Orkney Under 16s on the Rampage at Gordonstoun

Caledonia North Under 16 Division
Gordonstoun - Sunday 28th September 2013
Final Score: Gordonstoun School U16s 3 - Orkney RFC U16s 64

Orkney Under 16s travelled down to Aberdeen on the Friday night boat and with an early start, they took the bus to Gordonstoun. The boys always enjoy going on this trip.

The boys arrived at Gordonstoun School campus and quickly got changed to get out for an intense warm up. The weather was very close and, as the game went on, the sun came out and it ended up being a very nice day. Gordonstoun won the toss and chose to receive kick off. 
The game started off very intensely with Orkney dominating all over the pitch, especially in the breakdown with excellent rucking from Taylor Pirie and Euan Humphreys. The game was in the balance for the first ten minutes with both teams contesting for the upper hand until a Gordonstoun penalty put the home team 3 – 0 up.

Their narrow lead didn’t last long with Sam Croy going over and then converting his own try, to make it 3- 7. Orkney’s captain, Cammy Gray came close with a run down the wing but was stopped short.

From around the 20th minute, Orkney rolled over three tries all from Orkney centres. Fergus MacIvor and Sam Croy brought the score to 3 -24. Heading into the half, Orkney carried on their solid forward play and textbook backs’ passing, gave the boys momentum to continue into the next half. Coaches Bruce and Graham ‘Damage’ reminded the boys to remain focused and not to get too carried away.

The second half started as equally as the first with every player on the pitch playing to the best of their ability. The Orkney pack won almost every opponents scrum thanks to Liam Thomson’s sublime hooking and engagement into scrums. Archie MacPhail also showed good skill and confidence with his high ball catches and clearances. 
Orkney’s fifth try was the result of a catch and drive from Gordonstoun’s 22 to the try line, scored by Euan Humphreys. Orkney’s next try came from Cammy Gray who caught the kick off and broke many tackles, running down the wing, side stepping their winger to score under the posts. 

This made the score 3 -36 with Orkney being well in control of the game. The next two tries came from Cammy Gray and Ciaran Drever, who scored a very skillful try, giving Orkney a 3 – 50 lead. The next try was a perfect example of Billy Elliot’s champagne rugby. 
Starting from an Orkney scrum, number 8, Cammy Gray, picked and popped to Ciaran Drever whose evasive running created space for Fergus MacIvor and Sam Croy. Fergus then brilliantly passed it to Sam who, in clear space, darted over the line. It was converted taking the score to 3 – 57. 

The final ten minutes proved a challenge for the boys as playing the previous seventy minutes at 100% had exhausted the lads, however the boys showed their true grit and determination to hold off a late good phase of Gordonstoun pressure on the Orkney line. 
Swift counter attacking and a new found second win for the players, saw the final try of the match coming again from Euan Humphreys in the dying seconds. This was converted making the final score an outstanding 64 – 3 to Orkney.

Overall it was a top class performance from every player on the pitch, including the subs, who washed away the opponents in proper rugby style. This was a complete team game with no single stand out performers and for that reason, the boys and coaches decided not to award a Man of the Match. 
Finally, on behalf of the whole team, I would like to thank Bruce, Graham ‘Damage’ Ramage, Cathy Martin and Sara Croy for taking the boys down and, encouraging us all the way.

Match Report by Cameron Gray.