Match Report | Jed Thistle v U16s - Plate SF 25-11-23

National Youth Plate Semi Final
Jedburgh, Sunday 26th November 2023
U16 Jed Thistle v U16 Orkney (36-17)

On the road again! After an overnight boat journey and a 4-hour bus jaunt the lads were down in Jedburgh and were met with a still but bitterly cold day. Thankfully the frost had lifted off the pitch.

Match video: Rohallion

Jed Thistle kicked off and from the start the boys knew they would have to work very hard.
Jed Thistle got a penalty well inside the Orkney 22, took a tap and go but the big no.6 was bundles into touch for an Orkney lineout. Unfortunately, this was spilled, and the Jed Thistle hooker picked up and dived over for a try.

Jed Thistle had some very elusive runners evading tackles. They were also very quick at the breakdown, quite often stealing ball and the Orkney boys were struggling to get out of their own half. A great kick from Ronan Hamilton gave them a little respite.

Orkney were up in the 22 but a knock on allowed Jed Thistle to clear, however Orkney got back down inside the 22 but strong defence from the home side forced Orkney back.

Things just weren’t quite working for the Orkney boys; they had trouble clearing the pressure from Jed Thistle and they went over in the corner to get their second try.

Orkney then had a good passage of play showing good hands and rucking but just could not get across the whitewash which was also down to strong defending from Jed Thistle.

A great clearing kick from Zander was fielded well by Jed Thistle and the catcher threw a dummy and ran over half the pitch to score under the posts, with a conversion to follow. Orkney lost another try and conversion before half time to make the score 24-0.

Orkney kicked off the second half needing something, the game went to a bit of a lull, but Orkney were keeping Jed in their own half. Orkney got what they were looking for, a kick through from Ronan Hamilton and a poor try line drop out was picked up by Owen Spence who ran at the defence.

Orkney were now camped on the 5-metre line and got a penalty, a quick tap from Ronan Hamilton to Michael Scarth and he crashed over the line. Jed Thistle got fired up by this and were nearly in for a try only to be stopped by Jason Buchan. Jack Doyle was very unlucky not to get a try, the final pass being judged to be a forward pass.

However, Orkney kept up the pressure with a ruck formed on the 5-metre, Alfie Price passed to Michael (Buffalo)Scarth who yet again charged over for a second try.

Jed Thistle was not lying down as they pushed Orkney back. Zander was having a busy day with the boot to clear the lines, but Jed Thistle kept coming back and eventually forced over from close range for another try.

Orkney now went through their best passage of play, retaining ball and moving up the pitch, set up rucks and clearing out. This led to Ronan Hamilton firing out a miss pass to Michael McGee who went over and Ronan Hamilton converting. The boys were really throwing the ball about now. But Jed Thistle was always dangerous and came back with another try and conversion to make the final score 36-17.

Orkney were outstanding as a team, with the long journey travelling to come out and perform the way they did, never dropping their heads, keeping a positive attitude, and playing the game in true rugby spirit. They are all a credit to Orkney RFC and the coaches could not be prouder of each and every one of the U16’s.

Players player – Michael Scarth.
Coaches Player – Balfour Norquoy & Alfie Price.

S.S

Team photo:
Back row L-R: Ronan Hamilton (VC), Ian Moar, Tom Hamilton, Balfour Norquoy, Michael Scarth(C), Lewis Moncrieff, Taylor Gibson, Murray Robertson, Zander Baillie, Ben Sinclair, Ashton Sutherland, Finlay Flett.
Front row L-R: Owen Spence(VC), Matthew Meason, Jason Buchan, Joe Thomson, Michael McGee, Thorfinn Thomson, Scott Sinclair, Jack Doyle, Jack Innes, Alfie Price, Hunter Swanney