On Sunday 25 February 2018 Stewartry Under 16 team travelled to Greenock in order to play a re-arranged cup game against Greenock Wanderers Under 16 team.
The game started in pleasant sunshine with a fair breeze angled across the pitch and it wasn’t long before a Greenock error provided for the first scrum. Greenock scrum pushed Stewartry backwards to win the ball against the head and made a bit of progress towards halfway. However, this was the last time Stewartry lost a scrum.
Greenock had the put-in at the next scrum however, Stewartry pushed them back and won the ball allowing Patrick Quigley to pass to Peter Young who scampered over in the corner for the first try. After the restart Greenock made their way into Stewartry 22 metre line where Stewartry won the ball however a short drive by the forwards allowed Greenock to steal the ball and sneak up the blind side to score in the corner. After the Stewartry restart there was a fierce battle of tackling and rucking between both teams.
Fin Telfer and Paddy Traynor drove forward to set up a ruck, Patrick Quigley then spun the ball wide to the left where Telfer and Baillie were held up short of the line. Good quick presentation of the ball allowed Patrick to release the ball to Peter Young who fed Fraser Forsyth who timed his pass perfectly to Pacey Ho who scored in the corner. A great move between forwards and backs.
About half way through first half Connor Clanachan was substituted with a head knock after putting in some ferocious tackles and drives. He was replaced by Alexander McCormick. A short time after the restart Greenock made their way into Stewartry 22 and after some spirited defending Greenock broke through and scored under the posts. Stewartry restarted and after a continued spell of pressure near to the Greenock line Fraser Forsyth ran a perfect angle to receive the ball from Peter Young and scored under the posts.
Greenock once again made their way into Stewartry territory and scored near the corner. Stewartry restarted and after a Greenock error Pacey Ho collected the ball and ran in beating several defenders to score the fourth try. This was a tremendous effort as Stewartry played the first half against a strong wind.
Half Time – Stewartry 22 – Greenock 19.
The second half started furiously with Stewartry playing with the wind and soon made inroads into Greenock half. After winning some good ruck ball Stewartry spun the ball wide to Pacey Ho who made it to the line but knocked on prior to touching down. A short time later some some disputed transgressions by Stewartry players allowed for a Stewartry back to be yellow carded for 10 minutes.
Greenock threw everything at the Stewartry defence but they held firm for almost the full 10 minutes but Greenock sneaked a try in the corner after some heroic defending. The score was now Srewartry 22 – Greenock 24. Stewartry restarted the match with 15 players on the pitch and played the best part of then whole game, they tackled and drove before earning a penalty just to the right of the posts. A bit of calmness on the situation was needed so Peter young kicked the penalty to restore the lead.
Stewartry were now in no mood to loose this lead and after some dynamic running from the forwards Fraser Forsyth broke through some tackles and scored under the post. However, almost immediately Stewartry defence fell asleep and allowed Greenock to narrow the scoring gap when they scored under the posts. The game was now in its last 10 minutes and could have gone either way but the determination and fitness of the Stewartry team allowed the forwards to win a turnover and Peter Young passed to Fraser Forsyth who ran straight at the defending player and fired a missed pass to Luke Thomson who gobbled up the ball and scored easily in the corner.
Another well worked try. Stewartry were now on a roll and Fraser Forsyth was in magic form when he collected the ball at half way and after some impressive side stepping down the line being chased by Geenock defenders there was never any doubt he was going to score in the corner. Near the end Stewartry were winning the ball with style and after some great forward play Peter Young released Fraser Forsyth who passed to Matthew Coupland who had cut a great line from full back to score under the posts. When the final whistle went the Stewartry boys were elated that they had recovered from last weeks defeat and win under severe pressure.
Final Score – Stewartry 49 – Greenock Wanderers 29.
Scorers – Tries – Fraser Forsyth 3 Pacey Ho 2, Peter Young 1 try, 3 conversions 1 penalty , Luke Thomson 1, Matthew Coupland 1
All the Stewartry players played really well as a team and never once got dispirited. Special mention should go some outstanding forward contributions by Connor Clanachan, Fraser Gibson, Fin Telfer, Paddy Traynor and Zac Hunter for their powerful forward drives and tackle count. It seemed that Fin Telfer was the first to every breakdown (Just like John Barclay) to secure the ball. This allowed Patrick Quigley to use the backs Peter Young , Fraser Forsyth and Pacey Ho. Luke Thomson and Matthew Coupland should be praised for their debut tries and committed tackling and contribution.
A super performance by all 16 squad members against a very good strong team.
