U18 Boys
Matches
Sat 04 Mar 2017
Hamilton Rugby Club
U18 Boys
Tries: J McLean, D McRoberts (2), c virtue, N Brown, B SimpsonConversions: R MacDonald (5), D McRoberts
42
3
Dumfries Saints RFC
Penalties: 1
U18s REACH WEST CUP FINAL

U18s REACH WEST CUP FINAL

John Colvin5 Mar 2017 - 15:16
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Young Bulls continue to dominate their opposition in the West Cup

Having comprehensively disposed of Ardrossan and then beaten Newton Stewart 43-10 to reach the quarter final of the West Cup the young Bulls were in confident mood and keen to seek revenge for the narrow defeat to Dumfries in the league game before Xmas. Dumfries, who had convincing victories over Glasgow Hawks and Marr to reach this stage were clearly not going to give up a place in the final easily.

Dumfries started brightly and after winning a scrum on the right wing they went through 8 phases of play, showing good control, patience and a strong rucking technique. Hamilton defenders drifted offside in their enthusiasm to press their line giving Dumfries the first opportunity to score. When the 35m kick drifted wide Hamilton eventually got control of the ball and set up camp deep into Dumfries territory. After a couple of scrums and a lineout inside the Dumfries 22 the scrambled defence around a ruck was unpicked when Angus Colvin offloaded to Jordan McLean, Hamilton’s favourite Big Mac, who beefed his way through several tacklers before stretching over the line to score. Robbie MacDonald converted.

A few minutes later Dumfries found themselves with greater numbers out left and Hamilton were judged offside when they pressed up early to cut off this promising move. This time the Dumfries number 10 put the ball between the posts to take the score to 7-3.

After 22 minutes Dumfries were defending a scrum in their half and when they decided to play it out of their own 22 Dom McRoberts pounced on a dropped pass and dribbled the ball over the line to score. Robbie MacDonald converted again.

Catching the high ball from the restart flanker Connor Virtue, who had already put in a good shift, took a high tackle and a dead leg and had to leave the park. The referee played advantage and by the time the game stopped for a Hamilton scrum they were 15m from the Dumfries line. The Hamilton scrum was as secure as ever and a set move between the No. 9 Vinny Zabat and No. 8 Jordan McLean did all the damage allowing David Coccoza, Connor’s replacement, to dive over the line before he even had a chance to warm up. Robbie MacDonald, who definitely had his boots on the right feet today, kicked his third conversion.

Dumfries managed to get another penalty 30m out but failed to score. Indeed for the first half the only scoring chances Dumfries had were 3 kicks at goal from 30m plus. Hamilton led a convincing 21–3 at half time though they had not really played with the structure or precision that we have seen earlier in the season. The only worry the coaches had was that yet again there were too many players talking back to the referee and the biggest threat to winning the game was this indiscipline.

Any hint of a rally by Dumfries in the second half was quickly put to rest when 3 minutes into the half Hamilton won a scrum 5m out and 15m from the left hand side. That gave a lot of space for the backs to exploit and Nathan Brown was happy to step up and exploit it. Another excellent try from the captain brought a smile to his Mum’s face but still didn’t appear to do much for his Dad. Do I really need to say that Robbie MacDonald converted again? Why not.

If that was not the killer blow then what followed was. The restart kick was collected by Jordan McLean who drove up to the half way line and by the time it got to outside centre Dom McRoberts was clearly in a playful mood. With perfectly good support runs left and right from Callum Stewart and Nathan Brown to ignore, Dom cut inside a drifting defence, chipped over the head of the full back and collected the bouncing ball to score his second try of the day. Robbie MacDonald converted, five from five, before leaving the pitch to give someone else a go.

With such a heavy pitch it was not surprising that the pace of the game dropped a bit and Dumfries found a period with a bit more possession and territory but they failed to properly threaten the Hamilton line. Eventually it was the strong running game of Billy Simpson and the cheers of the young supporters on the side line that seemed to inspire them to raise their game again and Billy deserved the final say of the day when he bullied his way over the line from a lineout on the right. Dom McRoberts converted.

Dumfries were a strong side who seemed capable of competing in every area of the game apart from the scoreboard and will no doubt be frustrated with the 42-3 final score. Hamilton however can take credit for another strong performance and this herd of young Bulls fully deserve their place in the final of the West Cup.

The coaches and players would like to thank the smashing support they got on such a cold damp day. It was great to see and it gives the whole team a boost.

As we progress in a cup competition the opposition keeps getting stronger, so performances have to get better. Hamilton will need to be at the top of their game if they are to be competitive against Ayr in three weeks time.

Match details

Match date

Sat 04 Mar 2017

Kickoff

13:30
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Main Club Sponsor - Revie Homes
U18 Sponsor - J Noble Aerial and Satellite Services