Match Report | Under 16s Away v Highland 21-11-21

On Sunday 21st November a squad of 15 depleted by injuries and illness headed off to play Highland for their toughest game of the season so far as Highland play in the National Conference. As Highland have 2 squads it was agreed that Highland would field 2 teams, Whites and Greens and everyone would play each other in a straight 30 minute match.
Highland Greens beat Highland Whites in the first game.

Photo: Ray Knox

Highland Greens v Orkney

The match started and both sides had possession which was evenly contested. Orkney were initially struggling to get to the rucks quickly enough and lost some contest due to this. The squad were struggling to get the journey out of their legs but were tackling strongly to prevent Greens moving forward. The game was being played between both 22s without either side taking full control. The Orkney forwards started to make some strong runs and making inroads into the Green defence with Declan MacLeod, Thorfinn Sinclair, Sammy Laughton and Angus Dougall leading the charge. Alastair Park, Angus Robertson who was making his debut, James Braddock and Ryan Linklater were all supporting well and Orkney started to drive the Greens. Orkney drove to short of the Greens try line where the Greens were penalised for going off their feet at the ruck. Angus Dougall with some quick thinking took a quick tap penalty while the defence were not paying enough attention and drove over to score the first try. Aiden Cooper converted.

The Greens responded well and attacked Orkney. Orkney’s defence was holding strongly and the match settled into the middle of the park. Greens launched an attack down the right wing and stretched the Orkney defence. Orkney held firm but when the Greens spun the ball wide to the left wing Orkney ran out of defenders and Highland scored in the corner. Highland Greens 5 – 7 Orkney.

Orkney responded well and finally having got the journey out of their legs showed more speed to the breakdown. Highland Greens set up a strong ruck but Orkney hit the ruck with real power and drove the Greens back winning the ball back. The backs were starting to move the ball well with Christy MacLeod moving the ball well between driving forwards and the backs. Alex Scarth was getting his line moving with Angus Brown and Aiden combining well in the Centres. From a move the ball was moved along the line ended with Scott Craigie making some inroads then releasing Jason Scott to weave past the rest of the defence to score.

The Orkney pack were now dominating the scrums as well and drove Highland off the ball on a number of occasions. When the Greens tried to clear their lines Orkney defended strongly across the whole team. A Greens penalty to touch failed to make the touchline and was fielded well by Robbie Adamson who made ground before being tackled.
Orkney attacked well as a team and from a series of good moves by forwards and backs Christy scored with Aiden converting.
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Orkney were now controlling the game and from a series of good interplays between forwards and backs Alex scored the final try off a Greens knock on and raced in to score with Aiden converting.

Final score Highland Greens 5 – 26 Orkney.

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Highland Whites v Orkney

After a few minutes break Orkney continued their good work. The forwards kept working hard and the backs were moving well.

Alex played a nice kick over a rushing defence and Aiden raced through picking the ball up to score the first try and converted himself.

The forwards were controlling the ball and the backs were finding space. Alex moved the ball well through Angus Brown and Aiden who released Jason who sped past the defence to score. Aiden converted.

When Orkney attacked next the Whites turned the ball over and attacked down Orkneys flank making good ground and stretching the defence for the first time. Some good combined tackles from the Orkney defence resulted in the ball being split. Orkney kicked the ball deep into space and Jason took off outpacing the Whites defence, picking the ball up on the run and scoring.

Orkney went close again with some good handling from Alex and Jason releasing Robbie who was pulled down just a metre or two short of the try line where the ball was knocked on.

The last Orkney try came with a great move involving Christy, Alex and Angus Brown with Angus coming back in to split the Whites defence and sending Jason in for his hat-trick. Aiden converted.

As Orkney now tired with the hard artificial pitch taking its toll on them and the lack of replacements resulted in Highland Whites making ground up the Centre of the pitch despite from some strong tackles from Sammy, Ryan, Declan and Angus Dougall. The Whites got close and drove over to score a last minute try.

Final score Highland Whites 5 – 26 Orkney
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These matches showed the strength in depth of the U16 squad which continues to grow with a strong debut from Angus Robertson adding to the depth.
The team remain unbeaten this season.

Players Player: 1st Jason Scott, 2nd Christy MacLeod, 3rdSammy Laughton and Alastair Park
Coaches Player: 1st Angus Dougall, 2nd Angus Robertson, 3rdDeclan MacLeod.

Thank you to all the coaches and to Highland for the game and while we had to get straight on the bus after the game for the food they were able to give us to take on the bus.

Squad Picture:
Back row (l to r): Tommy Stockan (travelling injured), Alastair Park, Angus Robertson, Alex Scarth, Declan MacLeod, Aiden Cooper, Jason Scott, Thorfinn Sinclair, Angus Dougall.
Back row (l to r): Scott Craigie, Sammy Laughton, Ryan Linklater, Robbie Adamson, Christy MacLeod (cpt), Angus Brown, James Braddock

R.K.