1stVII winners of the Ardvreck 7s
This was the 25th year of the Ardvreck 7s, a day that is always one of the highlights of the prep school rugby calendar in Scotland, and a competition that we have done well in throughout the past 16 years, winning it on four occasions and being losing finalists on countless others. Sevens is a game which tests you in so many ways: fitness, stamina, bravery, tackling, communication and you cannot afford any weak links in the side, otherwise you end up being exposed on big wide pitches with so much space. However, the good news was that Leo and Chay both made the 10 stone weight limit so the squad assembled up in Crieff on the first Sunday of November, with the leaves turning golden on the trees and the Autumnal sunshine creating a wonderful backdrop for what was to prove another wonderful day for Cargilfield rugby!
Group Stage
We faced Loretto, St Mary’s, Belhaven and Ardvreck 2 in the group stages, and our sevens got better and better as each game passed. Normally, we would have had the Loretto 7s in October to prepare for, but with that being cancelled and only a couple of sevens sessions possible during games, I knew we would be a little undercooked this year, but we had covered the basics of keeping the ball, using the width, keeping the ball away from contact and if there is a breakdown, be very aggressive and get the ball away in to space again. In fact, we played some really nice sevens, especially in the Belhaven game when we were tested and had to look after the ball for long periods to stretch the defensive line: we won our group without conceding many tries and never really looked in trouble, so it was through to the semi finals when we would meet our old nemesis, Merchiston once again!
Semi Final v Merchiston
We really did play some fantastic sevens here, keeping the ball and exploiting the space out wide with Leo and Chay whilst Milo made inroads in the midfield; our defence was outstanding and we scored lots of tries to make the game safe which allowed us to rest players for the final. It was an excellent team effort and one that filled us with confidence for the Final.
Final v Belhaven
Having beaten Belhaven reasonably comfortably in the group stage, the boys were full of confidence heading in the Final at the end of what had been a long and tiring day. However, strange things can happen, and right from the start it was clear that Belhaven meant business as they scored a well worked try right from the kick off, going round the outside; one missed tackle, and that was that. It happened again, and so two tries down after not very long on the clock, we were now really up against it. However, this group of boys then showed what they are made of, and we scored two tries which meant we were back in the game, albeit behind having missed the conversions. The game was on a knife edge and having scored a converted try each, we knew we had to score to win the Final and take the trophy home. It was nerve jangling stuff, but we had nerves of steel as the clock moved in to overtime and in to the last play; we showed lots of patience, keeping the ball alive despite excellent defence from Belhaven, but then Leo came on to a short ball and dived over from short range to win the game and then the whistle blew for full time. Game over, Cargilfield Champions 2021!
I was hugely proud of every single one of the boys who had worked so hard and played such tremendous rugby over the course of the day. I certainly felt we were the best side there, but hats off to Belhaven who pushed us so hard in the final and who almost had one hand on the trophy being ahead in the last play: we did it the hard way, but to win the 25th Ardvreck 7s was very satisfying indeed and we showed a huge amount of skill and heart in the end to get over the line and win it, having played the best sevens of the day overall.
Well played, boys! A very special day indeed.
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