West Region U15 Plate Final Stewartry Sharks 20 - Cumnock / Kilmarnock Cougars 14

The semi-final had been way back in September and the team has come a long way since then.

Both teams started nervously but it was Stewartry who took the early control of the game. Only some dogged defending by the Cougars kept their larger opponents at bay but eventually Stewartry found a way over the line after some poor tackling. The Cougars looked out of sorts and their handling skills, normally the strong point of the team, seemed to have been left behind on the bus. Two further unanswered tries saw Stewartry take a 15-0 lead into the break.

The second half was a different game, with the Cougars upping the tempo and driving forward with more determination. A good break down the left almost saw Bark score but the forwards recycled the ball quickly and Robbie McLaren dived over to score between the posts to leave an easy conversion for David Smith. From the restart the Cougars were quickly back upfield and a jinky run through the defence by Gregor Paxton handed another conversion on a plate to Smith. The game was now balanced at 15-14 and the Stewartry players were rattled.

The Cougars again broke through the defence thanks to a finely angled run from Gregor Aitken, but Ross Phillips couldn't gather the final pass that would have seen him clean through. Stewartry then got themselves back into the game with a determined break down the left flank. Their flanker thought that he was in for a score but a try saving tackle by Aitken on the line forced the knock-on which let the Cougars off the hook. Shortly afterwards though Stewartry scored between the posts again as a result of poor tackling in the middle of the park, but their kicker missed the easy chance to secure the game. That left a nail biting ten minutes where a converted try could have won the game for the Cougars but alas it was not to be. Despite some fine efforts right across the team, including a 'try' by Bark that was disallowed by the referee for a knock-on, the final score remained 20-14 to Stewartry.

Team McEwan (C), R McLaren, Harkiss, Kerr, A McLaren, B Smith, Bark, Reilly, Hamilton, D Smith, Howie, Aitken, Paxton, McLeod, Bowditch. Subs (all used) Phillips, Wight, Faulds, McCulloch, Barr, Crawshaw, Stewart, Young.