U16 West of Scotland Shield Final.
Biggar 40 : 22 Dumfries.
It was never going to be easy against a National 1 side in a final and so it proved to be. However the U16s have been building throughout this season and this was one they wanted. The early stages showed Dumfries having most of the ball but with our defence resolutely holding them out.
A huge double hit by Edmund N and Hamish got the crowd cheering, however Dumfries are a good team and their sustained attack got them on the scoreboard first with a scrappy forwards drive over the line. The boys responded immediately though and started to put some very mature phases of rugby together but for the Dumfries defence to thwart us on numerous visits into their 22. Pressure told though and a cheeky snipe from scrum half Hamish Plenderleith saw him sneak over from the side of a breakdown. Max Elliot converted from way out next to the burn.
Game on.
We kept going and after a sustained period on their line, Alex Tennant spotted a gap and dived over.
14 : 5 on the cusp of half time, but again a strong Dumfries attack, saw them visit our half and cross the line to make it 14 : 12 at the break.
The second 35 saw us start very brightly and Max , collecting a ball out wide, strode over to get us going again. Dumfries rolled their sleeves up and put in some serious hard work, but every one of our boys matched them with dominant physicality.
A cheap and undeserved yellow for Corey Cringan meant we had to dig deep. They dug in, but with a man down, Dumfries crossed again. Back to a full 15 though, allowed us to get back on the front foot and Hamish got over again to keep the scoreboard ticking.
We then found ourselves camped in their half and should have converted this advantage more than we did.
Another yellow saw Liam Clark take 10 and along with a couple of poor game-management decisions from us, Dumfries crossed in the corner to keep them in the fight.
The boys took a deep breath and started to be more direct with their running and kicking game, playing the game out in the opposition's half. Our pressure told and Max powered in for his second try and successful conversion, shortly before Ashton Miller broke away into space to score, with Max converting once more to end the game and seal a very well deserved 40 : 22 win.
It was a complete squad performance, not just those playing in the final, but from every single one of the boys who played throughout the season in order to get them there.
Well done lads, fantastic result and thoroughly deserved!
Huge thanks must go to the home support tonight. It was outstanding. Both sides of the pitch were standing room only and the noise from the crowd was phenomenal!
