Cartha Queens Park 19 - Cumnock / Kilmarnock Cougars 42

Report by Kevan Aitken

This was expected to be a tough encounter against the only team that have beaten the Ayrshire lads in the league this season. The visitors though arrived on the back of some good performances since then and were hoping to reverse the result of that previous encounter.

The Cougars took the game to their opponents right from the start of the match and nearly scored twice in the first ten minutes. The forwards set the pattern for the day early on with some determined rucking securing decent ball to supply the back line. The first try when it came in the sixteenth minute came from a great attacking platform created by the forwards. Scrum-half Aidan Kerr quickly moved the ball to Jack Reilly and he released Gregor Aitken moving at full pace into the space behind the defence and when he passed to Ben Stewart the outside centre was able to step inside the full-back to finish the move off. Reilly added the extras from the kicking tee. The Cougars continued to dominate the forward play and only some desperate defending by Cartha kept the visitors pegged back. In the pack Robbie McLaren put in some great tackles and really motivated those around him, as did Andy Harkiss and Jamie Lorimer. Any possession that Cartha did enjoy was quickly disrupted by some great defending by the Cougars, right across the park. It was surprising that the Cougars only scored once more before half time but when they did it was almost identical to the first try after the forwards had secured yet another ruck in the middle of the park and Kerr, Reilly and Aitken all linking to send Stewart in again. With another successful conversion from Reilly the score at the break was 14-0 to the visitors.

Cartha were boosted after the break by a couple of players returning from a Glasgow District training session and this added some more beef to their forward pack. They made an initial impact and Cartha reduced the lead to only seven points within a minute of the re-start. However the Cougars forwards soon took control again and after only a further four minutes the ever alert Kerr scampered over for a try after his pack had secured yet another ruck inside the Cartha 22. Gregor Paxton, the Cougars own Glasgow District player, then made an impact on the game scoring two quick tries in the 15th and 17th minutes to put the result beyond any doubt, before going off injured. The home team though kept up the momentum and scored a further try and were looking menacing before Reilly intercepted a loose pass and ran in under the posts from thirty metres. The final say though went to Cartha, who scored in the last play of the game to take the final score to 19-42.

This fine win sees the Cougars extend their unbeaten run in 2013 to 5 matches, scoring 247 points in the process and only conceding 50. This was a tremendous team performance with every player accepting responsibility for tackling, defending and attacking. The most encouraging feature is that the forwards are no longer being dominated by larger opponents and are working together as a unit. This allows the team to build a secure platform to provide the backs with good quality possession which in turn sets up good scoring opportunities. With a number of players unavailable others were given the opportunity to step up to the mark and every player did so, demonstrating that there is a good strength in depth available, again boding well heading towards the end of the season.

Team: McEwan, McLaren, Hunter, Faulds, Lorimer, B Smith, Elliott, Harkiss, Kerr, Reilly, Wight, Aitken, Stewart, Miller, Bowditch. Subs: Robson, D Smith, Bark, Barr, Paxton