On a cool and breezy Autumnal afternoon Craigclowan travelled to Cargilfield to take on the Under 9 squad in what proved to be a tight and exciting encounter.

Coach Parker continued to rotate his squad in order to give opportunities to all but believed firmly that another victory would be claimed by the team that had been selected.

Unfortunately, it took Cargilfield a little while to settle, given the unusual nature of a home tie, and a slow start enabled Craigclowan to race ahead and score the first two tries.

Throughout the game Cargilfield fought hard but were never quite able to claw back the two tries and take the lead and ultimately fell short by just one try, losing 8 tries to 7.

There was much to be proud of as the team worked well in attack and used the ball wisely and skilfully, enabling everyone to take part and contribute. There were some fine passes from all the team as well as some strong individual runs. Magnus scored an excellent try and received a bloody nose for his efforts but was undaunted by the situation. Tommy, Archie and Daniel also crossed the line.

In defence the team lacked a little cohesion and organisation, despite Arran’s excellent defensive play and Hugo’s determined captaincy, and as a result spent periods of time ‘chasing shadows’ rather than simply standing firm and defending their zones. Hopefully they will learn from this and be more difficult to beat next week.