Linlithgow U15 Home 7s Tournament a huge success!

Sunday 21 April 2024

Report by Malcolm Dunn

After weeks of waiting, last minute line-up changes and huge efforts from parents on the organising front, the day of our inaugural U15s 7s had arrived. The weather forecast deteriorated through Saturday and we started under dry but threatening sky.

Linlithgow were able to enter two teams which is a huge testament to the growing numbers of players at this age group through the season. We elected to have mixed teams but with one slightly more experienced than the other. The tournament had loads to play for with a Cup, Shield, Plate and Bowl competition across 10 teams…

Firstly the Young Reds “Blacks”…

This pool consisted of Linlithgow Blacks, Strathallan School, Edinburgh Vikings, Peebles and Helensburgh.

So the Linlithgow Blacks team started with one of the toughest draws of the tournament.  First up was Strathallan – who turned out the eventual tournament winners – followed by Vikings – who clearly knew a thing or two about the game.  Strathallan came at us hard right from the start and it was clear that our boys had a lot to learn. We stretched on both sides and down the middle.  Our defence was strong but just not quite strong enough. Strathallan walked away with 37-7 victory. 

Up next Edinburgh Vikings.  Again we were still learning Vikings piled on the pressure and stretched us again.  But the boys started to understand how the game was played.  We kept our width better, particularly in defence but found ourselves getting isolated, turned over and points scored against us.  Vikings finished eventual 45-0 winners.  There was still much for us to learn.

Next up was Peebles.  We already knew they would be a decent outfit having drawn with them at 15s only a few weeks previously.  Peebles scored twice in quick succession and many other teams would have let their heads go down, not these boys.  Some strong running from Finlay M and Cammy, along with some slick passing from Alfie saw us back into the game bringing the scores level.  Calum – joining us from Livi for the day and next season – was over the line but couldn’t quite get the ball down.  Sadly Peebles had the last word scoring in the last minute and taking the game 19-12.  Still learning and on another day we would have won that!

The final game of the group was Helensburgh. This was our chance. This time it was us who had a fast start, stretching Helensburgh from one side to the other. Some great passing and support play saw Jay scoring our try of the tournament in the left hand corner. The second half was a tougher affair but we held out, winning the game 19-17. 

Now we understood how to the play game and this win put us in the Plate final against Biggar.

Plate Final

This was a tougher affair and we went down two quick tries. But we had done this before and knew we could come back. This we did, but it just wasn’t quite enough and Biggar came out eventual winners 22-10. The boys were gutted not to take this but one but should be very proud of their improvement over the course of the tournament.

Secondly the Young Reds “Reds”…

The other pool consisted of Linlithgow Reds, Falkirk, Biggar, GHA and Howe of Fife.  

1st up we had Falkirk a well coached powerful and determined outfit but a little like us short of 7s experience. The coaches promised the boys it would be a steep learning curve and It was a nervous start. Gradually though through individualism rather than cohesion we edge ahead to win 26-12 with the full squad getting game time with both Ben and Aiden making their 7s debuts.

Our second game was against a relatively unknown quantity being Biggar. What was great to see after an early scare was the boys working out how to play in a style that looked more like 7s moving the ball freely and scoring some great tries. The game ended 31-5 again with a full squad contribution. Joe looked particularly sharp before giving way to Elliot who was running down anything that moved.

Our 3rd pool game we knew would be crucial for a cup appearance against a quality GHA team. As expected it was a much closer affair but with two games under our belt we defended much more as a unit and were quick to capitalise on their mistakes moving two scores clear. Suddenly though a break out from their own line reminded us how quick this game can turn. Fortunately though the second half apart from a late consolation for them was ours and the final score was 24-17. Cameron made his first appearance and made some valuable breaks splintering would be defenders.

Howe of Fife, put up much more resistance than expected in the final pool game, Ali McCorkell though broke the deadlock with a turn and go from 60m, which opened the gates for us to run out 24-5 winners. Angus Todd finished on the wing and did a great job of committing defenders before moving the ball.

Cup Semi-Final

Linlithgow  29 – 14  Edinburgh Vikings

Topping the group after 4 games earned us a semi final clash against Edinburgh Vikings a squad sourced largely from StewMel, Edinburgh Accies and Heriots. It was clear from the off they had played a lot of 7s and moved the ball neatly across the pitch. However our rapidly learning curve was clear as we moved the ball with purpose with Alex finishing a great set piece try. Euan though lead the way with a barnstorming performance scoring two great tries at either end of the pitch (one following a deft kick from Duncan), with the final score 29-14 a really significant win, showing we can mix it up with anyone even an  experienced 7s team.

Cup Final

Linlithgow  21 – 28  Strathallan School

After finishing top of their onto the final…Strathallan, a team of real quality having already won a couple of tournaments this year, while this was our first. It was a fast start start and we found ourselves down 0-14 in 3 mins. Some teams might have thought the gap too great and dropped off but very encouragingly for next season the Reds doubled down and found a way back into the game through Duncan who even managed to get under the posts, taking us to 7-14 at the half. At this point Thomas reappeared having played an important league deciding football match in the middle of the tournament and stepped into 10…this change saw some big hits but importantly as well the ball moved swiftly into the wide spaces. This almost immediately led to Ali Burns scoring a ripper of a try from 65 meters 14-14…we were going to make fight of it…

Strath hit back and we were 14-21 down with 2 mins left on the clock. Again we showed we had learnt a lot moving the ball away from contact and releasing Alex, for a man who is light on rugby this season his finish was remarkable from 60 meters, keeping the perusing defence guessing and wriggling over to tie things up at 21-21, with only a minute to go…Linlithgow now looked on top with an incredible press from Euan, Joe and Fraser. A turnover in the scrum was our chance and we so so nearly broke away and with a little more 7s experience and a little more patience we might have gone over, but a turnover on the Strathallan line and with Alex trapped in a ruck the space opened up and Strath went coast to coast and broke Linlithgow hearts…21-28 final score…

Not getting the win in the final is hard to take but what an incredible final against one of the top teams in the country! Full of heart, determination, team work and skill. In the end it was the toss of a coin and they should take a huge amount of belief from it that they can go toe to toe with anyone. This we need to take that into the our beckoning 15s season. 

Tournament Summary

It was an incredible day for the club. All the teams played great rugby and the atmosphere on both pitches was brilliant. An enormous thank you to all parents involved in organising, baking, putting out cones and supporting. Thanks to all the pitch officials, ref’s and coaches for all there help and running an incredible tournament. More to come from this squad there is no doubt.

For the record:

Pool A

1st Linlithgow Reds (4 wins)
2nd GHA
3rd Falkirk
4th Biggar
5th Howe of Fife

Pool B

1st Strathallan School (4 wins)
2nd Edinburgh Vikings
3rd Peebles
4th Linlithgow Blacks
5th  Helensburgh

Cup Final

Linlithgow Reds  21 – 28  Strathallan School
(beaten semi-finalists were Edinburgh Vikings and GHA)

Shield Final

Peebles  7 – 5  Falkirk

Plate Final

Linlithgow Blacks  10 – 22  Biggar

Bowl Final

Howe of Fife  19 – 5  Helensburgh