Cumnock 10 Strathendrick 14

Cumnock 10 – 14 Strathendrick 29/08/2009

Cumnock began the new league season with a challenging match against an experienced Strathendrick side who in recent years have made a habit of taking at least sixty points off Cumnock. This year Cumnock have a very young team with nine of the fifteen starters in this fixture only aged sixteen and this result showed that the side can be optimistic of a competitive league campaign.

The match began in almost perfect fashion for Cumnock as they absorbed early pressure from Strathendrick before securing turnover ball with which Cumnock’s backs managed to make space for Mark Bennett to beat his marker and sprint to the line unopposed. Stand-off, Kyle Johnson, added the conversion from wide on the right to give Cumnock an early seven point lead.

Cumnock used the wind to their advantage in the first half with intelligent kicking from Scott Houston and Johnson giving them excellent field position. Unfortunately a misfiring lineout meant they were unable to capitalise on this territory.

Strathendrick regrouped with strong running from their forwards keeping Cumnock under pressure although the defensive line held for a long time. Strathendrick were always going to make something out of this long spell in possession and the breakthrough came when their winger, former Scotland international, Rory Kerr, crashed through some weak Cumnock tackling to score under the posts. They added the conversion to bring the scores level.

The rest of the half was very tight with Johnson and Bennett both missing difficult long range penalties to give Cumnock back the lead. The game was perhaps best defined by a long spell Cumnock spent deep in Strathendrick territory, unable to force their way through because of robust defence and the continuing woes at the lineout.

The second half began well for Cumnock with the impressive Johnson adding a penalty to give his side the lead again.
However, the visitors used their experience and extra bulk to monopolise possession and the wind to kick the ball deep keeping Cumnock pinned back in their own half. The young team were determined to hold their slender lead with excellent defensive work from flankers Blair McMillan and Alan Smith backed up with strong defence from wings Alan Haynes and Gregor McMillan against considerably larger opposition meant that Strathendrick were consistently frustrated in their attempts to cross the Cumnock line.

However it is very difficult to defend for that long against larger opposition and Strathendrick eventually forced their way over with their captain crashing through from a few yards out.

Cumnock almost pulled a score back when Alan Haynes pounced on loose ball and kicked ahead only missing out on a score when the last bounce of the ball went to the chasing defence ahead of Haynes. Strathendrick used their experience again to control the possession, keeping the ball tight and not allowing Cumnock any chances to score.

Strathendrick were clearly relieved when the final whistle went having been given an almighty shock by the young home side. This was a game determined by very small margins and Cumnock were left to look back with a whole host of ifs and maybes. However a losing bonus point against strong opposition is not a bad way to start the season and the side have plenty of positives to take from this game into the rest of the season.

Man of the match was Alan Smith, having switched from centre to flanker and putting a huge amount of hard work into his new role, disrupting Strathendrick ball as well as contributing a high tackle count.

Special mention must also go to Steven Millar, a Cumnock coach who stepped in at short notice to referee the match after the original referee called off.

Team
Craig Greer, Paul Millar, Donald Hunter, Kevin Brady, Euan Cunningham, Blair McMillan, Alan Smith, David Kerr, Scott Houston, Kyle Johnson, Tony Foster, Mark Bennett, Martin Wilson, Alan Haynes, Conner Nisbet, Andy McCrorie, Greg Hamilton, Gregor McMillan

Next week the team make the long trip north to take on Oban.

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Scottish rugby website league table & results

game off for 2nd XV on Saturday 29th August

The 2nd team game is off tomorrow but a training session will still be on at 2pm then you can watch 1st team game at 3pm against Strathendrick.

New Mini Midi Season Rolls Into Gear

Mini Midi section will start Sunday training/games from 30th onwards. In addition P6/7 will continue to train at 1830 on Wednesday evenings at the club.

S1 - Full training commences this week with sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1900 from now on.

U15 - Training commences on Thursday 27th at 1900 from now on until further notice.

2009-2010 Player registrations for the Mini Midi section will take place at the club this Sunday (30th) at noon. Players for all age groups should attend with a parent/guardian to complete their registration form along with a subscrption payment for the season (£10), A training session for all age groups will follow once registrations are complete.

It is important that you speak to or call your coach to advise if you cannot attend.

Cumnock Chronicle Report

Cumnock Vs Carnoustie Rugby Preseason

From Saturday 15th August.

Cumnock 12 v 45 Marr

Image by trobertc via Flickr

Cumnock 12 v 45 Marr 22/08/90

Cumnock made the short trip to Troon to take on an ambitious Marr side in the final pre-season match before the start of the league season next weekend. The young side were determined to take another step forward after winning both of their previous warm up matches. However, Marr were equally determined not to be upset by a team from the league below and started very strongly with powerful running from their centres resulting in Cumnock conceding two early tries.

At this point in previous seasons Cumnock tended to fold when faced with such obviously strong opposition and allow teams to run up scores more commonly found in cricket. This season, however, promises to be different with Marr suddenly finding their attempts to increase their lead being thwarted by Cumnock’s defence led by forwards Stuart Hunter and Murray Phillip, making his debut for the 1XV, as well as fine covering tackles out wide by Alan Haynes and Conner Nisbet.

Despite this, Marr managed to squeeze in two more opportunistic tries, thanks mainly to their dominance of possession. Cumnock finally got off the mark when half backs Scott Houston and Kyle Johnson tidied up a Marr kick before releasing centre Mark Bennett from deep inside his own half. Bennett stepped past some bewildered Marr defenders before sprinting down the right touchline to beat the covering defence to finish off a trademark long range try in the corner. Johnson missed the difficult conversion but Cumnock finally had points on the board. Marr then added another try of their own just before half time.

