Orkney under 16 played their Caledonia cup match versus Gordonstoun on Saturday which was a much anticipated match with the Orkney boys not having had a game since early January. Gordonstoun beat an in form Ellon team to progress into the 2nd round and with an addition of four overseas boys from the last tough encounter at Gordonstoun the match was going to be a mouth watering contest.

Picky: 17th February 2013
Final Score – Orkney 20 Strathmore 7

Orkney took on Strathmore in the first round of the Caledonian Cup last Sunday. This was the first ever visit of the Strathmore youth side to Orkney and it was encouraging to see a South team make a real effort to come and fulfil a fixture in Orkney. Before the game started both teams stood for a minutes silence for a girlfriend of one of the visting players who had passed away recently.

The game started encouragingly for Orkney who kicked off sending the ball deep into the opposition territory and immediately putting Strathmore on the back foot. Orkney’s forwards were putting pressure on the Strathmore line but the visitors were very good a turning over possession when the home team players got isolated. From a resulting turn over by Strathmore they kicked the ball down field but it was caught by the Orkney back line and the ball passed to Louis Wright on the wing who sped in for the first try of the game, Aiden Drever missed the conversion.

RBS Caledonia League Division 1
Picky - Saturday 16th February, 2013
Orkney RFC 29, St Andrews University RFC 0

ORKNEY RFC fought hard for a bonus point win over the visiting students from St Andrews University on a Saturday afternoon of near perfect weather for rugby at Pickaquoy.

The bonus win puts Orkney fifth in the league but needing to keep piling on the points in order to keep out of the relegation zone, with all the sides below them still within touching distance due to games in hand. 

It was calm and fairly mild as a decent crowd gathered for Orkney’s first home match of 2013, and they saw the sides trade penalty misses in the early minutes as first St Andrews and then Orkney were just wide of the posts.

Last Saturday saw a Kirkwall/East (Blues) combined side take on the West/Westray/Isles (Reds) select in perfect conditions in Dounby.  The pitch could have done with a few more line markings but with full sides, and several First team squad members on either side, all was to play for.

The Reds started stronger and played to their strengths in the first five minutes, keeping the ball tight and driving forward around the fringes, making some good ground and retaining possession well.  Unfortunately, for the Reds, this is a draining type of rugby to play for 80 minutes, and despite some spirited performances it ultimately showed.

RBS Caledonia League Division 1
Stonehaven - Saturday 2nd February, 2013

Orkney travelled to Stonehaven on Saturday for their Caledonia League clash with Mackie FP which was going to be a highly contested match with both teams desperate for points to see them move away from the bottom of the table. On arriving at the ground players were met with a snow covered pitch with a layer of frost which made conditions difficult for both teams throughout the match with the ground turning very wet towards the end of the game.