Match Report from Coach Paul O’Donnell

Our Under 14 boys were back in action again on Sunday, playing host to our neighbours from across the border Creighton RFC.

Our visitors have clearly been investing in their youth set up in recent years as they were able to come with an 18-man squad of U14 boys whilst the home side had a mix of U13’s and U14’s, propped up by a couple of players from Moffat RFC.

The first 20 minutes was all Creighton. Strong direct running from their forward pack, followed by fast hands out to the speedsters on the wing resulted in them racking up a significant lead in the first third.

This was compounded by the home side uncharacteristically making several early handling errors, gifting possession to their opposition.

So after 20 minutes of play our lads were battered and bruised by the larger opposition and staring down the barrel of another 2 x 20 minute spells of uphill rugby.

However, determined to turn things around the home side buckled down in the second period and took it to the visiting side. Tackles became stronger, our rucking became more clinical, and our handling was back to the high standards we’ve been setting at training.

This culminated in Annan scoring a well worked try that saw Moffat’s Murray Green bulldoze his way towards the try line, only to be stopped a couple of meters short. Some quick thinking and a powerful pick and go by young Jamie Graves saw him crash over the line to get Annan on the scoresheet.

Creighton still managed to cross the line a few times but the improved performance from our lads made this period of the game a lot closer and more competitive.

In the final 20 the visitors hit their stride again, taking advantage of some tired and weary Annan bodies to rack up several more tries.

However, our lads didn’t give up and literally fought to the final whistle. In the dying seconds of the game Ben Wylie used every last drop of energy to take off on a powerful run down the touchline where he managed to evade the defending teams tackle attempts and scored an impressive try in the corner.

Despite a heavy defeat, the lads are claiming a win under the “last score wins” rule 😊

In the forwards our back row of Mason Wield, Rocky O’Donnell and Ben Wylie were outstanding, in a game where we were starved of possession, they certainly got plenty of tackling practice and were dogged and determined at the breakdown.

In the backs Rueben Moffat and Max Atkinson led the way both in attack and defence, never taking a backwards step against their larger opponents.

Man of the match for Annan this week goes to scrum half Euan Brooke who continues to hone his skills as our number 9 and is developing into a great all round player.

Thanks has to go to Murray Green and Liam Jack from Moffat RFC who played for Annan and both had excellent performances.

A tough day at the office but the resilience and determination showed by our lads is something they should be very proud of.

A big thank you to Creighton for coming to play, you have an excellent team and we are sure you will do some damage this season!