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News Article |
| MUNTLY U13/14S DOMINATE WITH LUCKY 13 AGAINST ROSS-SUTHERLAND IN CONFERENCE OPENER |
| Wed 30th Aug 2017 |
Muntly got off to a flying start at Ross-Sutherland in their first Mitsubishi Northern Conference fixture of the season, with a convincing 49-16 win.
In perfect rugby conditions, the early exchanges were scrappy as both sides sought to brush of the cobwebs of the summer.
Slack Muntly tackling allowed the Ross left winger to take advantage and cleverly gather his own chip through to open the scoring.
Clearly stung by the early setback, Muntly started to exert a little more control when in possession and to play more cohesively.
The reply was almost immediate when Number 8 Gregor Clark picked up the restart and made excellent ground down the centre of the pitch; with Clark held up just short, prop Scott Riach picked up from the resulting ruck and burst through to score.
The remainder of the opening period continued very much in the same way with Muntly strike runners making territorial gains before slick ball handling setting free the support runners.
Captain Tom Letch added the next try, running the restart straight back to dot down under the posts.
Fly-Half Euan Willetts then made a fine break before offloading to George Lunn; With Lunn held up just short, 2nd Row Charlie Anderson picked up from the ruck and scored despite the close attention of the Ross defence.
Now in full flow, Muntly added a further 3 tries before the first break; Clark provided once more for Full-back Letch after a tap penalty, Willets scampered over from another Clark off-load after fine running from centre Lewis Hay and Letch completed his hat-trick after centres Hay and Innes Parkin had combined well to scythe through the Ross defence.
The start off the 2nd period was almost a carbon copy of the first; with Muntly clearly having switched off, the Ross winger once more danced through several poor tackle attempts and skipped away to score.
Having been jolted from their stupor, Muntly hit back immediately with Clark taking the ball at pace from the re-start and outstripping the Ross cover to score a well-deserved try.
With the scrum working well Muntly were dominating possession and after quick scrum ball, Willetts added to his tally after a fine line break left the Ross defence for dead.
With “Sonny Bill” Willetts clearly having a voracious appetite for points, he added a further 2 tries before the second break.
The first was a fine individual effort; catching the Ross defence off-guard with a quick tap penalty he then chipped through and gathered to score under the posts.
The second was the team try of the day. Ross enjoying rare possession were struggling to make it out of their own half and persistent Muntly pressure defence, particularly from Thomas Eadon, Joe Elvines and Alasdair Hutcheon led to turnover ball and Willets diving over after several quick ruck recycles.
Once again asleep, and with the Muntly coaches now tearing their hair out, Muntly leaked 2 tries at the start of the 3rd session due to poor tackling and organisation and the Ross winger touched down for his 3rd and 4th tries of the day.
Normal service was shortly resumed when, after an arcing run by winger Mostyn Findlater, quickly recycled ball found its way to Parkin who dummied his way through a wrong-footed Ross defence to score.
With Muntly now back on task, excellent handing in the backs saw debutant Jack Mackillop almost score in the corner and they stretched their lead further when another break from arch-provider Clark allowed the supporting Lunn to run in from 20 metres.
Willetts closed the scoring for the day with Muntly’s 13th and his 5th try; moving the ball wide with fine interplay, particularly from Murdo Reid and Blair Garrick, and with good territory being gained with every phase, Muntly changed their point of attack and Willetts escaped several Ross tackles to end an extremely entertaining game of rugby. With Parkin and Willetts adding 5 conversions each, Muntly ran out winners by 49 – 16.
Ultimately, Muntly support play and distribution won the day, with most of the tries being the result of some excellent teamwork.
Some hesitancy at the base of the ruck and early poor tackling will need to be corrected prior to their next fixture but this was, overall, a very good start to the season.
The Muntly coaches were particularly pleased with the way that the debutant U13s slotted into the 15 a-side game and this bodes well for the future.
Despite the scoreline, Muntly were made to work hard for their victory and credit must go to a gutsy Ross side, and also to those Muntly players who guested for Ross.
Muntly now look forward to a home Conference fixture v Orkney, at Huntly, Saturday 2nd September.
 Muntly U14s/13s: Rory Cameron, Gregor Clark, Lewis Hay, Tom Letch (C), George Lunn, Euan May, Innes Parkin, Scott Riach, Corey Rizza, Andrew Scott, Fraser Whitecross, Euan Willetts, Charlie Anderson, Thomas Eadon, Jenson Fathers, Mostyn Findlater, Grant Hendry, Alasdair Hutcheon, Murdo Reid, Leon Ross, Evan Sykes, Ross Gifford, Jack Mackillop, Lewie Austin, Josh Austin, Arran Lawson, Blair Garrick, Roan Phillips, Roddy Manson, Joe Elvines, Callum Robson
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Caledonia 2 North |
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| Aberdeenshire |
12 |
46 |
| Highland 2nd XV |
11 |
46 |
| Moray |
12 |
40 |
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10 |
22 |
| Banff |
12 |
19 |
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10 |
10 |
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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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