Oban Lorne U14's v Lochaber U14's - Saturday 9th November 2019

A strong Lochaber U14 contingent participated in Oban’s Mini Midi Festival on Saturday 9th November. Oban were the only opposition, and were able to field ten players, so Lochaber lent them three (Aaron, Arran, and Nicholas). This allowed a thirteen-a-side match, consisting of three twenty minute periods, played in perfect conditions, dry but cold.
The game started well for Lochaber, with Josh A taking the kick-off on the full, with Callan at centre tackling ferociously and winning turnover ball, with Cody working hard at the breakdowns (both pick-and-go and rucking), and with J-J charging down the left wing. Oban responded however, with Aaron on their left wing making good ground. Despite effective Lochaber tackling from Ruairidh and Cody, Oban swung the ball to their right wing Nicholas, then back infield where Arran made a good run, then after some see-sawing play, right again for the first try of the match. The game was then played in midfield for some time, with Stuie at flyhalf and Zach at centre combining well in attack, and with Lee on the right wing defending well. As Oban pushed forward, Josh S saved a certain try with a great tackle near the line, but this could not stop them eventually scoring again. After the restart, Lochaber regained possession in due course and worked their way upfield, with second-row forward James prominent in both defence and attack. A good Lochaber scrum allowed Stuie to switch the attack to the blind side. Left winger Josh S just managed to step around his opposite number Nicholas, then he beat three cover defenders to cut inside and score a great try. Oban 2, Lochaber 1 at the first break,
Oban started the second period strongly, almost scoring on their left wing. Despite a sustained and brave defensive effort from the Lochaber boys on their own line, Oban eventually scored wide out on their right. It wasn’t long before Lochaber hit back however, as Stuie secured possession from an up-and-under and the ball made its way out to Zach, who angled his run perfectly to score on the left, with fullback Gregor in close support. An Oban try, then a try by Josh S for Lochaber after good service from Robert at scrumhalf, followed. Some good work securing the loose ball for Oban by Nicholas preceded another two Oban tries. At this point in the game Oban’s big forwards were dominant up front, however the Lochaber pack of Anton, Cody, James, J-J, Josh A, and Ruairidh were not going to give up. At the second break the score was Oban 6, Lochaber 3.
Josh S for Lochaber and Nicholas for Oban declined to start the third period, making this a twelve-a-side contest. Early on, flyhalf Stuie made a searing break to the right, and ran 70m to score. Not long after, Zach also scored, from a movement beginning at a well-executed line-out. These scores reinvigorated the Lochaber forwards, with hard graft put in by Anton and Josh A in particular. Notwithstanding that, Oban managed to score twice down the middle with the help of Arran, but then it was Stuie’s turn to score from another good Lochaber line-out, before Oban scored again. Nicholas came on for Lee, who soon after came back on again for Cody, who in turn had played himself to a standstill. Ruairidh put in some good tackles, the centre partnership of Zach and Callan rucked well, and Josh A had a good run in midfield. Lee supported well, Lochaber were awarded a tap penalty 20m out, and Robert fed Anton on the charge. With J-J and James forming the ruck, the ball came out near the line and the ever-present Ruairidh pounced to score a good forwards try. At the restart, with the referee announcing the last play of the day and with the Lochaber boys’ tails up, the ball was fed along the backline to Zach who ran 50m to score, evading Aaron’s desperate lunging tackle, and again with Gregor in close support. Full time score Oban 9, Lochaber 8.
At the post-match briefing, Captain Ruairidh and Vice-captain Zach suggested that players needed to improve at the tackle - in simple terms they need to be hard and low. Notwithstanding that fair comment, for spectators this was a really good, exciting, high-scoring match between two even teams, brought about in part by Lochaber’s Aaron, Arran, and Nicholas, who were gracious enough to play for the opposition. Perhaps Oban had the edge in the driving play of their big forwards, but equally, Lochaber had the edge in finding space out wide and in classic running rugby. The Lochaber numbers were again great, and the team never gave up, reducing the try deficit from three at one point to one at full time.

The boys have trained well in the weeks leading up to this first full U14 match, and so they have played well - keep up the good work!