In the last pool game of the cup, with places in semi finals already secured, Stewartry travelled up with a strong squad to play Strathaven who were yet to record a win in this competition.
The warning signs were there and as it transpired a much improved Strathaven performance from previous games and a way below par Stewartry performance resulted in a 31-12 defeat for the Stewartry.
Hard to put a finger on why the progress this team has made went off the rails in this game. The harder individuals tried, resulted in teamwork going out the window. Backs ended up at more rucks than the forwards, which left gaps that Strathaven exploited to the full. In the line out, usually a strong part of our game, we struggled to win any ball and an overall lack of urgency and aggression, saw the will to win disappear on a sun soaked afternoon.
For the record, try scorers for Stewartry were David Martin following a quick tap penalty and surge to line by Connor Clanachan which put Stewartry in front early on. Peter Young adding the conversion.
Stewartry’s only other score followed another tap penalty on Strathaven’s 22, this time by Peter Young who’s quick reaction saw him backing himself to score in the corner, but then saw his conversion drift wide.The Strathaven coach in correspondence after game picked out Quigley, Hannay and Young as his pick of Stewartry team on the day.
If Stewartry boys are to progress in their semi final on 23rd April, they will need a much improved performance which they are undoubtedly capable of if they get back to implementing what they have been doing at training and in most games this season.
Let’s hope this happens and this was just a blip on the path to improving as a team and that a desire to win returns in the cup semi final.
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