Greenock u18 10 Cumnock u18 17

Report by Ian Park

The under 18s were hoping to continue the winning formulae conjured up from last season’s successful league win.

With numbers tight due to some long term injuries the young Nock team just scrapped a starting 15, minutes before leaving and while this didn’t leave much room for error the coaches were delighted by the efforts the boys made to get there.

As the game got underway it was easy to see that both teams were struggling to find any rhythm so early in the season, and with short numbers, players out of position and only one competitive game under their belts, Cumnock were toiling to string any meaningful play together. Greenock were also all over the breakdown, disrupting the play and not allowing Cumnock any early ball, but this also produced a fair number of penalties to both sides. The breakthrough came from a penalty as Calum Park kick it long to setup a line out 5 metres out and a perfectly executed catch and drive resulted in Robbie McLaren touching down for the first score, unfortunately Park just missed the extras from wide, 0-5 Cumnock.

As the first half progressed the Nock scrum and lineout were beginning to work well but too many handling errors were limiting the play as they tried to force the ball wide. Greenock took the lead through a nice individual try as the boy collected his clever kick into space to round the full back to score to go in at half time 7-5 up.

The second half was much the same as the first with not much flowing rugby and the game seesawing between the teams. Again Cumnock were first to score with Bradley Smith stretching over the line to end a trademark strong break, Aiden Kerr dropkicking the extra points to retake the lead 7-12. As expected Greenock hit back camping the Nock half but a resilient defence limited their scoring opportunities until they eventually took a 3 point penalty take the game to 10-12.

The game remained tight until at last Cumnock managed to string some passes together, moving the ball through the hands to find Connor Hill on the overlap who had the pace to round the last man to score. Kerr missed the kick but Cumnock were now 10-17 up and held on to get the their first win of the new season.

A bit like the journey home the game was a bit messy with plenty stops and starts, however the coaches were pleased by the effort and commitment of the boys who were available and know the team will learn and improve as the season progresses.

The u18 team is on the lookout for any former players or boys age 16 or 17 who would like to play rugby, if you are interested contact the Rugby Club or training is on Tuesday and Thursdays at Rugby Club 7.00pm

Team: Calum Park, Bradley Smith, Aidan Kerr, Glen Young, Ryan McCrone, Robbie McLaren, Gavin Gilliland, Thomas Findlay, Louis Andrew, Kyle Farrow, Tyler Wallace, Connor Hill, Michael Anderson, Sean Houston, Scott Teece