StewMel too canny for valiant Reds 2s

Stewarts Melville 2s   33 – 5  Linlithgow 2s

Saturday 18 November 2023

Report by Des Martin

It was a damp lunch time as the Seconds departed for this away fixture at Stewart’s Melville. The team was only slightly changed from the previous weekend. Andrew Archer returned in place of Alex Kenny who was working and Ross Wells was doubtful but traveled as a replacement.

Stewarts Melville had a strong squad of more experienced players and this was to count in the first half. The back three for the opposition all had very good boots and punished every misdemeanour by the Reds. Linlithgow persisted in trying to play too much rugby in their own half with a greasy ball on a day for more conservative strategies.  

It was not long before the strategy of kicking for territory, by the opposition worked, they gained ground easily and then drove over at short range for a try. They scored a number of tries in the first half by using this model as very little running rugby took place. Why do you need to if your tactic works? That said the midfield defence of Callum Lindsay and Eddie Beamish  was very good so little progress was made in the centre of the park. 

The Reds did manage to cross the whitewash for an unconverted try before half-time, with Finn Chadwick emerging with the ball from a pile of bodies. There were spirited performances in the forwards with Ross Findlater, Alex McHardy and Andrew Archer tackling ferociously, but the score despite everyone’s valiant efforts was 26-5 at half time.

Changes were made for the second half with Stu Young going on for Max Holt and Andrew Veitch on for Sam Dudchenko and Lewis McKee on for Andrew Archer.

The Reds after a stern talking too at half time started to play a more cautious game and with the result that Stewarts Melville didn’t get as much ball.  Linlithgow was matching the opposition in most aspects of play. The referee was also on the opposition’s case for high tackles with no less than four dished out to them.  

The second half passed quickly and Stewarts Melville scored one more try. The final score was 33-5 to the home team. Disappointing for the Reds who put in a very strong effort but the experience from players used to playing in a higher league won out in the end. The young Reds team hopefully gained some experiences from this game to add to their tactics for future games.

Young Reds S2s make it 3 wins in a row

Royal High  17 – 67  Linlithgow

Saturday 18 November 2023

Report by Nick Drainey

The S2s took a big squad to Barnton for a league fixture against Royal High with hopes high after last week’s wins. The hosts had kindly agreed to switch the venue from Mains Park and despite the pitch being lashed with rain before kick-off, a mud22 bath was successfully averted.

The Reds started well with good pod and back line work allowing James to continue his recent scoring glut with a try in the corner. (0-5) Scrappy play ensued but James got in again to stretch the lead early on. (0-10)

The forwards started to come alive and were able to dominate the opposition, leading to a Rory try between the posts and a conversion Fergus was not going to miss. (0-17) Callum found himself out on the wing and did what he always does when out of position; ran forwards and went over for a score which Fergus converted well. (0-24)

One of the highlights of the first half saw Charlie (now playing as full back) make a superb run from deep to over the halfway before offloading to Fergus. Good carries from Jack and Archie saw James make his third hat-trick in as many weeks (0-29) before he got his fourth (0-36) which was well converted by Fergus. Jack then got in on the act and crashed his way through to go under the posts on the stroke of half time (0-43)

Despite the scoreline, Royal High showed great spirit as they came out for the second half, possibly buoyed by the inclusion of a few of the Linlithgow players in their line-up because of injuries. And it was their speedy winger who got things going with a great run of half the pitch (5-43) before Fergus – now playing in black and white – went under the posts for them. (10-43)

The Reds re-asserted their dominance and Blair got over on the corner after some really good play down the line. There followed a good conversion from Archie to reach the half century. (10-50) More good passing down the line followed a line-out and a great run by captain Callum took him close to the line. Rucking came to the fore and Jason received the ball to go over. (10-55)

James continued his try-fest but this time when guesting for Royal High (17-55), before Linlithgow resumed their camping spot in the opposition half. Rory made a great drive to deliver to Zac N who was denied a try after the referee deemed the ball to have been held up. No matter, a minute later Rory again drove forward and offloaded for Jason to score his second try and Fergus to convert. (17-62).

