|
News Article |
| CALEDONIA CUP FINALS DAY |
| Tue 18th May 2010 |
Sunday 9th May 2010 - Madras RFC - St Andrews
Caledonia Cup U18 - Final
Moray U18s travelled to St Andrews, along with the U16s and the U15s for the Caledonia Finals Day. As mentioned in a previous report, it was a great achievement for the club to have three teams there.
 The U18s were the first of the Moray sides to play, against Aberdeen Grammar Rugby. This was always going to be a physical encounter, which was evident from the start. AGR did start on the front foot, putting a lot of pressure on the Moray side with straight running and good offloading skills.
Throughout the game, Moray competed well in the scrum and in the contact area, but AGR were able to release a strong back line on several occasions to eventually run out 38-5 winners. Despite the score line, Moray competed for the whole game, never letting up and scoring a good try of their own and a little unlucky not to score more points on several other occasions.
However, all credit to AGR to win the Caledonia Cup. Moray U18s finished the season as runners-up in the Caledonia League and the Cup, both times to AGR.
The next match for the Moray teams was the U15 Bowl Final; report as follows:
Moray U15 v Dunfermline U15 Caledonia Bowl Final
The Moray U15 squad reached the finals of the Cally Bowl competition and met Dunfermline in what turned out to be thrilling encounter.
Moray kicked off into a stiff breeze and quickly settled into their game. Moray opened the scoring early in the game with a well worked try from a scrum. Quick ball was moved through the backs and Josh Grundle sprinted clear to touch down. Ewan Stuart kicked superbly for the conversion from out wide.
Dunfermline responded and worked their way into the Moray 22. A scrum to Dunfermline near the Moray posts was turned over but some scrappy play led to a loose ball in the in goal area which Dunfermline pounced on and scored. The conversion from in front of the posts made the score 7 all.
The rest of the first half was evenly matched with both sides showing great commitment and some fierce tackling. Moray were edging the tussle in the scrums but Dunfermline were winning the lineout battle. Some superb tackling from Kieran Young kept Dunfermline at bay on more than one occasion.
Half time 7-7
The second half began with pressure from Dunfermline and they created 2 scoring opportunities which led to tries – 19-7 to Dunfermline. Moray responded and raised their game again. Good interlinking work from the backs saw Josh Grundle and Liam Kelly make a breakthrough up the touchline and the ball was switched back inside for Liam Kelly to score. The conversion was missed from out wide.
Moray were back in the game and the players quickly got deep into Dunfermline territory form the restart. Cameron Hughes was creating breaks from stand off and managed to crash through near the Dunfermline posts to bring Moray within 2 points. Ewan Stuart converted to set the game up for a grand stand finish. 19 points all with 10 minutes remaining.
Moray again attacked from the restart and had a couple of opportunities to seal the match but couldn’t take them. Dunfermline were not out of the game either and kicked clear from their half. The resulting pressure in Moray’s 22 led to Dunfermline winning the ball and create an overlap to run in the match winning try. The conversion made the score 26-19. Moray again attacked from the restart but time was against them and the referee blew for the end of the match.
This was a superb effort from the whole squad who never gave up in a game that was evenly balanced throughout. The team’s performance reflected the progress they have made through the season and despite the result they can be proud of their achievements in a long and testing campaign.
Caledonia Shield Final - Moray U16 v Dundee
After a long wait for their match, Moray’s U16s finished off the day with the Shield Final against Dundee.
This proved to be another keen contest and play throughout was very even. However, the Dundee side took their chances and although Moray had as much pressure, just couldn’t get the continuity and the breaks to convert the pressure. With the whole day drawing to a close, Dundee won the Shield 24-7, although the match was much closer than the score suggests.
Despite the trip back home without any wins on the day, nothing should be taken away from the efforts of the players throughout the whole season from each of these teams to get to these finals. There was a lot of good rugby played and each side can look forward to next season with a lot to build on.
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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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