Glenalmond U18 37-5 Linlithgow U18
This report on this weekend‘s game is a tough report to write. The boys showed so much heart and spirit and yet came away with much less than they deserved. However, there is much for us to take in terms of learning
into our important upcoming conferencing and cup games.
Glenalmond kicked off and we started well unfortunately though we were soon down after Eliot took a blow to the head and was out for the rest of the game. What followed for the next 10 or 15 minutes was a very even contest. We pushed hard and our attack took us into their 22 and at other times we were reeling defending our line ferociously.
As you will know, we ended the game 37-5 not to our favour. But this was definitely not the full story.
As coaches we were very proud of how the boys played they were up against a team who train at least seven hours a week compared to our paltry three and who were well drilled i. what they were doing. However, this has given us plenty to think about and work on and we can take some learning from how they play.
As I said, our defence was resolute, we held them at bay on our line on several occasions, repelling their attack and preventing what could’ve been further scores. Angus “the claw” Todd wrapped up attackers in his grasp while Jay tackled till his arm zinged. Zac put in his monster hits with Greg close behind. Greg actually deserves more than the mention here with his player of the match performance from last weekend against Strathendrick Callum D and his voice was everywhere and the rest of the back row was relentless. Tom had an assured game on the wing and whilst he may not have had as many opportunities with the ball in hand as he would’ve liked he made a number of important interventions which enabled us to retain the ball and clear our lines. It was also good to see the return of the Mac (Finlay Mackenzie) this time on the wing.
Undoubtedly our best moment was our try. We had worked our way up the pitch, putting pressure on Glen Almond in their 22 final they cracked and we won a penalty. We kicked for touch and at the line-out both the throwing and catch was perfect. The forwards drove toward their line. with Murray at the back waiting for his opportunity. With his head up he spotted that their blind side wing had disappeared into the mall and he shot round that side diving over to score . It was great to see what that meant to the boys.
What can we take from this game? Well our opposition was clinical happily taking every two on one opportunity they created. Also, their attack was varied running different lines of their inside centre and leaving us guessing where the ball was going next. This is something we need to bring into our game as we try and unpack tough defences in our attempts to get over the gain line.
Player of the match this week goes to Ewan Smith as the kickoff King. No matter where Duncan kicked Ewan was there to take ball, man or both. He also made some great breaks relieving the pressure and getting us out of our own half.
