Scotland Under 17 Squad set to train in Spain

Cumnock Chatboard thread

As part of their development to U18 age grade level, a squad of 30 Scotland U17 team members will set off for Valladolid
in north-central Spain tomorrow (2 July).

The players, management and support staff will spend an intensive fortnight at the camp where the focus is on technical,
tactical, mental and physical (strength and conditioning) training.

An 8am start each day for physio and gym work, an enforced rest in the middle of the day given the climate, then training again at 6pm,says Bryan Easson, Scotland U17 Head Coach.

Added to that there are unit sessions, group sessions and one-on-one goal setting sessions with the coaches an intensive programme, designed to teach the players how to be professional athletes and to give the coaches an all-round idea of the players.

The camp led by Scotland U18 Head Coach, Grant McKelvey, with strength and conditioning from Val Houston acts as the transformation period for the young players from the U17 to U18 development side, where they will move into the hands the U18 coaching team following a further assessment camp in September.

This is the third year that Scotland under-17 squad has benefited from the facilities at Valladolid. The 30-strong squad includes 12 players new to the group due to injury, unavailability and deselection since their successful participation at this year Millfield Festival. The camp is run through Cumbernauld College with funding from the European Community programme, the
Leonardo da Vinci Trust (the criteria of which prohibits team travel within a teams own country).
Catch up with the Valladolid training regime via a players blog on the Scotland U17 web site.

Scotland U17 Development Squad
Robin Hislop (Hawick Wanderers) Prop
Gavin Robertson (Earlston HS / Melrose) Prop
Alex Allan (Sedbergh School) Prop
Struan Cessford (High School of Dundee) Prop
Jack MacFarlane (Gourock HS / Greenock Wanderers) Hooker
Ryan Hood (Strathallan) Hooker
George Turner (Stewart’s Melville College) Hooker
Fraser Wem (Hampton School / Wasps) Second row
Craig Ferguson (East Kilbride) Second Row
Sean McDevitt (High School of Glasgow) Second Row
George Barnes (Chesterfield) Second Row
Mitchell Eadie (Filton College) Back Row
Malcolm Peathingy (George Watson's College) Back Row
Matthew Walker (Boroughmuir) Back Row
Andrew Nagle (Jed Thistle) Back Row
Adam de ste Croix (Boroughmuir) Back Row
Murray McConnell (Lenzie Academy / West of Scotland) Scrum Half
Johnny Adams (Aberdeen Grammar School) Scrum Half
James Munro (Edinburgh Academy) Scrum Half
Fraser Gillies (Edinburgh Academy) Stand Off
Jack Bradford (Worksop College) Centre
Michael Crawley (Stewart’s Melville College) Centre
Murray Beckwith (Marr College) Centre
Mark Bennett (Cumnock RFC) Centre
Jamie Urquhart (Dollar Academy) Centre
Stewart Hogg (Hawick Wanderers) Centre
Douglas Day (Paviours RFC) Centre
Harris Jones (Robert Gordon’s College) Back 3
Aidan McCall Hagan (St Aloysius’ College) Back 3
Ross Inglis (Calderside Academy / Hamilton) Back 3

Scotsman article from 1st July:-

Scotsman article link

Public school system provides bulk of Scots under-17 squad


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Published Date: 02 July 2009
A 30-STRONG Scotland Under-17 squad will fly out today for a two-week training camp in Spain.
A glance in the brackets after the names of those selected reveals Scottish youth rugby remains reliant on the public school base, with more than half of the squad coming from that system, but only four players come from another traditional heartland – the Borders.

There are 16 players from private schools – 11 Scottish and five English. Of the rest, six come from state schools and eight from clubs. The regional breakdown is pretty even with Borders (4), Glasgow (8), Edinburgh (7), Caledonia (5) and England (6).

The players, management and support staff will spend an intensive fortnight at the camp in Valladolid, north-central Spain. The focus will be on technical, tactical, mental and physical strength and conditioning. The camp, led by Under-18 coach Grant McKelvey, acts as the transformation period for the youngsters from U17 to the U18 development side.

