Isle of Mull Under 14 Rugby Festival

A strong Lochaber contingent participated in Isle of Mull’s U14 Rugby Tens Festival on Saturday 4th May. Clifton Hall School from Edinburgh, on tour, fielded two teams, and Mull / Oban Combined fielded a third opposing team. To give an idea of the effort the Lochaber boys and their parents made to get to the tournament, the following team list also includes their home town or village, noting that nine of the eleven come from outwith Fort William - James (front row – Mallaig), Hayden (hooker – Fort Wiliiam), Struan (front row –Knoydart), Stuart (scrumhalf – Acharacle), Zach (flyhalf – Ardgour), Ronnie (centre and captain - Spean Bridge), Archie (centre – Knoydart), Josh (wing – Fort Augustus), Ruiraidh (wing – Mallaig), Callan (fullback – Mallaig),.Ryan (utility player – Fort William).

The first game against Mull / Oban Combined started at a frenetic pace, with both teams desperately seeking to break through. Ryan replaced Josh, who took a knock, and almost immediately beat two tackles to score on the left wing. OM Combined equalised before Ronnie brushed off a number of tacklers to score. In the second half, despite good rucking and tackling in the middle from forwards James, Hayden, and Struan, OM Combined managed to score three times out wide. Ronnie cam back on after a well-earned rest, and Lochaber's defence stiffened, but time ran out before they could hit back and reduce the score deficit..

The second game against Clifton Hall Colours was evenly contested, with Lochaber just pipped in the try count. Struan, a big strong and fit lad, set up Ronnie for the first try, and finished off some good lead-up work by James to score himself, later on in the second half. Callan at fullback, Stewart at scrumhalf, and Zach at flyhalf, put in some great tackles, and always managed to create something with the ball in hand. As the game progressed, Ronnie began to assert his authority as captain, organising his outside backs Ryan, Archie, Josh, and Ruiraidh more effectively.

Against Clifton Hall Whites, Lochaber scored from the kick-off, then CH Whites responded in kind from the restart. However, what looked likely to be another even contest turned Lochaber’s way, with both Struan and Ronnie scoring after some good defence and turnovers, and with Archie’s pick and go almost resulting in another score. The second started evenly, and when CH Whites pressed Lochaber's line, Callan recovered a rucked ball, took it up the middle, turned in the tackle and fed it back to Zach. He accelerated through a slight gap on his outside and beat a number of covering tackles to run in the try from 70
> metres. After that it was one-way traffic, with among others, a memorable long range mazy run and try from Josh. Ronnie was able, for a change, to just stand back and admire his team-mates new-found confidence and skill.

A lot of basic but good quality rugby was needed to generate the above highlights. Ryan's non-stop efforts in the tackle and at the ruck, Stewart's accurate passing from the scrum and ruck base, Hayden's ability to fill in at scrumhalf when needed, Archie's hard running, and Ruiraidh's great support play whenever a break was created, were much appreciated examples on the day. To top off all the Lochaber boys’ efforts on the pitch, the team received the Fair Play Award.

They say that a keenly contested game of rugby is a thing of beauty. The scorelines don’t really matter much in youth tournaments such as this one, because what coaches parents and spectators wish to see are qualities such as enthusiasm, skill, fair play, and teamwork. Lochaber provided bucketfuls of all of these things at the Isle of Mull’s U14 Rugby Tens Festival, so keep up the good work boys, you’re already making the world a better place!

Phil Thurlow U14 Coach
Lochaber Rugby Club