Match Report | Orkney Dragons v Aberdeenshire Quines 11-11-23

Kirkwall Grammar School playing fields,
​Saturday 11 November 2023
Orkney Dragons 10, Aberdeenshire Quines 36

Orkney dragons were led out by vice captain Hannah Cursiter, due to current captain Emma Staunton sitting this game out as she is carrying an injury.

Photo/video: Rohallion

Both teams stood for a minute silence prior to kick off to show their respect for it being Remembrance Sunday the following day.

1st half match video

The dragons took to the pitch and received the kick from Aberdeen. The first half saw possession on both sides, strong forward carries from Grace Macgregor and Nikita Scollie. Aberdeen ball carriers driving hard into Orkneys defensive line, resulted in Aberdeen walking away with the first try of the game. Try not converted.
Orkney were not to be outdone and evened up the score with a try from Tiphaine Cazenave on the wing. Try not converted, leaving the score at 5-5.

Aberdeen promptly slipped in another 2 tries in the first half, however Orkney did not make this easy for them. With Orkney applying pressure at the rucks along with multiple powerful tackles from Stacey Tualasea.

Score at half time was 5-17.

The second half saw Orkney come out with their heads still high, kicking to Aberdeen and successfully stealing the ball back. Donna Wilson at 10 had her back line ready, and the ball was quickly shipped through the hands to allow Paige Archibald to walk away with their second try of the game.

Aberdeen promptly followed suit with strong ball carriers working hard to find space in Orkneys structured defensive line and crossed the line a further 2 times with 1 conversion, bringing the score to 10-34.

The second half also saw an injury to referee Ian Rushbrook. After discussions with both coaches and captains the decision was made for qualified ref Jo Inkster to swap roles from Orkney coach to referee to allow the fixture to be fulfilled.

The battle continued with Orkney stealing several of Aberdeens line outs. Possession swapped back and forth between Orkney and Aberdeen. but tired legs and strong attack from Aberdeen saw them slot in the final unconverted try of the game. Leaving the final score at 10-39.

Orkney have been working hard on their defensive line and structured attack, and despite the score this was shown on the pitch while up against a well developed Aberdeenshire side.

The Orkney Dragons would like to thank Aberdeenshire Quines for making the trip up, both Ian and Jo for refereeing, those who supported the ref by running the line, their coaches (Gary, Jo and Rab) for their continued support, time and knowledge, aswell as all spectators that attended to show their support. Special thanks goes to this weekends sponsor Bryan Laughton for his continued support and Ofcourse the supply of Prosecco.
Without all of these individuals these games would not be able to go ahead.

Forwards of the match- Sandra Davey
Back of the match- Hannah Cursiter
Opposition awarded woman of the match- Stacey Tualasea

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