Cumnock came flying out of the blocks in the second half, putting pressure on Marr both in attack and defence. Particularly impressive was the scrum with young props Craig Greer and Donald Hunter preventing Marr from getting the easy ball they had enjoyed in the first half. This led to Cumnock opening the scoring after pressure from Haynes and Dougie Elliot led to a loose Marr pass, gratefully gathered by wing Gregor McMillan who tore home unopposed between the posts. Johnson added the extra points.

This led to a long spell of Cumnock setting up camp deep inside Marr territory with a series of scrums five metres out from the try line. Strong scrummaging from Cumnock kept Marr on the back foot but a combination of committed Marr defence and inexplicably pedantic refereeing meant Cumnock failed to make their pressure count. Both David Kerr and Jamie Thomson were held up over the line and Craig Greer put the ball down for what he felt was a try only to find he had scored on the five metre line. Marr managed to escape when a Cumnock line out throw was called as not straight by the referee and disappointingly Marr managed to break out and score.

Cumnock then spent the rest of the game determined to hold out against a rejuvenated Marr side. Fine defence from Tony Foster as well as committed rucking from Cumnock’s forwards and backs alike meant that it looked like Cumnock would be able to prevent Marr from increasing their lead. Unfortunately Marr managed to finally break down the Cumnock defence with a fine solo try from their speedy winger with the last play of the game.

Man of the match was Donald Hunter for an excellent display of scrummaging which bodes well for the new season.

Overall, Cumnock could take a lot from this difficult match against a well organised Marr side who are expecting to compete for victory in their league. The second half performance was especially impressive with Marr on the back foot for long spells.

Team
Craig Greer, Paul Miller, Donald Hunter, Kevin Brady, Murray Phillip, Stuart Hunter, David Kerr, Jamie Thomson, Scott Houston, Kyle Johnson, Gregor McMillan, Mark Bennett, Dougie Elliot, Alan Haynes, Conner Nisbet, Andy McCrorie, Blair McMillan, Tony Foster, Ross Black

Cumnock kick off their league season next Saturday at 3pm against Strathendrick at Broomfield

Chatboard link

Thanks to David Kerr for Report.

Honours even Cumnock vrs Hyndland

Cumnock 2^nd XV 26 - Hyndland 1^st XV 26

The 2XV welcomed Hyndland to Broomfield on Saturday as the build up to the new league season continued. The visitors were a couple of players short due to work commitments, so Steven Taylor and Roger Thomson (in his first game for several years) volunteered to play for Hyndland.

The game started well for the visitors as they put the hosts under a lot of pressure with good driving play from their forwards. It was after some concerted pressure from the pack that their prop drove over in the 3^rd minute for an unconverted try.

Rab Cross made numerous strong runs in the game and it was from one of these that Greg Hamilton had Cumnock

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s first scoring chance. He cleverly chipped the ball over the defence and outran the fullback, but knocked the ball on while attempting to touch it down.

Hyndland continued to press and it took a great double tackle from Craig McWhirter and Johnny Seng to stop the visitors from going ahead. The game was beginning to even up and it came as no surprise when the home side got their opening try in the 17^th minute. Martin Hastings picked up a loose ball and sprinted in from half way to dot down under the posts. Ferrans converted to take the score to 7-5.

Craig McWhirter was really giving his opposite number a hard time, continually pressuring him into mistakes. After one of his tackles the ball went to Greg Hamilton who ran strongly towards the line, but was tackled by the visiting fullback. McWhirter was unable to gather the ball cleanly.

In the 25^th minute Ferrans broke through a couple of tackles and offloaded to Kenny Barr. The ball was quickly passed from Hastings to Hamilton who tried another chip over the defence. He gathered the ball and twisted over for Cumnock

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s second try. Ferrans made no mistake with the conversion.

The game continued to ebb and flow as the second half got underway. In the 39^th minute a great back from the home side

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s second row almost took him to the try line, but he passed outside to the supporting Seng who crossed over for his first senior try. 19-5. After another excellent break by the backs, the ball was dropped with the line at their mercy. The visitors continued to pose a threat and it was from a series of rucks in the home 22 that Hyndland scored. Roger Thomson drove over from close range to narrow the gap to 7 points.

Back came the home team and after a good break from the backs the ball was recycled quickly from a ruck, Cross and Ramage combined to send Hamilton clear for his second try of the day. Ferrans converted to take the score to 26-12. Hyndland continued to press and were rewarded with a converted try when Roger Thomson chipped the home defence and while the ball bounced unkindly for the home fullback ( his SON!), it bounced straight into the Hyndland fullback

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s arms who touched down for a converted try in the 60^th minute. Hastings showed his awareness when he spotted the defence out of position and chipped the ball for Seng to chase. The ball was kicked out of play just short of the line. Hyndland came straight back up the pitch and after several rucks on the line, they scored a converted try through their second row. Cumnock had one last chance to win the game when Smith mad an excellent break from his own 22, but was tackled just short of the line by Steven Taylor who was playing for the visitors.

Man of the match was awarded to Jim Ramage for his overall support play and encouragement of the several youngsters in the team. Tackle of the day went to Alan Smith for driving the Hyndland prop backwards which was no mean feat. DOD went to Martin Thomson for allowing his father to outwit him.

Squad: Horton, Watt, Cross, Ramage, Linden, Harkin, Smith, McWhirter, Ferrans, Seng, Barr, Hastings, Hamilton, Thomson, Thomson, Taylor, Wallace.