The final play of the match was a crazy game of socceresque kicking with Finlay hacking the ball forward a few times and then stretching his arm out just enough to get a try by his fingertips. (17-67)

A good victory and a chance for lots of players to get plenty of game time. As ever there will be lots to work on at training, but that is three weekends on the bounce that the S2 Reds have enjoyed a winning feeling – something to give them more strength as when they travel to Watsons next week.

SQUAD: James, Eric, Ethan Mc, Archie, Louis, Ethan S, Fergus, Blair, Euan, Will, Charlie, Marshall, Rory, Finlay, Lyle, Callum, Jason, Jack, Zack W, Jamie, Ali, Zac N.

P7 nail biter with 7 try draw

P7 Linlithgow 7 – 7 Stirling County

Sunday 19 November 2023

After an early pitch inspection the P7’s match went ahead at the Academy pitch where they hosted Stirling County.

Stirling made their presence known from the get go and pushed forward, eventually scoring a well worked try.

Undeterred, Linlithgow responded well with Brodie gathering the ball in all areas and gaining valuable ground, the ball quickly made its ways to the hands of Rory who made an assertive run and scored Linlithgow’s first try of the day.

The opening tries were typical of what turned out to be a very tightly contested game, with each side giving as good as they got.
With the game level, County surged forward, forcing Linlithgow to think about their defensive shape. Stirling got over the line for their 2nd try and it was now over to Linlithgow to reply.

Reply, they did, a combination of strong ball carrying from Finlay, Logan, Blair and Fin C lead to a fantastic off load from Tom to Nathan, who timed his run to perfection to level the score at the end of the first quarter.
It was clear that Stirling had speed on the wing and after the break Linlithgow made an effort to target Stirling’s key play makers and stifled their game to an extent. With decisive tackles from Callum, Jay, Archie and Max.

The Reds added to the score sheet with a well worked grab and go try from Rory. Linlithgow’s 4th try came after a break away run from Joe who managed to make the off load with Archie on hand to receive and score in the corner.

Stirling went on to level the score with a further 2 tries. Facing relentless pressure, Linlithgow battled hard to prevent a try close to the end of the quarter, this was largely due to the superb tackling from Logan and Tom who thwarted the advancing Stirling wing.

With the score line level at the outset of the 3rd quarter, Linlithgow started well with Max and Brodie rampaging through the visitors defence, following a quick ruck the ball found its way to Rory who touched down at the corner to complete his hat trick. At this point Linlithgow were close to another score and were 3 yards from the try line when a wayward pass was intercepted by Stirling’s wing, who sprinted the length of the pitch and levelled the score. The Reds were still recovering from this, when Stirling attacked again and ran in another long distance try. Stirling seemed to have found another gear.

After conceding 2 tries of this nature in quick succession, some teams would have thrown in the towel, not Linlithgow P7’s!

After the restart, it was clear Jay was having none of it and cut through the centre of the Stirling pack, dipping, dodging and diving his way over the try line. Newly inspired, Linlithgow fought hard and a successful turn over proved decisive as they exploited the gaps in the visitors defence
and made their way to the try line which culminated in an excellent off load from Fin C to Nathan who touched down to put the Reds in front.

As expected the final quarter turned out to be a cagey affair, with both teams initially exchanging turnovers but failing to gain control. Stirling made two breaks for the try line and were unsuccessful on their first attempt following a well-timed touch line tackle from Joe just in front of the corner flag. County’s second attempt proved too strong for Linlithgow with Stirling crossing over to score the only try of the final quarter, which levelled the final score at 7 tries a piece in this very close encounter.

There were a lot of positives to take away from the match and the players are aware of areas for improvement as the squad develops. Linlithgow P7’s are proving to be a tough team to beat and should be very proud of the resilience they showed when the going got tough.