Fantastic team performances for S2s and S3s

Linlithgow S3 64 – 7 Musselburgh

Saturday 11 November 2023

Report by Nick Smith

A classic frosty autumn morning saw us welcome back Musselburgh for a return fixture.  As we all know the game against them a couple of weeks ago would have been better played in a slurry pit than lower mains park, so the opportunity to play them again on the well drained, expanse of the top pitch was something the boys were keen to do.

The sun rose above the conifers in Douglas Park, and took the edge off the frost just as the teams lined up for the respectful minute’s silence before the game.  Ken took up his position and his whistle as ref for the morning – and we were off.

The boys got stuck in right from the kick off.  A big hit from Ewan saw Musselburgh spill the ball forward and a turn over to us.  We went on the attack and a late hit on Rory led to a penalty and then line-out in our favour.  The backs were poised but unfortunately the ball didn’t quite go to hand and we spilled it backwards.  Duncan was the quickest to react and he broke blind and his pace took him over for the first score.  This set the tone for what was to come.

Following the kick off we took it straight back to them and it was great to see our two front prop forwards (Daniel and Fraser) combining down the left touchline – almost releasing Ollie.  As an occasional prop forward himself, Chris clearly took inspiration from this and had a go himself with a typical hard run down the left.  It required a strong tackle from the Musselburgh fullback to halt the attack.

Our pressure led to a Musselburgh line-out close to their try line. They opted not to kick and our blitz defence led by Fraser put them under extreme pressure until they spilled the ball.  Again Duncan was the quickest to react, grabbing the ball and dotting it down.  This put us two tries up in the first 5 minutes.

At this stage the boys were in no mood to let Musselburgh back into the game and again from the kick off we put the pressure straight back on them. There was a clear intention to play in their half and stay there. Following a turnover the opportunity to strike appeared with an acre of space open to us on the right hand side of the field. Max was first to spot it and he moved the ball out to Duncan who moved it on again to Alfie, but as he made ground the Musselburgh defence started to cover across.  He stepped in and offloaded to Angus T who made it over the 22m line.  Scott came screaming up the outside to take the well timed pass from Angus, while under pressure in the tackle, and powered over the line for try number three.  The team was really playing for each other.

We knew it had to happen and at this point Musselburgh came back into the game.  They had some big forwards who weren’t going to be completely outplayed by a slightly more nimble Linlithgow pack. However as they rumbled up the pitch they found themselves knocked back by a very resolute defence. Every player put their tackles in with most notable ones from Ewan, Finlay Mac, Greg and Scott, while Alfie rucked like a back-row forward when the game demanded it.  There was no way through.

Instead the next try was ours. We found ourselves in the middle of the pitch and with our scrum was under immense pressure. But Max was quick to get the ball away to Rory who broke blind. However you looked at it, the try was on it was just a matter of how and who.  With Ollie and Scott outside him, Rory opted to chip ahead for the chase. He collected his own kick in the end to score in the corner.  A great solo try.

The final try of the half fell to Rory again. This time it was us putting pressure on the Musselburgh scrum.  The ball squirted out from between the legs of their second row and Ewan quick to pounce on it. He perhaps could have pinned his ears back and gone himself but instead he spotted Rory slipped him a pass and let him do the work and take the glory.

Half time (or round about then) saw us make a number of changes.  On came Morgan into the second row, Alex replaced Elliot at hooker after a knock somewhere painful, Cameron gave Daniel a breather by replacing him in the front row.  Alongside this Angus C brought his engine room into the back row, with Thomas shifting out to inside centre. Further changes to the backline meant that Hugh, Fraser H and Finlay M swapped in for Scott, Angus T, and Alfie.

With a clear instruction from the coaches to make this a 60 minute performance the boys picked up where they left off. From the kick-off Fraser W took the ball and began to move, he passed on to Finlay Mac, who shifted it on to Rory who slipped a well timed pass to Thomas.  Thomas stepped in, stepped out and eventually passed on to Joe (who I forgot to mention had replaced Max) who found Duncan and it was a try.  It was sublime interplay between forwards and backs.

It all happened so quickly that Musselburgh found themselves kicking off with an immediate sense of deja-vu. When they did however they did so with clear intent. They had also been given a clear instruction by their coaches and it involved putting some points on the board. They started to move the ball themselves asking questions of our new backline who largely stood up well. But on one attack Musselburgh were not to be denied and they moved the ball nicely down the blind side to score in the corner, with a well taken conversion to follow.

It was our turn to kick off. Rory stepped up and put up a kick up which seemed to hang in the air for a minute or two. With Ewan on the chase and bearing down on the catcher, the ball was dropped – and simultaneously grabbed by Ewan. He was then through for the first of his two tries.

The next try fell to Joe. Angus C took a half clearance kick beautifully and quickly afterwards he took a big hit for his troubles – not for the first time – but not before offloading to Joe who was in to score. Ewan took the next. The move was started by an unorthodox kick from Thomas which was taken by Fraser H – using all of his goalkeeping prowess.  He then kicked on himself and with the ball landing between two Musselburgh defenders, Ewan accelerated into the catch and was over the line to score.

At this point we lost Duncan to a ferocious Musselburgh tackle which saw him bundled into touch and rolled his ankle.  A quick trip to A&E – less than 4 hours, thank you NHS Lothian – left him with a diagnosis of “nothing broken” but unlikely to be playing for the next few weeks.  It will be a big loss with tough games to come.

