U9
Over to Ayrshire and into the driving wind
and rain for three very entertaining games against Marr and Greenock. Muddy conditions limited the pitch area
somewhat and it was clear that County would have far less space to work in than
they are normally used to.
The first game against Marr proved to be a
very physical test. They were a
well-drilled side that was clearly used to putting their hands on the ball
early in the rucks and then driving forward with determined runners. This tested our players to the limit.
Initially, we defended well and occasionally probed Marr's defence with darting
runs here and there. Ultimately, County
struggled for room and did not keep hold of the ball well enough in the wet and
muddy conditions. Missed tackles and
dropped balls, when being tackled, gave away too much possession which Marr
then exploited. Their physical presence
in central areas sometimes tied up two or three County players allowing Marr
more space to score. County were held
back in their own half for considerable parts of the game and, although the
first half was quite even, Marr's rucking technique, ball carrying skills and
driving runs made them comfortable winners in the end. County never gave up, however, and put in a
very determined performance. The final
score was 8-2 (approx) to the Marr
1st VI U9 team.
Now for Greenock
1st VI U9 team and after some concerted coaching for County players on the
contact areas and ball handling skills, we finally woke up and played the game
as we know we can. Good movement, much
improved tackling and determined phases of running play led County into areas
that they then made the most of. Greenock contested hard and came close on a couple of
occasions but County tackled lower and harder and won much more of the ball. Excellent running and passing of the ball led
to a convincing win for County, 6-3 (approx).
Last up, and in slightly better weather
conditions, were Marr's 2nd VI U9 team.
Again, this proved to be a tough match and one that County will learn
from. Marr made every effort to gain
possession at the rucks but were finding it more difficult to do so. County's player took up good positions and
ran effectively with the ball but found the central areas well defended and
difficult to breakthrough. It was clear
that this was not going to be particularly high scoring match with the teams
cancelling eachother out for much of the time.
All credit to both teams for making this such an entertaining match for
the spectators. Marr's physical
determination led them to victory in the end with some excellent driving and
finishing. Real credit to County for
making this a much tighter game which they will take alot from. Marr 2nd VI U9 team won by 5-2 (approx).
Marr then provided post-match fare with
hot dogs helping to refuel the boys who had put so much into these
matches. Well done to the U9's and many
thanks to Marr for hosting these games.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
U10
The monsoon conditions on the M77 at Kilmarnock had us all hoping that the matches might be
called off however by the time we had arrived at Troon the downpour had
transformed into intermittent drizzle. Coupled with a historically heavy Marr
pitch we had doubts that a feast of expansive running rugby was on the cards.
The situation was exacerbated further when we were shown the 'pitch', which was
essentially the in-goal area at the pack of a pitch. At no more than 20 metres
wide the kids could link arms and almost span the width of the pitch.
Striling's rapiers on the wings were never going to get any space and we
accepted that the games would be characterised by bludgeoning runs up the
middle and attritional tackling and rucking. The team had 7 changes from Stew
Mel which shows that there is a depth to this young squad.
Marr were a very big and physical side who
caused County problems all afternoon in contact. Stirling
were faster, more skillful and surprisingly very competitive at the ruck,
turning Marr over at the tackle many times. The first match went County's way
5-4 and Marr won the return fixture 4-3. It wasn't pretty stuff with both sides
constrained by the conditions and pitch size to pick and drives in a close
quarters battle. The slippery ball meant that offloads were risky and the kids
sensibly took the ball to ground more and more as the morning went on,
unwilling to surrender possession.
Greenock Wanderers were again a big physical
side who ran well but were prone to tackle high and were often offside at the
breakdown, stopping County on many occasions from recycling and offloading.
Again the games were attritional midfield encounters with Stirling
prevailing 5-2 and 3-2.
The coaches were impressed by the kid's
work rate and tackle count in poor conditions and there were several noteworthy
barnstorming performances. There were some big hits in attack and defence with
one County player finishing with a fat lip and a bleeding nose from separate
incidents, an example of the commitment shown by the team. The opposition
coaches also complimented Stirling on their
formation in defence and attack which was good to see after some mediocre performances
in this aspect. A wider pitch and a dry ball would have seen the kids surely
cut loose but that is hopefully good news for another day.