Glasgow U16 vrs Borders

Link to Scottish Rugby Website

Glasgow U16’s play their last match of the programme on Sunday 26th April, against the Borders at Dunbar RFC at 3pm. The Glasgow squad has produced some fine rugby this year with some dazzling tries, but is yet to have performed for the full match. The squad is hoping to finally produce a complete performance in what will be the closing match on the IDC programme.

Name School - Club
1 Joe McQuade St. Aloysius College – Hamilton RFC
2 Jack Rountree Kyle Academy – Ayr RFC
3 Jonathan Agnew Boclair Academy - Hillhead/Jordanhill RFC
4 Kris Hughes Calderglen High School - Cambuslang RFC
5 Adam Barnett Mearns Castle High School - GHA RFC
6 Michael Vernell St. Aloysius College – Allan Glens RFC
7 Chris Mulligan Biggar High School - Biggar RFC
8 Callum TempletonDumfries Academy - Dumfries RFC
9 Scott Steele Dumfries Academy - Dumfries RFC
10 David Scott Wallace High School - GHA RFC
11 Gordon Ferguson Jordanhill School– Hillhead/Jordanhill RFC
12 Mark Bennett (c)St. Joseph’s Academy - Cumnock RFC
13 Murray Beckwith Marr College
14 James Stirling Kyle Academy – Ayr RFC
15 Robbie Ferguson Wellington School – Ayr RFC

16 Ryan Barr Stewarton Academy- Kilmarnock RFC
17 Aidan MacMillan St. Aloysius College – Hillhead/Jordanhill RFC
18 Murray Cubie High School of Glasgow
19 Burns Singh Wellington School – Ayr RFC
20 Scott Houston Auchinleck Academy - Cumnock RFC
21 Alan Haynes Auchinleck Academy - Cumnock RFC
22 Sam Goodrich River of Life School - Dumfries RFC

Water Carriers School - Club
Ross Campbell Irvine Royal Academy – Marress RFC
Jamie Graham Dumfries Academy - Dumfries RFC
Rory Hughes Kingspark Secondary - GHA RFC
Gavin Kerr Ayr Academy - Cumnock RFC


Glasgow U16 Match Report
Monday, 27 April 2009

FINAL PERFORMANCE TO REMEMBER FOR GLASGOW U16’s The final match of the U16 IDC Program took place at Dunbar RFC on Sunday 26th April between Glasgow and the Borders. Glasgow dominated the match running in twelve tries to the Borders two. Glasgow disappointed, from two narrow loses to Yorkshire and Lancashire the weekend before, were determined to perform for a full match and finally performed to their potential. From start to finish it was an impressive performance from the young players to finish their U16 Program and their season. Congratulations to them on a long and hard season. Time Try Alert Score
3min Good possession and breakdown work from the Glasgow pack allow Murray Beckwith to outpace the defence and score from halfway. Scott converts 7-0
5min An intelligent Scott chip kick down the right puts Bennett clear to score under the posts. Scott converts 14-0
12min A strong attacking scrum sees the Borders fumble on their line – Michael Vernell picks up and dives over from close range. Scott converts 21-0
14min Bennett breaks on halfway and feeds supporting Robbie Ferguson inside to score under posts. Scott converts 28-0
21min Steele breaks from attacking lineout and offloads to Kris Hughes who powers over from the 22. 33-0
35min A turn over from the lineout and good offloading work from Mulligan, McQuade, McMillan and K. Hughes give space to Bennett who breaks the defensive line and feeds Stirling to cross out wide. 38-0
H/T 38-0
4min Bennett breaks through midfield and steps full back to score under posts. R. Ferguson converts 45-0
6min Ferguson puts through Bennett then supports to get ball back and offload to supporting Haynes to keep momentum up. R. Ferguson converts 52-0
10min Impressive Ferguson breaks and feeds Haynes. Cover defence comes across and Bennett receives scoring pass. R. Ferguson converts 59 - 0
14min Borders keep it tight and Sudlow drives over from close range. MacLennan converts 59-7
18min Houston runs penalty from 5 mtres and feeds Bennett for his hat-trick. 64-7
26min Houston wins a 5 metre scrum. Murray Cubie picks from 8 and feeds Houston inside to dive over. 69-7
30min Mulligan drives through the Borders pack – quick ball lets Beckwith stretch his legs and offload to Stirling to score out wide 74 - 7
35min Borders fight to the end and score through Binnie for consolation try. 74-12
F/T 74-12
Glasgow Team: R. Ferguson, Goodrich (G. Ferguson), Beckwith, Bennett, Stirling, Scott (Haynes), Steele (Houston), McQuade, Rountree (McMillan), Agnew (Barr), K. Hughes (Cubie), Barnett, Vernell (Singh), Mulligan, Templeton

