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News Article |
| P4/5 MATCH REPORT – BANFF FESTIVAL, 16TH SEPTEMBER 2012 by Michael Letch |
| Mon 24th Sep 2012 |
 A clear Sunday morning saw a squad of 8 P4/5s travel to Banff for their opening festival of the season.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t to last and as is the tradition for a Banff Festival, all got a couple of good soakings throughout the day. The adverse conditions however, did not dampen the enthusiasm and effort of the P4/5s, ably led by Captain of the day, Ewan Willets.
As they took to the field for their first match v Garioch A, there were a few nervous faces, which was unsurprising given that for some it was their first competitive “contact” match. They needn’t have been concerned though, as Moray soon took control of the game despite an early Garioch try.
After some excellent defence from Corey Rizza and Dylan Price, Ewan Willets and Thomas Letch soon found space on the flanks to score 3 unanswered tries through some fine side-stepping and incisive pace. With the game continuing in the same vein of strong defence and classy running, Moray ran out 5-2 winners.
This first game set the pattern for the next 2 group matches, with all members of the team performing exceptionally well as both Ellon Reds and Garioch B were seen off in fine style.
Callum Hall, shaking off the rigours of his weekend Cub camp, made some telling runs and tackles and the P4s soon shed any anxiety as they followed the lead of their captain and those with a little more experience.
A couple of great runs from Roddy Manson so nearly saw him crossing to score and Elena Simpson broke her duck with a fine run to score her first festival try….soon followed by another in the next match.
All of this was underpinned by some truly inspirational defence from the Willets, Price, Rizza triumvirate and controlled and accurate rucking from the entire squad. Tries flowed relatively freely from Ewan Willets with Messrs Letch, Hall, Price and Rizza all weighing in as well.
For once, the P4/5 Lunch curse failed to materialise and despite tasty hotdogs (counter-acted by the Haribo Tangfastics of Power!), Moray really turned it on in their final group match v Ellon Golds.
 Golds had always looked like they would be the toughest opposition and this they proved; however, once again, stout defence from all and some great handling under pressure from Cameron Stuart, after a couple of forced turnovers, led to a flying start through unanswered tries for Hall and Willets.
Thinking that the game was in the bag, Moray eased up and the Golds were allowed back into it; it took a further try from Willets, running from deep in Moray territory to make the game safe and gain an unblemished record in the group matches.
After a short rest, it was back on the pitch for the final, against Ellon Golds once again. This proved to be a much tighter affair against a side that had already played a festival the previous weekend and it was clear from the start that they were out to avenge their earlier defeat.
The game ebbed and flowed with good tackling from both sides, Moray taking the lead on 2 occasions after great runs into space, leading to tries for Letch and Willets. Once again, it looked as if Moray’s tenacious tackling, particularly from Price and Rizza, and accurate rucking might swing things our way; unfortunately fatigue began to tell and Golds managed to sneak in to gain the upper hand with only a few seconds remaining.
Despite a stellar effort from all, Moray were unable to gain an equalising score and had to settle for the Runners-up berth. At the final whistle, it was clear that Moray had given their all; they looked totally spent and were clearly a little disappointed.
The day’s tremendous effort was summed up by the referee for the final who, in his pre-match chat to the Moray players, said how impressed all the refs had been with their commitment and attitude throughout and their efforts to tackle low in particular.
 For the entire festival, the spirit of the squad shone through, all played in the true Rugby spirit and represented Moray RFC in the finest of traditions from the first KO to the final whistle of the Final.
Despite their agonising loss in the final, all of the squad showed a terrific attitude and their enthusiasm to learn from the day and go one better at Huntly next week, was infectious.
They should be very proud of what they achieved; I know that the parents, supporters and coach were!
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Caledonia 2 North |
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| Aberdeenshire |
12 |
46 |
| Highland 2nd XV |
11 |
46 |
| Moray |
12 |
40 |
| Ross Sutherland |
10 |
22 |
| Banff |
12 |
19 |
| Mackie |
10 |
10 |
| Aberdeen Grammar 2nd XV |
9 |
1 |
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Last 1st XV Game |
| 1st XV Season (2021/22) |
| Banff 33 - 39 Moray |
| 5th Mar 22 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Duff House |
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