U14 BOYS V STEWARTRY U14 BOYS

Match Report from Coach Paul O’DonnelL

Our Under 14 boys kicked off their season with a home tie against local rivals Stewartry.

For several of our younger players it was their first full pitch 15-a-side game having just moved up from P7 Rugby, so this was going to be a big test.

Due to their impressive participation numbers at this level Stewartry have the luxury of fielding both U13 and U14 teams this season so our visitors were a “pure” U14 side, which was very much reflected in the size and stature of our opponents.

To integrate some of our younger players we agreed to play 3 periods of 20 minutes. Despite the challenging weather conditions the game got off to a fast and furious start with both sides happy to run hard and throw the ball around.

Stewartry were able to dominate possession for the most part but were met with some aggressive defence from the Annan lads. However, their persistence paid off, and they were able to cross the line twice in the first period.

After 20 minutes and despite being 2 tries down our lads were full of confidence going in to the second period and were determined to close the gap.

Some strong running from centres Archie Nicholson and Max Lupton saw us come close on a couple of occasions, only to be stopped by a determined visiting defence.

This didn’t stop us though, and it was only a matter of time before Archie crossed the line to kick off our points tally for the season.

However, Stewartry didn’t allow us to bridge the gap in points and were able to use their big forwards to suck in our home defence before exposing us out wide to score a number of tries.

In the 3^rd 20 Stewartry continued to pile on the pressure and extend their lead further. Our boys didn’t make it easy for them though and impressed the home supporters with some fierce defending and crunching tackles.

Despite the gulf in score Annan were determined to get another try, and that’s exactly what they did. From an attacking lineout in the opposing 22 our backs launched a set move that set off full back Ciaran Cannon running towards the line, only to be tackled a few meters out.

Stewartry then gave away a penalty that was taken quickly by Annan resulting in Ciaran Cannon crossing the line for our final score of the day. The match was finished off with some more relentless attack from the visitors that further extended their lead.

Final Score: Annan 12 v Stewartry 65.

In the forwards our back row of Mason Wield, Ben Wylie and Liam Howatson put in workmen like shifts all morning. In the backs centres Archie Nicholson and Max Atkinson led the attacking line with some aggressive and determined running.

Player of the Match for Annan goes to full back Ciaran Cannon who seemed to cover every blade of grass and topped off an impressive performance with a try.

All in all, it was a good first run out for our boys. Considering that many of our players have just moved up from P7 rugby this was an impressive effort against a strong and well drilled Stewartry side.

Our young players didn’t look out of place and showed a lot of heart and determination from start to finish. There’s plenty to work on at training but the coaches are excited by this team and their potential.