Wow! What a terrific game of rugby we enjoyed this afternoon, and one that epitomised all that is good about rugby at this level: two highly skilled teams playing ambitious rugby, looking to move the ball wide in to space, and some hugely brave and committed defence from both teams. To be honest, everyone emptied the tank today, and a draw was a very fair result, and I was hugely proud of the rugby we played this afternoon: it was a level up from our performance down at Aysgarth on tour when we won, and we may have edged it with a bit more luck and composure, but every single boy can be very proud of themselves. A game to remember, one for the ages, and one that showed just how far we have developed as a team over the course of what has been a very successful season for this group of boys. Yes, Jamie scores a lot of tries, but the teamwork that goes in to them for him to finish them off: all the recycling, all the discipline at the breakdown, all the attacking lines and support play and then add in some immense defensive sets – these are what have allowed us to win matches, and play the game the right way.

Right, enough of that teary eyed stuff…….on to today! With the cold weather set in, we were fortunate to be able to hire the 3G surface over at Peffermill, and once again, it was gre4at to welcome our friends from Aysgarth to Edinburgh, even though we were not able to host them to school as we normally would. However, the World Rugby accredited surface was perfect and it allowed both teams to play some terrific rugby this afternoon, superbly refereed, as always, by George Pounder from Glenalmond. Reflecting afterwards, I think this was a much higher quality game than we had down in Yorkshire a week ago, and this is testament to the SRU AGLVs that we adhere to up here: tackle low, keep the ball alive and don’t target the ball – it makes for a better game and we saw that this afternoon.

What pleased me most was the way this very young team stood up and coped well up against what was a larger Aysgarth team, never once taking a backward step. Yes, we slipped off the odd tackle, but by and large, we defended outstandingly well, both on our own line and higher up the pitch forcing errors from the Aysgarth backline. Jamie Mack and Miguel, and Lochy and Hamish all performed outstandingly well, with and without the ball, making good decisions with the ball, and really threatening the opposition again and again. It was wonderful to see them working so well together showing a huge amount of attacking flair. What a line up we have for next season! Out wide, Oliver and Theo had their best games of the season, running exceptional lines with the ball, proving very difficult to bring down and defending stoutly too. Up front, as you would expect, our well drilled forwards were outstanding once again today: we dominated the breakdown, with Leo, David, Bertie, Jamie and Johnny effecting numerous turnovers during the game, whilst Wilf, Johnny, Leo and Jamie ran exceptionally well with the ball in hand, straightening the line and all took a lot of stopping.  As I say, up against bigger boys, but not once did we take a backward step.

We scored some excellent tries, all of them involving some outstanding build up play by the whole team, and although it ended up all square, we could have nicked it to be honest, but a draw was a fitting end to two wonderfully committed and entertaining games of Prep School rugby. Having come out on top down in Yorkshire, this meant we had won back the Aysgarth/Cargilfield Bowl – well deserved indeed!

So, one last dance to come, up at Dollar next week. Let’s finish in style, boys – you deserve a fitting finale to what has been a fabulous term of rugby!