U9
After the disappointment of recent cancelled home and away matches, County U9s faced the dark blues of GHK in an early afternoon kick off on artificial pitches at Helensburgh High School. The weather was cold, fine and sunny with little or no breeze - all of which made for ideal playing conditions. County got first opportunity to attack and scored very quickly. The smart running and distribution of the ball got the boys into all areas of the pitch. Initially GHK replied well and much of the play was held up in the centre and towards the sidelines as each team tried their best to make their possession count. County players were not used to seeing hands coming at them in the contact areas but adapted well and tackled lower and lower through the match. In the end, the ball carrying in one hand limited GHK's ability to pass the ball when tackled. County stuck to their training drills and carried the ball in two hands and made their passes count. One area of weakness was our presentation of the ball on the ground and our attempts to clean up effectively when the ball went loose. Great defence combined with unselfish support play, however, paid off with County winning comfortably by 8-2.
Next up, with the sun on its way down, were Helensburgh U9s. This match started with an evenly contested first third. Both teams wanted to progress up the pitch and players were forced off the sidelines on several occasions due to good defensive work. A few knock ons by Helensburgh and quite a few phases of broken play gave the County players food for thought.....and extra possession. After this period of familiarisation, the County team responded well with some very fine phases of play. Again, ball handling and sharp running proved to be the most effective elements of our game. In the end, several tries were run in and County's defensive efforts paid off. Everyone made a contribution to what was a really entertaining display of rugby and it was particularly pleasing to see the good team spirit and quick passing moves. When the whistle went, the score was 8-2, again.
All in all this was another good afternoon's work.......and although we didn't have time to go to Helensburgh's clubhouse for soup or pies, due to the late start, we all got a detour into the Trossachs and a slow crawl along drip road, by Dobbies, in the darkness.....thanks to the bridge repairs over the M9 which was just what we needed, “not!”
U10
A bright, cold trek to Helensburgh this week as the ‘Stirling 11’ headed for new adventures on one of the new 3G surface pitches – no studs allowed!
Facing them were 2 x sides from the West, our hosts Helensburgh & Glasgow High Kelvinside (GHK). First up, we were able to see both Helensburgh & GHK tough it out with GHK running out winners. The first encounter for Stirling was to face up to Helensburgh, in an eagerly awaited contest given the hard fought game from last year. With the game only a few minutes old, Stirling found themselves up by 3 x quick tries demonstrating a healthy eagerness to confront the opposition, propped up by strong tackling. Continuing this into the remainder of the half, Helensburgh were shell-shocked by the ferocity of the Stirling’s defence which saw them knocked back again and again, resulting in Stirling controlling the loose play and exploiting the wings with quick running moves, notching a further 5 x tries to lead by 8-0 at half time. Substitutions of 5 x players from Stirling for the 2nd half saw no let up for Helensburgh. The commitment and approach of the team continued in the same vein as the 1st half with Stirling dominant in all passages of play – resulting in a further 7 x tries being scored from all areas of the pitch – demonstration of slick handling, hard tackling and exploiting all the spaces in the Helensburgh side. Final score, an emphatic 15-0 victory.
If GHK felt that the Stirling side had run out of steam due to a fantastic display in the 1st game they were to be very disappointed. GHK started strong in the 1st few minutes however stout defence from the Stirling side thwarted any chance of a GHK score. As per the 1st game, the Stirling side launched attacks from all areas of the pitch, breaking loose into gaps made by holes punched into the GHK defence, scoring freely with great support play, to take a half time lead of 7-0. Could the momentum be kept up in the 2nd half? – we need not have doubted the players, as the second set of 5 x substitutions brought on, decided that today would be their day and continued to show great running rugby, completing a further 7 x tries to end winners 14-0 at the final whistle.
An excellent display from all Stirling players today, showing a great commitment and eagerness to show their strong defensive play and explosive attacking and handling.
Many thanks to all parents & fans who sported their woolly hats and supported the team.
U11
The U11s took 3 new players to Helensburgh for their first match of the season. County startedoff against GHK slowly with the ref’s interpretation of the offside law leaving County players and coaches bemused, however, the boys came more in the game with some excellent tackling. A well worked try saw GHK go 1-0 up. County responded well with some strong running ending in an equaliser. A hard fought game continued through the second half, GHK scoring their second try with one minute to go. The determination from the County boys was there for all to see, some powerful running from the restart, a couple of superb offloads and a try was scored – match drawn 2-2.
The second game was against the hosts Helensbugh, who had no answer for the tackling and use of the ball by County. We seemed to step up a gear for this match, reaching half time 6-0 up. Half time instructions from the coaches were given that the ball had to be passed from any breakdown with no scrum half runs. What followed was some superb team rugby with good structure, passing and running skills. The game finished with an 11-1 scoreline to County. A good day all round, especially from the new players.
U12
The U12s started off playing the hosts, Helensburgh. From the offset, it was clear it was going to be an uneven match. County started using their recent skills in moving the ball quicker and avoiding contact. At some stages, this was to the detriment of moving forward. However, clearly the advice has sunk in and we scored our tries with ease – mostly through passing out down the backs line. The score finised 7-0.
Our next game was against GHK. They proved to be a tougher competition, but made it easy for us – they had several very fast and agile runners, who for much of the time, tried to run sideways across the pitch rather than forward. This enabled our defensive lines to work well. The rucking was acceptable throughout the match, with only a handful of times when the coaches really saw the desired performance. When we’d won possession from GHK, it took a few passes and our backs were released. The running forward and offloading prior to tackle were really working well. Support runners were arriving more quickly and the scoreline showed this finishing up 7-1.
