P3 at Cumnock Festival

Cumnock's primary 3 squad welcomed their friends from Ardrossan, Dumfries, East Kilbride and Lenzie to Broomfield for Cumnock's annual rugby festival. With such strong clubs visiting it promised to be a great day of rugby and certainly didn't disappoint. Cumnock had almost a full squad available for the big day so were able to field two teams, Red and Black.
First up for the Reds was a tough opener against a well drilled side from East Kilbride. From the opening play the Cumnock side were turned over which lead to an early try for East Kilbride. From here this seemed to be the pattern for the rest of the match with East Kilbride soaring in attack. The Cumnock side however battled hard until the final whistle with Cuinn, Aaron and Logan desperately trying to hold East Kilbride out however East Kilbride were simply too strong, running in 8-0 winners. A tough opener for the Reds.
Next up was a match against Ardrossan. After dusting themselves down from the opening match the Reds were starting to find their stride. Aaron began the try count for Cumnock with his blistering pace leaving the opposition on their heels. Murray proved a constant threat in attack weaving in and out the Ardrossan line to get over the whitewash. In defence Cumnock were having to battle hard with Ardrossan matching them stride for stride, Freya, Ewan and Finlay doing their best to hold the defensive line. Further Cumnock tries were added by Aaron, Murray and Finley. This paid off with the Reds getting their noses in front at the line with the match finishing 7-5 to Cumnock. A big improvement by the Reds. Scorers Aaron 4, Murray 2 and Finlay.
Next the reds faced Dumfries. This was a real end to end battle with both sides going all-out in attack. Early tries for Dumfries were matched with tries for Freya, Finlay and Cuinn with Cumnock refusing to let their visitors pull ahead. Logan and Cuinn were marshalling the defensive line and causing Dumfries a headache in the midfield. The match continued in a similar fashion with both sides matching try for try. Logan was next up to get over the line, shortly followed by Ewan and Murray to tie the game approaching the end. However, a moment of good play from Dumfries saw them over the line in a pulsating match which finished 7-6 to the visitors. Scorers Freya, Finlay, Cuinn, Logan, Murray and Ewan.
The final match was against Lenzie. Desperate to finish on a high and roared on by the home support and teammates, the Reds had a spring in their step and came racing out the blocks. Ewan made a dazzling run up the touchline to get the Reds in front. This was soon followed by another with a similar move by Ewan leaving the Lenzie players lagging behind. Some astute defending by Cuinn, Logan and Finlay kept the opponent’s chances at a minimum and forced many turnovers. Further tries were added by Murray, Freya and Aaron which capped a wonderful match by the Reds, sealing a 5-2 victory.
A brilliant gritty festival by the Red side who could easily have gone into hiding after the opening match. They refused to lay down and came roaring back to the delight of the coaches and supporters on the side-line. Well done the Reds!!
The Blacks opened their campaign against Ardrossan and immediately showed their intentions for the day with high pressure defence that continually pushed the Ardrossan attackers back, Lewis, Maddy, Reiley and Ryan all making countless touches. Each turnover after defending 6 touches saw the Blacks with good field position which they exploited with clinical precision, scoring through Paul, Reiley, Mason, Matthew (2) and a lovely hat-trick from Ryan whose balanced running & sidesteps were a joy to watch. Score: Cumnock 9 - Ardrossan 0
In their second game Cumnock Black faced a tricky Lenzie team who let the Blacks know they were up for the game by immediately countering Lewis' opening score with a fine try of their own. The Blacks responded well to the challenge with Paul crossing soon after to retake the lead. The Black defence held out resolutely and began to deny Lenzie space to attack, forcing repeated sixth touch turnovers. The Blacks' pace and ball movement in attack proved impossible to contain as Paul and Lewis both added further tries along with Ryan, Reiley and a brace for Matthew. Score: Cumnock 8 – Lenzie 1.
In their third game the Blacks took on a strong Dumfries side who always provide tough opposition and this was no exception. The Blacks struggled to contain Dumfries' fast, direct runners and excellent support play. In attack Cumnock similarly stretched the Dumfries defence. This resulted in a compelling, fast-flowing match raging from end to end with beautiful attacking play to the fore. Paul scored a fine hat-trick, Reiley and Mason also scored, while Lewis bagged a double. The pick of the tries coming when Lewis released Maddy who sidestepped two onrushing defenders and charged upfield, when caught she found Lewis who was running a perfect support line to cross unopposed. Score: Cumnock 8 - Dumfries 6.
The Blacks next faced very familiar opposition in Cumnock Red. The Blacks looked to re-establish some defensive dominance but found themselves severely tested by Finlay's quick restarts, regularly releasing the pacey Aaron, jinky Murray or Cuinn, who's barnstorming charges proved hard to stop. Ewan and Logan regularly also tested the Black defence, Maddy, Reiley, Matthew and Paul all working very hard to contain the Reds. Freya and Finlay reaped the rewards of good support play scoring fine tries for the Reds with Murray also breaking through to score a cracker.
The Blacks' pace in attack proved unstoppable with Mason blazing through for an excellent double while Lewis' combination of speed and sidesteps saw him bag four beauties. Ryan danced his way over for a brace and Matthew got in on the act with a super try. The final score, 9-3 was hard on the Reds who competed really well.
For the second week running this set up a decider against East Kilbride's excellent primary 3 team who had also won all their games going into the final match.
These two familiar adversaries once again served up a pulsating, high quality encounter which was played at a breathless tempo and was a joy to watch. With both defences pressing well, there were few gaps to be found. East Kilbride broke the deadlock, pouncing on a loose pass by Cumnock to charge upfield and score. The Blacks didn't let their heads go down though and continued to prove for gaps, Ryan finding his was through an impossibly small gap on the wing to equalise with a peach of a try. Both teams continued to defend with tenacity, Maddy, Lewis, Reiley and Matthew worked tirelessly to ensure no chances were offered to East Kilbride. Mason showed his total commitment, taking a sore one when diving for the corner but was unfortunately caught by the visitors cover. Paul then blasted clear to give Cumnock the lead. As East Kilbride searched for an equaliser with the clock ticking down, Ryan once again found space on the wing and outpaced the cover defence to score and see the Blacks across the finishing line. Both teams deserve great credit for their commitment, attitude and skill in what was a fitting finale to the festival.
Cumnock lifted the trophy after a brilliant day of rugby with all clubs playing some lovely stuff. The coaches were delighted with the performance of this fantastic young squad, brimming with potential and continuing to develop into a fine team.
Red team: Cuinn, Logan, Freya, Aaron, Finlay, Murray, Ewan, Noah.
Black team: Lewis, Maddy, Mason, Matthew, Paul, Reiley, Ryan

Report by Jim Leitch (Red) & Stuart Benzie (Black)