Match Report | U16 Glasgow Warriors (Whites) v Edinburgh (Gunners) Sunday 21st April 2024

Orkney RFC had two U16 players in action for Glasgow Warriors on Sunday at Hive Stadium in the shadow of Murrayfield in the first of the FOSROC U16 Inter City games.

​Ronan Hamilton and Michael Scarth both progressed through the Caledonia pathway to be selected for Glasgow Warriors as Warriors and Caley joined forces to take on Edinburgh / Borders.

The match got underway at 1pm at Edinburgh Rugby's home ground, where the night before the boys watched Scotland stars Duhan van der Merwe, Ali Price, Pierre Schoeman and Jamie Ritchie in action as Edinburgh defeated Scarlets.

Michael started at Loosehead having made the transition from back row for Orkney to front row through the pathway system, while Ronan started on the bench as one of three backs subs.

Conditions were fair with light rain throughout making the ball and surface greasy. The quality of both teams was evident from the start with fast dynamic play from the outset. Edinburgh were first off the mark with a converted try 9 minutes in.

Glasgow quickly fought back with a dominant scrum on the halfway line just after the restart - aided by powerful scrummaging from Michael in the front row - leading to regained Glasgow possession and then territory up the left wing, before Glasgow's tighthead broke through Edinburgh's defence to score under the posts to make it 7-7.

Glasgow took the lead 5 minutes later after another strong scrum followed by quick play from the backs which led to a run in from 60m for Glasgow's outside centre. 7-12. The next 15 mins saw some good Glasgow pressure in Edinburgh's 22 but the Edinburgh defence was solid, forcing turnovers followed by some excellent clearing kicks from the back which troubled the Glasgow defence. Three unconverted Edinburgh tries in this period made it 22-12 to the home side.

At this stage Ronan came off the bench for his debut, in his favoured standoff position. He immediately impacted the game with good controlling play and distributing the ball very well through the hands. Michael continued to show his defensive strengths in the pack for the remainder of the first half, with Glasgow bouncing back before half time with another try after a rushed defence from Glasgow put pressure on Edinburgh's centre leading to turnover ball, allowing Glasgow's centre to pick up and run in from 50m. Ronan converted to make it 22-19 at half time

The second half got underway with Michael making way for the substitute Loosehead, with coaches looking to give all the bench game time. Edinburgh were first over the line again 5 minutes in with a well taken converted try to make it 29-19. Glasgow then found their stride with a brace of tries. Both conversion attempts were narrowly missed - one by Ronan from right on the touchline sailed inches wide of the far post. All even at 29-29 with 15 mins to go.

Ronan saw out the rest of the game at outhalf, with continued excellent distribution after rucks creating chances for the Warriors backs. It wasn't to be for Glasgow however as Edinburgh showed their strength in the closing stages to continually break through Warriors' defence to score three converted tries unanswered. Final score 50-29 to Edinburgh.

After the game the Orkney boys were both praised by Warriors coaches for the part they played, with neither putting a foot wrong and looking every bit at home at this elite level of Scottish rugby.

The Inter City series continues this weekend in Galashiels with Newcastle Falcons joining Glasgow and Edinburgh for a series of short games.

The boys would like to say a huge thanks again to ORFC, all the Orkney U16 coaches and players, and Tattie as RDO for all the support they have received in getting to this stage.
It's fantastic to see Orkney born and bred players getting through the system to this stage - huge testament to the quality of rugby in Orkney and the dedication of the many people involved.

M.H.