Kilmarnock U13s 39 - v- 24 Cumnock U13s

The last U13 Conference game of 2018 against Cumnock did not turn out to be the competitive match that was expected, with Cumnock arriving at Bellsland with only 5 players. With Kilmarnock having an abundance of players available (what a difference from the start of the season), the Cumnock players were absorbed into the fold and a very enjoyable development game took place.

3x 15 minute games were played, with 7 Kilmarnock players joining the Cumnock players in each game, with every Kilmarnock player getting involved. Rugby is a team game, and the sportsmanship shown by all boys to ensure that the game got played deserves to be recognised.

What followed was a very entertaining game, full of both attacking and defensive rugby. Some of the handling being displayed was a pleasure to watch, as too were the offloads and supporting runs. At times this season, our tackling and rucking has let us down a little, however this was not the case on Sunday, as players in both teams showed that they had been listening to the coaches and were putting into practice what they had been running through at training, especially Sami Duran, who was unlucky not to score following 2 pick-ups at the breakdown and driving through towards the line, with great strength and speed!

TJ McPartland was also impressive playing at 13, pressing forward in defence and making some crunching tackles, which on many occasion, put the attacking team on the back foot or resulted in possession being turned over! I could mention each and every Kilmarnock player on Sunday, as each one of them raised their game and showed just how far they have come in a short period of time.

There were 3 different scores given to me on the day, with the ref’s official version being 39-24…we’ll stick with that one!

For Kilmarnock we had a number of try scorers, with Brayden Dean, Kenzie Neilson, Matthew Penrose, Logan Mitchell, Cameron Barbour, and Ben Stitt all scoring. Thomas Dunlop, Taylor Hamilton and Lawrie Moir slotting conversions.

While playing for Cumnock, Logan Mitchell, Matthew Penrose, Kenzie Neilson, Andrew Bruce and Thomas Dunlop also scored some fine try’s.

This is the first time the club has played in the conference structure, will all teams at the club from U13 to U18 playing the same opposition each week. While it has been challenging at times, I cannot emphasise enough how proud I am to Coach this cracking group of kids and watch them develop into a team over the course of the season.

Along with Rab, I would like to thank you all for your continued support and look forward to getting back to rugby in the New Year.