Glasgow U16 X Border Reports

Link to Scottish Rugby Website report

Link to Cumnock Chatboard

YOUNG WARRIORS HARDENED AFTER CROSS BORDER FORAY
Glasgow U16’s travelled down to Yorkshire and Lancashire on the 17th April to play a two match mini tour against both Counties. The squad, buoyed by the return from injury of Ayr duo Jack Rountree and James Stirling, arrived and trained at Woodhouse Grove School (Bradford) on Friday evening before an early night. A glorious sunny day greeted us on our rise on Saturday morning and the build up to the match v Yorkshire began.

Yorkshire Match: 11.30am arrived and Yorkshire kicked off - Glasgow fumbled and Yorkshire applied pressure with good continuity in Glasgow’s 22. Typical spirited defence kept the home team from crossing the try line and eventually David Scott cleared out the half. It was Glasgow’s turn to attack and typical strong runs from Alan Haynes and Mark Bennett threatened to break through Yorkshire’s organised defence. From a scrum in their half Yorkshire broke out wide and went the length of the pitch, even an excellent tackle from Robbie Ferguson failed to stop the offload and Yorkshire scored under the posts. The half continued in the same vein – Glasgow threatening at times, but Yorkshire dominating play (especially the breakdown). Glasgow defended well, with Michael Vernell outstanding throughout, but Yorkshire’s sheer pressure and accurate finishing meant another three tries were scored before halftime with Mark Bennett scoring a solitary penalty for Glasgow. Half time: Glasgow 3 – 31 Yorkshire


Determined to not let Yorkshire pull further ahead Glasgow’s pack started to win solid set pieces, but still the breakdown was troublesome against a larger Yorkshire team. Glasgow camped in the Yorkshire 22 for the first 10 minutes of the second half and through a bit of luck scored their first try – passing down the back line Yorkshire pushed up and forced an error, from the error Mark Bennett scooped the ball up and dashed under the posts as Yorkshire stood by (Scott converted).

Glasgow lifted from the score pressed again and deep from their half Bennett and Beckwith broke and linked to run clear and score try number two (Scott conversion). Yorkshire tired under the sun and Glasgow pressed again and again as they scented a way back into the game. With 8 minutes to go again Glasgow’s backs from deep within their half broke and Beckwith out ran the cover defence to score (Scott conversion). The last 5 minutes were desperate as Glasgow went for the draw, but time ran out as they were on the Yorkshire line.
Full time: Glasgow 24 – 31 Yorkshire


The Saturday evening was taken up with a trip to Huddersfield to watch the Super League match of Huddersfield Giants v Leeds Rhinos. Again there was an early night for the boys after a quick ‘bushtucker’ trial. The players were in the pool at 7.30am before they set off for the match v Lancashire at Preston Grass Hoppers (KO 1pm).