U11
After doing superbly well at recent tournaments the
U11 coaches decided to move the players around so headed off to Troon with a
mixed squad, for some players the first game of the season. First up were
Greenock who had no answer for the tackling, strong running and ability to move
the ball wide in terrible conditions, Stirling
running out 10-0 winners. A great and confidence boosting start for our newer
players.
2nd game against Marr was a strange affair, Stirling
started off very well with a try scored direct from tap which suggested a
repeat of the Greenock game, however the opposite happened with Stirling switching off completely, uncharacteristically
missing a lot of tackles resulting in a 6-1 loss.
A quickly re-arranged 3rd game v.Marr saw a much
improved Stirling performance, going down by 1
score.Although the results were dissapointing, the performance of the new
players in particular was very pleasing.
U12
First up were Marr who used their big
runner through the middle. However Stirling’s
tackling was more than a match for this. Some lacklustre rucking in the 1st
half allowed Marr to gain an early lead. This was quickly settled by good hands
by Stirling to level it to 1-1. Stirling
restarted and showing good determination and speed were on the up but
persistant offside by Marr which went unchallenged by the referee allowed Marr
to get their 2nd. This was quickly cancelled out by once again pace
and good hand skills - finishing off the
1st game 2-2. Next up were Greenock with 3 loaned Stirling
players who pointed out who to watch for. However our Bump’n’Burl
that has been practised over the last few weeks was used to good effect
throughout the game resulting in 3 good tries. The halfback pairings from each
side switched and the tables changed with the final result 3-2. The 2nd game
against Marr had a different ref and this removed the blatant offside problem
that was prevalent in the first game. Stirling again using the bump’n’burl to
good effect and quick hands saw us 3-1 winners.The last game of the afternoon
saw Stirling backs and Greenock forwards play Stirling forwards and Greenock
backs. This was their best game of the day by far showing good running rugby in
the true spirit of the game which finished in a well deserved draw.
U9
Over to Ayrshire and into the driving wind and rain for three very entertaining games against Marr and Greenock. Muddy conditions limited the pitch area somewhat and it was clear that County would have far less space to work in than they are normally used to.
The first game against Marr proved to be a very physical test. They were a well-drilled side that was clearly used to putting their hands on the ball early in the rucks and then driving forward with determined runners. This tested our players to the limit. Initially, we defended well and occasionally probed Marr's defence with darting runs here and there. Ultimately, County struggled for room and did not keep hold of the ball well enough in the wet and muddy conditions. Missed tackles and dropped balls, when being tackled, gave away too much possession which Marr then exploited. Their physical presence in central areas sometimes tied up two or three County players allowing Marr more space to score. County were held back in their own half for considerable parts of the game and, although the first half was quite even, Marr's rucking technique, ball carrying skills and driving runs made them comfortable winners in the end. County never gave up, however, and put in a very determined performance. The final score was 8-2 (approx) to the Marr 1st VI U9 team.
Now for Greenock 1st VI U9 team and after some concerted coaching for County players on the contact areas and ball handling skills, we finally woke up and played the game as we know we can. Good movement, much improved tackling and determined phases of running play led County into areas that they then made the most of. Greenock contested hard and came close on a couple of occasions but County tackled lower and harder and won much more of the ball. Excellent running and passing of the ball led to a convincing win for County, 6-3 (approx).
Last up, and in slightly better weather conditions, were Marr's 2nd VI U9 team. Again, this proved to be a tough match and one that County will learn from. Marr made every effort to gain possession at the rucks but were finding it more difficult to do so. County's player took up good positions and ran effectively with the ball but found the central areas well defended and difficult to breakthrough. It was clear that this was not going to be particularly high scoring match with the teams cancelling eachother out for much of the time. All credit to both teams for making this such an entertaining match for the spectators. Marr's physical determination led them to victory in the end with some excellent driving and finishing. Real credit to County for making this a much tighter game which they will take alot from. Marr 2nd VI U9 team won by 5-2 (approx).
