Stewartry U15 XV (65) vs Dalziel U15 XV (0)
On a blustery spring afternoon at the Greenlaw these two sides resumed their rivalry. The Stewartry won their last match by one point out of the total of 71 scored and so another close game was anticipated by the substantial end of season crowd.
As it turned out however, after a cagey opening five minutes in which both sides made little of their possession, the Stewartry were on the score board with a well worked try. From a solid scrum, Patrick Quigley fed Peter Young at fly half who initiated a scissors with David Martin, setting him off on a blind side run before feeding Euan Reeves who scored in the corner. Very soon after the resulting kick off, Dalziel infringe and from the quick tapped penalty, Fin Baillie made 30m before feeding Murray Ross who scored under the posts. Young scored the conversion.
Two quick tries followed with Stewartry following up grubber kicks by Martin, allowing both Reeves and Young to score. Both of these tries came from the defensive pressure exerted by Stewartry, with Dalziel players being unable to cope with the press and turning ball over. Conspicuous in this pressure press were Jack mc Garva, playing at blind side for the first time and Martin who specialises in destructive interference. Reeling from these quick scores Dalziel compounded their discomfort by failing to regather their next two kick offs, allowing Jack mc Garva to set up Young and Martin on the blind side, from which Martin scored, and, from the next kick, Fraser Gibson to sidestep two and burst right down the middle to score under the posts.
The half finished with a great piece of teamwork from Stewartry. Competing hard at the lineout where the lifters Andrew Bowden and Connor Clanachan, allowed Gibson to pressure the Dalziel ball, Stewartry continued to press with Jack mc Garva, Young and Martin flying up and dislodging the ball from the Dalziel midfield. The loose ball was snapped up by Zak Hunter and shipped right to Fin Baillie who made ground before setting Fin Telfer up for a scoring run beneath the posts. The conversions to the last two tries were added by Young.
At half time the Stewartry had outplayed Dalziel comprehensively. Where in the last match the big Dalziel runners had made easy yards they now faced determined tacklers and the battle for the ball on the floor was being won by Stewartry with Robbie Briggs and Paddy Traynor being conspicuous with their support.
The question as to whether Dalziel would come back into the match with the advantage of the slope in the second half seemed to be answered fairly quickly as Stewartry were first on the scoreboard with a try for Martin. A Stewartry scrum held up well, with Aaron Murray holding up well as a substitute in the second row, providing good ball for Young to send Martin and Murray Ross away on the left, after a series of rucks and drives, Martin sneaked over.
From the restart Dalziel failed to stop the Stewartry runners gaining momentum. Jack mc Garva making the initial break then Gibson and Conner Clanachan continuing the progress right up the middle. From a quick ruck, Pacey Ho, the new scrum half, whipped the ball right to Baillie who eschewed the supporting runners, broke several tackles and ran on to score.
Dalziel, who were continuing to make a game of things, contained the Stewartry scoring machine for a while, but the dam was once again broken by pressure from Stewartry causing Dalziel to cough the ball up, Stewartry hacked on and forced a penalty from the Dalziel defence. Young went quickly but was held up by offside players and from the reset, Fraser Gibson was put through on a direct line to the posts. Young converted his second of this half and things once again looked ominous for Dalziel.
The final score of the match came when Dalziel again won a lineout but the resulting pressure from Jack mc Garva and Young once again forced turnover ball which Ho swooped upon, sidestepped two and scored the final try of the day. There was still time for some Stewartry players to try to push for glory as Bowden and Briggs both had runs, but poor handling saw the game peter out.
As the players trooped off, the Stewartry players and coaches could be impressed with the improvements in their team’s play since their first encounter with Dalziel.
One partner. No competitors. Visible across local sport.