Lancashire Match: Lancashire kicked off and another kick off fumble let the home side attack from the start. Immense pressure came on from Lancashire and only determined defence and some sloppy passing kept the score to a single penalty. Finally Glasgow came to life and a break from Bennett let Gordon Ferguson break, a fantastic offload inside to David Scott from Ferguson gave Glasgow the lead (Scott conversion). Lancashire came back from the kick off, but with a 4 player overlap at their mercy Beckwith intercepted and raced the full length of the pitch (Scott converted). From a rare piece of phase play Bennett broke free and stepped the full back to score Glasgow’s third try. Glasgow were playing with confidence and soon after the backs were through the defence and Bennett put Beckwith clear (Scott converted). At 26 – 3 Glasgow were well in charge and threatening to pull away, but Lancashire came straight back and in the last 5 minutes of the 1st half scored two tries as they stretched the defence and Glasgow tiring wilted in the heat.
Half time: Glasgow 26 – 15 Lancashire

At the start of the second half Lancashire started where they left off and scored through a driving maul to put them in touch with Glasgow. Glasgow rallied and from a scrum Scott Steele broke and fed Sam Goodrich – Goodrich stepped inside 2 defenders and broke through a further two tackles to extend the gap back to 11 points. Lancashire feeling their opponents tiring kept the ball in their forwards and drove narrow through the defence to score two tries to take a 1 point lead. Glasgow using the last of the energy surged up the pitch through their excellent backs before a cynical penalty was conceded in front of the Lancashire posts. A quick decision to run was made and a loose pass was knocked on with the try line at their mercy. Glasgow never recovered from his exertion and Lancashire driving narrow around the breakdown scored three late tries against a weary Glasgow defence. This was a harsh way to finish the weekend; after all the great effort and rugby that the Glasgow players had shown.
Full time: Glasgow 33 – 48 Lancashire

Glasgow Under 16s vs Edinburgh Under 16s

Link to report on Scottish rugby website

Link to chat board

GLASGOW SCRAMBLE TO LATE VICTORY OVER EDINBURGH
Glasgow U16’s played Edinburgh U16’s on Easter Sunday at Stirling County Rugby Club on a sunny Easter Sunday. Both sides showed good intent to move the ball around in the early stages with Glasgow having the brighter start with a close chance when Bennett broke through the midfield, an excellent cover tackle form the Edinburgh full back stopped the attack on the try line. Glasgow’s pressure was rewarded as Bennett slotted over two penalties to make it 6-0. Edinburgh fought their way back into the match, playing with great width – Glasgow’s defence was stretched out wide and Ryan Gray crashed over for Edinburgh’s first try. Half time: Glasgow 6 – 5 Edinburgh Edinburgh continued setting the pace straight from the restart stretching Glasgow’s defence from touchline to touchline. Only terrific scramble defence and errors from Edinburgh kept the score the same. Glasgow rarely escaped from their half, but on both occasions that they did Bennett converted two penalties. Again Edinburgh exerted terrific pressure and great work from Templeton, Beckwith and Goodrich held the attack inches from the line. Eventually Edinburgh forced a try through Glasgow’s drift defence - Jamie Farndale crossing over (Sam Hidalgo-Clyne converting) to level the scores 12 all. Edinburgh were straight on the attack from the restart and looked to be closing out the match when Glasgow broke out their half. From a penalty, Bennett broke through the midfield and out ran the cover defence to score under the posts (Bennett converting) with 5 minutes left. With minutes to go Edinburgh stretched Glasgow’s defence, but a loose pass was snatched by Beckwith and some fantastic offloading to Robbie Ferguson and David Scott let the substitute stand off score under the posts (Scott converting his try) in the final minute. Some great defensive effort and clinical finishing made the final score: Glasgow 26 – 12 Edinburgh. Glasgow U16 Team:R. Hughes, Goodrich, Beckwith, Bennett, G. Ferguson, R. Ferguson, Houston, McQuade, McMillan, Barr, K. Hughes, Templeton, Graham, Singh, Vernell. Subs: Agnew (for Barr), Campbell (for McMillan), Mulligan (for Graham), Cubie (for Singh), Barnett (for Vernell), Scott (for R. Ferguson), Haynes (for G. Ferguson).