Marr then provided post-match fare with hot dogs helping to refuel the boys who had put so much into these matches. Well done to the U9's and many thanks to Marr for hosting these games. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
U10
The monsoon conditions on the M77 at Kilmarnock had us all hoping that the matches might be called off however by the time we had arrived at Troon the downpour had transformed into intermittent drizzle. Coupled with a historically heavy Marr pitch we had doubts that a feast of expansive running rugby was on the cards. The situation was exacerbated further when we were shown the 'pitch', which was essentially the in-goal area at the pack of a pitch. At no more than 20 metres wide the kids could link arms and almost span the width of the pitch. Striling's rapiers on the wings were never going to get any space and we accepted that the games would be characterised by bludgeoning runs up the middle and attritional tackling and rucking. The team had 7 changes from Stew Mel which shows that there is a depth to this young squad.
Marr were a very big and physical side who caused County problems all afternoon in contact. Stirling were faster, more skillful and surprisingly very competitive at the ruck, turning Marr over at the tackle many times. The first match went County's way 5-4 and Marr won the return fixture 4-3. It wasn't pretty stuff with both sides constrained by the conditions and pitch size to pick and drives in a close quarters battle. The slippery ball meant that offloads were risky and the kids sensibly took the ball to ground more and more as the morning went on, unwilling to surrender possession.
Greenock Wanderers were again a big physical side who ran well but were prone to tackle high and were often offside at the breakdown, stopping County on many occasions from recycling and offloading. Again the games were attritional midfield encounters with Stirling prevailing 5-2 and 3-2.
The coaches were impressed by the kid's work rate and tackle count in poor conditions and there were several noteworthy barnstorming performances. There were some big hits in attack and defence with one County player finishing with a fat lip and a bleeding nose from separate incidents, an example of the commitment shown by the team. The opposition coaches also complimented Stirling on their formation in defence and attack which was good to see after some mediocre performances in this aspect. A wider pitch and a dry ball would have seen the kids surely cut loose but that is hopefully good news for another day.
U11
After doing superbly well at recent tournaments the U11 coaches decided to move the players around so headed off to Troon with a mixed squad, for some players the first game of the season. First up were Greenock who had no answer for the tackling, strong running and ability to move the ball wide in terrible conditions, Stirling running out 10-0 winners. A great and confidence boosting start for our newer players.
2nd game against Marr was a strange affair, Stirling started off very well with a try scored direct from tap which suggested a repeat of the Greenock game, however the opposite happened with Stirling switching off completely, uncharacteristically missing a lot of tackles resulting in a 6-1 loss.
A quickly re-arranged 3rd game v.Marr saw a much improved Stirling performance, going down by 1 score.Although the results were dissapointing, the performance of the new players in particular was very pleasing.
U12
First up were Marr who used their big runner through the middle. However Stirling’s tackling was more than a match for this. Some lacklustre rucking in the 1st half allowed Marr to gain an early lead. This was quickly settled by good hands by Stirling to level it to 1-1. Stirling restarted and showing good determination and speed were on the up but persistant offside by Marr which went unchallenged by the referee allowed Marr to get their 2nd. This was quickly cancelled out by once again pace and good hand skills - finishing off the 1st game 2-2. Next up were Greenock with 3 loaned Stirling players who pointed out who to watch for. However our Bump’n’Burl that has been practised over the last few weeks was used to good effect throughout the game resulting in 3 good tries. The halfback pairings from each side switched and the tables changed with the final result 3-2. The 2nd game against Marr had a different ref and this removed the blatant offside problem that was prevalent in the first game. Stirling again using the bump’n’burl to good effect and quick hands saw us 3-1 winners.The last game of the afternoon saw Stirling backs and Greenock forwards play Stirling forwards and Greenock backs. This was their best game of the day by far showing good running rugby in the true spirit of the game which finished in a well deserved draw.
