On Sunday 19 February 2017 Stewartry and Annan under 14 rugby teams travelled to Biggar Rugby Club to play as a combined team in a friendly development match against Biggar.
UNDER 14 RUGBY MATCH – STEWARTRY/ANNAN 21 V 19 BIGGAR
The match kicked off and Stewartry/Annan were soon in attack with some strong running from the forwards. However, the Biggar defence held firm and some slick passing found a speedy winger who ran the length off the pitch for the first score. Missed tackles by the Stewartry/Annan backs aided the Biggar score. After the restart there was better running from the Stewartry/Annan forwards resulting in Fraser Gibson breaking free at half way to score near the posts.
The conversion was missed. After the kick off by Biggar Peter Young saw space and kicked behind the Biggar defence, this resulted In some Biggar fumbling allowing Zach Hunter to retrieve the ball and power over for a try like a good forward should. Again the conversion was missed. There was a period of dominance by the Stewartry/Annan forwards at the scrum but many handling errors and sideways running by the backs provided very little forward momentum.
Bigger surged into the Stewartry/Annan half with some good handling but at the breakdown Connor Clanachan turned over the ball and scuttled away to score under the posts. Conversion missed. After the restart Biggar made ground and a slick handling move they scored in the corner after some poor defensive tackling. The backs were not pressing nearly quickly enough from the breakdown. Just as the half was coming to a close Fraser Gibson made a great break from loose play and ran half the pitch for a score. Just when it was starting to look like Peter Young had left his kicking boots at home he nailed the conversion.
The players were all disappointed with their first half showing and a few changes were made.
After halftime Biggar started really strongly and scored in the corner after a move that saw passing through at least 10 pairs of hands, Biggar soon scored another after some inept sideways running and fumbling by the Stewartry/Annan backs. Things were getting very tight. Young kicked deep into Biggar half and a fumble by them allowed a scrum to take place. From the scrum the scrum half timed the pass to Peter Young who scampered through the gap to score under the posts.
This conversion also sailed between the posts. Bigger were not to be outdone and they gained territory before scoring near the posts. The game was very close at this stage. Due to a minor head knock the scrums were now uncontested which allowed for more free flowing play. After a deep kick by Bigger, Stewartry backs retrieve the ball and with the use of strong runners driving forward Fraser Gibson retrieved the ball from a ruck and barged his away over for a score under then posts.
Conversion made. There was now only one score in the game and Biggar fought back tenaciously with some good handling. However, better tackling and defence from Stewartry/Annan prevented Biggar gaining any momentum. On the last play there were many errors by either side before referee blew for time. A very relieved Stewartry/Annan team won narrowly against a good handling and running Biggar team. This was a great contest for the neutral spectator.
Stewartry/Annan under 14 teams must learn from this performance by running straight, tackling low and setting up rucks quicker and cleaner. This was an under par performance but on the bright side it takes a good team to win playing poorly.
It was great mixing up the teams with the Annan boys to get valuable playing time at Under 14 level.
Fraser Gibson was again a standout performer with Connor Clanachan close behind. Zach Hunter impresses more with every game with his straight running and strong tackling. The scrum was very dominant with the front five Paddy Traynor, Andrew Boden, Robbie Briggs along with Connor and Zach forming a very good unit.
