Caledonia Youth Cup U15 Bowl Final 23-3-14

Caledonia Youth Cup U15 Bowl Final
Canal Park, Inverness - Sun 23 March 2014
Aberdeen Grammar RFC U15s 47, Orkney RFC U15s 5

Orkney travelled down to Inverness for their scheduled final versus Aberdeen Grammar which was going to prove a difficult game versus a leading club in the south. The Grammar boys were well drilled and they made it difficult for the Orkney players to have any possession in the first ten minutes.

After poor tackling Orkney gave away two scores in quick succession to give Grammar a deserved lead.  Through tackling from jam Craigie, Liam Thomson and Ben Johnston kept the attacks at bay for several minutes but constant driving play and charging runs by the Grammar pack eventually took its toll on the Orkney boys and three more tries were scored before half time with one conversion added. Half time score (27-0).

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Orkney started the second half well with strong runs from Dylan Evans and Magnus Merriman and some good clear out play from Aron Gibson and Harry Siderfin. Orkney were unlucky to score in this period of play with good defence from Grammar shown.  
Aberdeen came back into the game with a further three tries after strong play in the width using their pace man on the outside. 
Orkney played their best rugby in the final quarter with a strong scrum resulting in Sam Croy breaking down the right and handing off three players to score in the corner.
Aberdeen scored the last try of the game to finish 47-5 winners, a much deserved win by Grammar and a learning experience for the young Orkney side.

Orkney squad; Archie MacPhail, Jak Craigie, Aly Bradley, Ben Johnston, Harry Siderfin, Sam Croy, Alistair Morgan, Liam Thomson, Aron Gibson, Cameron Fraser, Campbell Morris, Magnus Merriman, Jacob Mowat, Dylan Evans.

Coach Bruce Ruthven commented:

“The boys didn't start well today and struggled with tackling the bigger opposition due mainly to poor technique.  Once they started to believe in themselves the teams performance improved significantly causing Aberdeen Grammar problems in defence and we could have score another couple of tries.
It was a good experience for the boys and the enjoyed their trip away."