Knox Academy (Haddington)  17 – 50  Linlithgow

Saturday 09 December 2023

Report by Nick Smith

So at the third time of asking we made it to Haddington for the big and final game with Knox.  The weather can be described as “slightly warmer” than the subzero temperatures of the last two weeks, but not by much – particularly by those hardier souls who watched from the touchline.  There were a few concerns as to whether the boys could get themselves up for this game – given the length of time since the last game and potential for a bit of rustiness to creep in.  However the warm-up showed us that they were as hungry as they were at the first game of the season against West of Scotland.

So at last the game kicked off.  Knox kicked deep and we weren’t quite able to deal with it.  The resulting scrum saw a big shove from both sides and an eventual collapse. This left Cameron with a sore neck and saw him leave the field for a brief respite and to be replaced by his brother.  The first few minutes were a little scrappy from both sides with the ball “turning-over” from one team to the other on a regular basis.  However Linlithgow delivered the first attack. We put the ball to the left making ground through Finlay Mac.  We then whipped it back to the right with Rory making the initial break and Alfie and Angus T combining on the left wing but coming up just short. Despite winning the penalty we still struggled to capitalise and we found ourselves scrumming down in the middle of the pitch with Knox having the put in.  However, Knox were unable to control the ball at the back of the scrum; Ewan was the quickest to spot the opportunity and shot through to grab the ball and score. 

Knox came back at us after this.  They were a constant threat at the breakdown and it required a concerted forward effort to secure our own ball.  Our back row had to be in on its collective 30 toes to keep up with the play.  A break from their half saw their rangy left wing cut through our defence.  Fortunately Elliot was on hand for a scything tackle which prevented what seemed to be a certain try.  Knox’s pressure did begin to tell and following a Linlithgow infringement they were able to bring the score to 3-5 by opting to kick the penalty.

Completely aside from the rugby there was also an intriguing battle of the mullets on show.  The tall Knox second row sported a particularly shaggy number while their number 8 carried off tight sheared sides to match his thatch at the back. This was countered by Elliot’s snarling mop which grows longer (and more snarly) by the week; and Greg thrusting his curly locks which now seem to flow over his shoulders. I think we slightly edged this battle but we cannot take anything for granted here.

Back to the action. We continued to feel the pressure up front and knew we were in for a tough morning. However we seemed to possess a sixth sense at identifying the space.  The next try was ours. Finlay Mac, was a constant threat all game, broke through with the ball, eventually moving it on to Ewan. He timed his pass onto Thomas who took it into contact. From the ruck Rory saw the space to the left and put in a perfect kick to bypass the rather narrow Knox defence.  Alfie took the catch and fed it on to Finlay Mac again who dived in, completing the score with an athletic forward roll.

The game remained in the balance though and Knox capitalised after piling on the pressure.  They set up a line-out with their largest forward poised at the tip of a pod. The boys saw this coming and prepared their defence. Like a pack of lions bringing down larger game they brought him to the ground but were unable to hold him out at the second attempt. The score was 10-10.

We sensed opportunities though and knew if our forwards could compete our slightly stronger back line could do the damage. Following a Knox infringement we kicked for territory.  From the line-out the space again appeared on the right hand side and we played some lovely simple rugby passing the ball down the line, drawing in the defence for Finlay M to score in the corner.  The score was 10-17 and we knew exactly how we could win this game.

Our next attack came as Rory broke feeding Ewan who came up just short. Joe followed up but again came up short, importantly though he kept the ball in play. From the ruck Rory crossed-kicked again, this time putting Thomas in for his try.  Half time and the score sat at 10-22. Although it felt like we were in the ascendancy we knew the second half would be tough.

The second half started fairly evenly with both teams putting on the pressure and forcing the other to make mistakes. However slowly but surely our pressure in attack began to pay. The ball came to Rory who had enough space and acceleration to take him through the Knox defence for his try bringing the score to 10-29.

The next try went to Knox as they came right back at us from the kick off as we failed to deal with a chipped kick to the middle of the field. Knox were almost over in the middle of the pitch but some strong tackling forced them wide where they were able to find the space to score in the corner bringing the score to 17-29.

We wanted more and Finlay Mac broke again with ball in hand, just putting a foot in touch before he could threaten the line. The line-out that followed led to a penalty for us and we kicked to the corner. It was our turn to set out pod this time and no one was going to stop Finlay Mac as he charged through for his second. The next try followed quickly afterwards as Thomas broke down the left hand side opting to take contact and from the ruck that followed Max performed a quick “show and go” before feeding the hungry Fraser W who was all too happy to score.

The last try fell to us with the final play of the game. We shipped the ball to the right and Finlay M found himself at the end of a pass from Fraser H. He broke through with some aggressive running which was just too much for Knox to handle. He set up the ruck that followed with Ewan on hand to score his second of the afternoon. Elliot then calmed his snarling mop to step up and take the conversion adding the points that made the final score 17-50.

This was another all-team performance and it is very hard to identify a stand-out individual.  However the back row were incredible with Angus C, Ewan and Finlay Mac were both constant threats with the ball and hard men tacklers without it. Ewan and Finlay in particular played as an additional centre partnership while Angus was the ever present link man. Conor had a great first half after unexpectedly replacing his brother. He put in a couple of ferocious tackles and was not to be outdone by Cameron who put himself about the place when replacing him back in the second half. Daniel and Greg were immense in the rucks putting themselves on the line and driving back their opposite numbers. Hugh put in some strong tackles at full back and timed his runs to join the line with perfection. Fraser H was fingertips away from scoring as he did incredibly well to get himself on the end of another cross kick from Rory and Jay was the ever present link player on his wing bringing others in the game as he kept the moves going. Alfie also put in a strong performance at outside centre timing his passes to perfection as he drew his man and out others away. Man of the match this week goes to Finlay Mac for his two tries, tough tackling and threat with the ball in hand.  Congratulations to the boys for a magnificent run and thanks to all the parents for their support on the sidelines and in the background. It’s been a fantastic season so far.