Whitecraigs U16 66 v Cumnock / Kilmarnock Cougars U16 10

Whitecraigs were worthy winners in this contest although it was not as one sided as the score suggests. The visitors were blown away by their larger opponents in the first half where Whitecraigs out-muscled the Cougars at the breakdown. Things looked fairly even for the first ten minutes or so, particularly when pacy back Gavin Miller touched down to cancel out the early score from the home team. After that though Whitecraigs stepped up a gear and scored a further five unanswered tries before the break.

In the second half the Cougars held out for long periods and threatened on a number of times, but poor decision making and hesitation going forward allowed Whitecraigs time to set their defence and clear their lines. A well executed move and a determined run from Gregor Paxton saw him score on the left side of the field but a further four tries from Whitecraigs put the result beyond doubt. In the end the Cougars were playing for pride determined that the game would last the full seventy minutes and to their credit they held out until the last play when the home team scored at the final whistle.

Plenty of areas for the coaches to work on but but some positives with cameron paterson, Conor Hunter and Cameron McGregor all making sound debuts for the team.

Team: Reilly, D Smith, Wight, Paxton, Miller, McLeod, Bowditch, McEwan (c), R McLaren, Harkiss, Faulds, A McLaren, B Smith, Bark, Kerr, Subs Paterson, Hunter, McGregor, and Young.