Moffat Rams 7 - Cumnock / Kilmarnock Under 16 Cougars 65

Report by Kevan Aitken

From the start Moffat made no secret of how they intended to play this game, with their large forwards picking the ball from the back of the rucks and driving forward. The visitors soaked up this pressure for the first nine minutes and once in possession moved the ball quickly across the back line to winger Gavin Wight, who raced in from 25metres to score. That set the pattern for much of the first half, with both teams equally matched amongst the forwards, particularly at scums and lineouts but with the home team having no answer to the pace of the visitors backs. Further scores from Thomas Bowditch, Ben Stewart, Gregor Paxton (2) and Bradley Smith, with three successful conversions from Jack Reilly gave the Cougars a comfortable 36-0 lead at the interval.

Full credit to the Moffat players as they scored a try after re-start and reduced the deficit by seven points. However that was soon forgotten about as the visitors scored a further five tries and two conversions. Paxton completed his hat-trick and there were scores from Wight, Aidan Kerr and Reilly (2) before the referee called time on the match.

The backs scored ten of the eleven tries but it was the platform created by the effort from the forwards that created the opportunities. Among the pack Neil Kerr was pinching line-out ball from his opposite number, Robbie McLaren was winning scrums against the head and Andrew Harkiss at Number 8 put in a hard shift around the fringes of the rucks and mauls and is a revelation in this new position. All of the players are pulling together as a team and they have scored 156 points in their last three games, conceding only four tries in the process.The team are now sitting second top in the league but face stiff competition at home next Sunday against Newton Stewart at Broomfield with a 2.00pm kick off.

Team: McEwan (c), R McLaren, Hunter, A McLaren, Faulds, Smith, N Kerr, Harkiss, A Kerr, Reilly, Wight, Paxton, Aitken, Stewart, Bowditch. Subs: Miller, Elliott, Robson, Lorimer.