
due to the size of them. In the first contact Currie came out of with the ball
and with quick distribution they scored what was to be the only try of the game.
From the restart Stirling began to move the ball wider but Currie in the
contact were more "streetwise" slapping the arm in the contact
knocking the ball out of the hands. The referee was quick onto this and awarded
the penalty to Stirling. Again the ball moved
through hand and same happened again in the contact. It was very frustrating
for the boys in this game due to the amount of penalties awarded for the same
offence (12 in all). Next up were Boroughmuir who again like Currie were a lot
bigger than our boys. Stirling opened the scoring with a well worked try and better
aggression and quick ball in this game saw more of what the boys can do; both in the open and
contact area, resulting in a 2-0 victory for Stirling. The final pool match was
against Biggar where we needed a win in order to progress to the semi final. Again
a much bigger Biggar side was facing the boys so coaches reiterated the
emphasis was on moving the ball quickly. This was done to good effect with the
winger coming back on the angle to score a great try; 1-0 to Stirling
at halftime. The boys had to contend with
Biggar's strong runners however this was overcome by some good tackling in
midfield and with a turnover conceded by Biggar, Stirling were quick to double the lead and
finish the game off 2-0 winners.
The semi final was against Melrose. This began in
the same manner as the Currie game with a differnce of opinion on how the laws
should be applied. Melrose
opened the scoring with a well worked try from the set piece. From the restart Stirling moved the ball wide but unfortunately ran out of
pitch. From the lineout Melrose
moved the ball through hand to the wing. With the sideline coaches calling for
a blatant forward pass and those pleas ignored, Melrose
got their 2nd try. Stirling
responded well and pulled one back with a dive in the corner. Melrose
attacked again moving the ball wide but the ball was spilt forward by Melrose, it was re-gathered
and they were allowed to score their 3rd try! From the restart Stirling went route one and rucked aggressively to get
quick ball through to the backs to pull a try back. The final score was 3-2 to Melrose who went on to
win the tournament. The boys were disheartened at the end and it was etched
into their faces and in the teamtalk too. It was evident that the boys played
with a lot of pride and passion for Stirling
County. Well done boys.