However the final word and score went to Thomas who took a fairly unstoppable crash ball pass from Rory at close range.  This left us with a final score of 64-7 in our favour.

This was a great team performance and our strength in depth is becoming a real asset.  None of the boys shirked the hard work that is required to allow others to shine and it is clear that many are really beginning to revel in this.  Our tackling and overall defence was our real strength today and we made it very difficult for the Musselburgh attack to gain any momentum.

It was great to see Finlay M back playing and releasing a month or so of pent up frustration upon the Musselburgh defence. Fraser H had a solid game on the wing, assured in defence and good with the boot. Morgan is growing in confidence, finding his position in the second row, and Cameron showed his strength in the scrum and his determination in the rucks. Ewan had a great game in the back-row with some thumping tackles and willingness to hit the ball up into the heart of the Musselburgh pack. He did not stop all afternoon and was only just pipped to player of the match. However, this week it goes to Fraser W.  He led from the front, often at the front of the blitz defence and tackling whoever was in front him – large or small. He also made some nice breaks when he got the ball in hand. Importantly he gave it his all from start to finish. We’ll need more of this over the next few games.

Overall it was the team performance that won us this game and the boys should be very proud of the performance all round.

Young Reds S2 – Dollar B and Morrison’s at Crieff 11.11.2023

Report by Nick Drainey

Linlithgow’s S2s were looking to capitalise on a great performance against Lasswade last weekend when they arrived at a crisp, sunny Dallerie Playing Fields in Crieff.

Two shorter games had been arranged with the first against a Dollar B team which gave the chance to avenge defeat last season. The second looked on paper like it might be tough as they were taking on the home team.

A road closure meant that those on the team bus were treated to a slightly hairy tour of the back roads and narrow stone bridges of Perthshire. But once at the venue “switching on” was achieved as best as possible before the matches began.

Dollar B 14 – 33 Linlithgow S2

Linlithgow’s scrum started devilishly strong, twice pushing the team in white back over their own put in. The second time saw the ball make its way to James who went down the line for the first try of the day, which Fergus converted well. (7-0)

More great play down the line came from the backs after a lineout at halfway, the ball going back across to the middle of the pitch where James again took control, making a good step before finishing under the posts for Euan to slot over (14-0)

More determined play followed including two superb tackles from Blair before the half time whistle put a stop to any more scoring.

The second half saw Dollar start strong with their “quite big guy” running the length of the pitch to go over the line under the posts. (14-7)

Linlithgow, however, came straight back through the forwards with Zach W scooping up the ball and getting it to Jason, whose brilliant offload (something that is becoming a feature of his game) put Finlay in position to break through and go under the posts for Euan again to convert. (21-7)

The backs by now were on fire and showing great handling skills. A brilliant phase saw James nearly make the corner again before he offloaded to Jay (kindly guesting for us from S3, qualifying by age) who gave the ball to Blair who burst through the defence to score. Archie converted from wide (28-7)

Dollar would not give up and grabbed a second try for them when they managed to break the line. (28-14)

But forward strength through Jack saw him offload and start another set of passing by the backs which led to James going over in the corner for his hat-trick (his second in two weeks). (33-14)

Jay stopped a final attack by Dollar but unfortunately injured his wrist – his day’s play was over but his contribution was greatly appreciated.

Morrison’s 17 – 45  Linlithgow S2

Often when the first of two back to back games has been won, motivation to go and do it all again, with the same effort, can be hard to find. But Linlithgow’s S2s have been building team spirit in recent weeks and showed on Saturday they had the grit that was needed.

From kick off they ran the ball deep into the Morrison’s 22 and despite conceding a scrum, turned it over and fed Finlay for a try which Fergus converted. (7-0)

Soon after some great rucking saw Callum charge through the line and go over. (12-0) One of the best plays of the day followed – more forward strength saw a great carry by Jack from his own try line which ultimately led to a scrum on half way, then great hands saw Callum in midfield smashing through the line to go under the posts for a try which Fergus converted. (19-0)

Just before half time they managed a try next to the posts but Linlithgow were looking by far the stronger team at the break. (19-5)

The second half continued in the same vein with a great break by Marshall leading to more interplay by the backs and a try by Fergus which Euan converted. (26-5)

They managed a try under the posts (26-12) but Callum was again leading the forwards on a charge upfield before getting his hat-trick, followed by a Fergus conversion. (33-12)

Morrison’s showed good spirit themselves by going over in the corner (33-17) but Linlithgow were not sitting back.

Charlie made a great run and was unlucky not to make the line but it did lead to Jack going over to further stretch the score, especially after a good conversion by Euan. (40-17)

A miss pass by Fergus then saw the ball in Blair’s hands and his run was capped off with a fantastic step to see him finish the game with a deserved try. (45-17)

When the full-time whistle went the reward for a mystery coach tour through Perthshire was two wins out of two against teams who are able to train at school a lot more than our boys, proving again the S2s are turning into a top rate team.

SQUAD: Blair, Fergus, Jay, James, Eric, Archie, Louis, Charlie, Will, Marshall, Ethan Mc, Ali, Callum, Zack, Finlay, Jack, Zac, Euan, Matthew, Aaron, Jason