Glasgow Under 16s - 22 Caledonia Under 16s - 16

Link to report on Scottish Rugby Site
Link to chatboard to discuss

Match report Glasgow U16 v Caledonia U16
Monday, 23 March 2009
Glasgow U16’s pull together to play sumptuous final 30

Glasgow U16’s pulled together to perform an excellent spell of rugby in the final 30 minutes of their match versus Caledonia U16’s at Selkirk RFC on Sunday 22nd March. Things did not look good as Glasgow played into a strong wind and were pinned well inside their half by Caledonia’s kicking strategy and dominant pack through the first half. Penalties by Caledonia’s kicker made the score 6-0 (12 & 22 minutes) and only breaks by Beckwith, Ferguson and Bennett relieved the pressure from Glasgow’s 22. The wind hindered Glasgow’s attempt to escape their own half and only their strong defence around the breakdown kept Caledonia from scoring a try. Glasgow’s excellent defensive effort looked like talking them into half time without conceding a try but with the last play Caledonia crossed the white line. Caledonia again gained excellent field position and from a catch and drive from the lineout drove in towards the posts. Clean ball allowed them to attack the blindside and passed to their winger who easily outflanked the cover defence to run in from 20 metres.

Half time – Glasgow 0 – Caledonia 11

Caledonia came out strongly and from a lineout on Glasgow’s 22 they drove twice into the midfield before easily passing the ball through the hands and scoring in the corner after only 4 minutes. A 16-0 lead however did not look to daunting as the strong wind continued to drive down the length of the pitch. The try spurned the Glasgow forward pack on and suddenly they dominated the scrum, lineout and breakdown, finally releasing the backs with go forward ball. Caledonia made a mistake behind their scrum just inside their half and from the turnover Glasgow spread the ball wide to Beckwith who sprinted past 3 defenders to score in the corner (8 minutes). Soon after the restart Caledonia were awarded a scrum – again Glasgow pressure resulted in a ball against the head. A good pick up and drive from replacement No. 8, Templeton, and quick ruck ball released Bennett through the center of midfield and he easily stepped the full back and scored under the posts (13minutes). Scott converted to make it Glasgow 12 – Caledonia 16.

As the match entered the last 20 minutes Glasgow exerted pressure through intelligent kicking from Scott and Bennett. Winning the ball, again from turn over ball strong runs from Beckwith, Hughes, Steele and the impressive Bennett left a gap around the breakdown for scrum half Steele to dive over from close range (22minutes). David Scott converted. Caledonia tried and tried to break out of their half with some good breaks and forward drives but their continuity let them down and Glasgow continually pinned their opponents back in their half. A penalty for going off their feet at the ruck meant that Scott stepped up to make the score Glasgow 22 – Caledonia 16 (30 minutes). The match finished with Caledonia battling to get out of their half against a buoyant Glasgow team.

Final score - Glasgow 22 – Caledonia 16
Team:-
Position Name School - Club
1 Joe McQuade St. Aloysius College – Hamilton RFC
2 Ross Campbell Irvine Royal Academy – Marress RFC
3 Jonathan Agnew Boclair Academy - Hillhead/Jordanhill RFC
4 Kris Hughes Calderglen High School - Cambuslang RFC
5 Adam Barnett Mearns Castle High School - GHA RFC
6 Jamie Graham Dumfries Academy - Dumfries RFC
7 Murray Cubie High School of Glasgow
8 Michael Vernell St. Aloysius College – Allan Glens RFC

9 Scott Houston Auchinleck Academy - Cumnock RFC
10 Robbie Ferguson Wellington School – Ayr RFC
11 Sam Goodrich River of Life School - Dumfries RFC
12 Alan Haynes Auchinleck Academy - Cumnock RFC
13 Mark Bennett (c) St. Joseph’s Academy - Cumnock RFC
14 Gavin Kerr Ayr Academy - Cumnock RFC
15 Murray Beckwith Marr College

Glasgow Under 17 starting lineup for Wednesday 25/2/09

Link to Scottish rugby website

It has been announced that Craig Greer is starting in position number 1 for the Glasgow Under 17 vs Caledonia RFC Under 17 game on Wednesday 25th at 7pm at Stirling RFC.

Have a good game Craig.

report from Scottish rugby website game on wednesday