Sunday 4th February 2024

P4s undefeated at Stirling!

Report by Carly Calder

It was a wet and muddy morning when we arrived at Stirling however the boys were all excited to get into the morning games. With the size of the tournament and the number of rugby clubs there, it was always going to be tough morning.

First up was West of Scotland, Linlithgow won the toss and got to start and straight from the tap and pass, James showed what was to come for the rest of the morning with some powerful running he was over for a very early try. The boys thereafter showed some excellent defence and hard work, scoring another 2 excellent try’s without reply. West of Scotland came back into the game, with some very good play. The boys continued to work hard and the game finished 5 tries to 3 for Linlithgow.

Second up was Howe of Fife, who on first appearance seemed to be a lot bigger than the previous opposition however the boys did not let this get in their way, early tries from Harry, James and Angus saw them take the lead! A bit like the Scotland game the previous evening the boys had a comfortable lead at half time!!!!  Howe of Fife showed some great skill, straight after half time and ran in a couple of unanswered tries. Linlithgow found their second wind, which brought some excellent tackling from the whole team which led to them winning by 9 tries to 6!

(A special mention must go to Harry and Gregor who throughout this game showed some excellent tackling against much bigger opponents)

The last game of the morning was Stirling Barbarians by this stage the boys were very wet and cold! But the boys dug in after going down by two tries to come out on top at the end winning 5 tries to 4.

A massive well done to all the boys. What a great achievement to go unbeaten against some top opposition, in very trying conditions. It was great to see all the boys having fun and putting into practice what we have been working hard on at training.

---

Wee Reds P5s go bog snorkelling!

Sunday’s festival of rugby at Stirling county was kicked off in style, with a warm welcome in the grandstand, before the Wee Reds P5s braved the wintry conditions for a round robin tournament. Unfortunately our robin was not the roundest, but on the upside the team showed great progress in a number of areas we’ve been working on in training. All the games were competitive and the Reds put in a series of well organised, defensive displays. Wet conditions and cold hands made passing difficult, but direct running and quick reactions to dive on the loose ball were great to see. Games against Uddingston, GHA and the mysterious team who I’ve forgotten were close, but in the end the sport of bog-snorkelling was the real winner!

---

Wee Reds P6 report from Stirling

Report by Neil Allardice

The Wee Reds P6s travelled to Stirling County on Sunday playing 5 games in group 1 of the tournament. 

First up were GHA, Linlithgow claiming victory in a very even contest thanks to some fine long range tries and excellent defensive work. 

The next game against West of Scotland provided the only defeat of the day. In a largely close contest West were able to capitalise on good work at the breakdown to claim victory. 

The next 3 games against Howe of Fife, Hillfoots and a combined Stirling County/Uddingston team all resulted in draws. Although Linlithgow were denied in two of these games by last ditch tackles right at the final whistle. 

Across all 5 games we were able to play some great rugby and showed good levels of fitness and determination despite the heavy pitches.