Under 14s
Matches
Sun 25 Aug 2019
East Kilbride U14s
27
40
Kilmarnock Rugby Football Club
Under 14s
East Kilbride U14s  - 27 v 40 -  Kilmanrock U14s

East Kilbride U14s - 27 v 40 - Kilmanrock U14s

Paul Dunlop26 Aug 2019 - 10:32
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Sun, sun and more sun...Kilmarnock U14s turn up heat!

Kilmarnock U14s travelled to East Kilbride on a warm and sunny day, for their first game of the season. Playing 3x 20 minute games, this was always going to be a tough one in the heat, although the numerous water breaks throughout were an added and welcome relief.

East Kilbride, who had played a match the week before, came out the blocks flying and looked far more sharper with ball in hand, with their stand off and outside centre being their main attacking options, always looking to get on to the ball, and keen to run at the Kilmarnock defence. For Kilmarnock, the rustiness was evident early doors, with boys hanging back, not rucking, losing ball due to some poor passing, and offering little in the way of support play, which more often than not left our runner isolated and resulted in turnover ball. For all of that the first 20 mins was a pretty even affair, with flashes of good rugby giving a glimpse of what the Kilmarnock team had been working on over pre-season.

As the game developed, Kilmarnock’s strength and character came through, all of a sudden we started winning our rucks as well as overturning our oppositions. We used the ball more wisely, attacking the outside channels, and had support players on hand to receive that off-load pass and keep the attacking momentum going.

The boys were encouraged to make their own decision on the park, and there was some intelligent kicking, with kicks placed in behind the defensive line for our runners to chase.

The try of game came from one of those kicks. After a fine piece of defensive work on their own 5 metre line, Kilmarnock were awarded a scrum with only a few minutes of the game left to play.

Following some communication, the line was set with Thomas Dunlop sitting deep within our own try area. Following a good solid scrum with a fine hook by Ian Smith, and quick ball from base of the scrum by Ben McKellar, Thomas took the ball and sent an adventurous up and under clearance behind the on rushing East Kilbride defence, which Matthew Penrose chased, caught on his own 22, before racing the remaining 78 metres to collapse below the posts for a well worked try.

To be fair, it was a risky kick which gave the coaches palpitations. Rather than kicking to touch which was the safer option, there was clear confidence in the abilities of all involved, which must be applauded…Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg would have been proud!

The final score was East Kilbride 27 v Kilmarnock 40, with tries for Matthew Penrose (x3), Laughlan Whitelaw (x3), Logan Mitchell (x2), Jackson Cuthbert and Brayden Dean. Thomas Dunlop had 9 successful conversions, with Ben McKellar also scoring one.

Man of the match for his performance both in attack and defence goes to Matthew Penrose.

Thanks to East Kilbride for a great competitive game of rugby, and as ever to our great support on the day.

Match details

Match date

Sun 25 Aug 2019

Kickoff

14:00

Meet time

13:00
Team overview
Further reading