Cumnock games off

This weekend's match against killie 3rds has been cancelled as both Broomfield and Bellsland are unplayable.

Also 1st xv vrs Strathaven was off.

Sundays games for minis/midis are off as well.

Cumnock 54 Braidholm 5

After having no game last weekend, Cumnock were raring to go for this cup match against Braidholm.
The visitors are currently two divisions below Cumnock but they are leading their league and fancied their chances of causing a cup upset. However, Cumnock showed some class in recording a comfortable win in difficult conditions.
It was apparent straight from the kick off that heavy rain the night before had saturated the pitch with several players losing their footing and several handling errors which normally wouldn’t happen. The home side took the initiative in the opening exchanges of the game, soaking up Braidholm’s early attempt to drive with their larger forwards before turning the ball over and clearing the ball down the pitch. Braidholm won their lineout but a poor clearance from their stand-off meant that Cumnock were able to counter attack with the ball being spread from one wing to the other. It found Tony Foster in plenty of space to race past his opposite number to score. Kyle Johnson added the conversion. Cumnock continued to press the visiting team with some exciting line breaks and handling skills on display despite the pitch.
Also impressive was the linking between backs and forwards with the forwards running good angles to punch through the defence before offloading to the backs in space. Indeed several tries could have been scored but for several handling errors, some of which could be put down to the poor conditions and some couldn’t. However, Cumnock were soon back on the score sheet when Mark Bennett crossed the line after some clever interplay between backs and forwards. Kyle Johnson added the conversions before finishing off the next Cumnock try after sidestepping at least three Braidholm defenders. He converted the score to give Cumnock a solid lead.
Braidholm then had their best spell of the first half when they decided to kick the ball high constantly causing problems for the Cumnock back three on the slippery pitch. They kept this up for a long spell keeping Cumnock on the back foot despite never really looking likely to break the line or score. Cumnock, on the other hand always looked dangerous with the ball in hand and as soon as they recovered the ball from Braidholm and immediately broke up the pitch through Craig Greer who passed to Bennett before the ball was fed back to Greer who touched down with Johnson again adding the conversion. Cumnock were at it again when openside flanker, Alan Smith picked a good line through the defence before feeding Alan Haynes to score. Johnson missed the conversion from out wide to end the half.
The second half started well for Cumnock when Bennett gathered a long kick from Braidholm and set of through the defence to score after a neat exchange of passes with Smith. The reliable Johnson again added the extras. However, the rest of the second half was tight as Braidholm kept the ball tight to prevent Cumnock’s dangerous runners from causing them further strife. Braidholm’s patience eventually earned them a try after several phases sucking the defence giving their winger space to squeeze into the corner.
Cumnock took the chance to try a new style using their forwards to keep the ball tight which worked fairly well but they didn’t ever seem likely to score when doing this. It took until the last ten minutes before they scored again after a quick penalty caught Braidholm napping and the ball was spun wide with Bennett again getting on the end of the move to score with Johnson converting. Bennett finished the game after breaking through the tiring defence to score from well inside his own half. Johnson added the conversion to complete a comfortable win for the young home side to continue their impressive home form. This was a reasonably easy victory for the home side against a stubborn Braidholm side and bodes well for the second half of the league season and hopefully a continuing run in the cup.
Man of the match was Mark Bennett for adding another four tries to his considerable tally this season.

Team: Craig Greer, Paul Miller, Donald Hunter, Kevin Brady, Blair McMillan, Graham Hunter, Alan Smith, David Kerr, Craig McWhirter, Kyle Johnson, Gregor McMillan, Mark Bennett, Alan Haynes, Tony Foster, Conner Nisbet, Jamie Hodge, Scott Houston, Ross Black

Next Week: Cumnock resume league duties away to title challenging Strathendrick

Report by David Kerr

Pitchero link to report and results

Cumnock 2nds beat Dalzell

The 2nds got their rewards today with a well fought victory over Dalziel.

The 2nd XV faced a stern test on Saturday when they welcomed a very strong Dalziel 3rd XV to Broomfield for the latest league match. The visitors have been performing well all season and had only been beaten once, so the Cumnock squad knew that they were in for a hard shift.

Gavin Kerr was making his senior debut, and had brought along some moral and physical support in the shape of his dad, Euan who was hoping to get some game time in the same side as his middle son.
The game itself was a hard fought affair with the home side coming out victorious 21 - 10.

There were tries for Greg Hamilton and Euan Cunningham, with Dougie Elliot converting one try and adding three penalties.

The game was well refereed By Mr Clift from Irvine who allowed the game to flow in difficult underfoot conditions.


Pitchero link to Report and Results

Dumfries S1 20 Cumnock S1 38

Cumnock S1 win again

Things didn't look very promising as the team travelled down the A76 through torrential rain, however Dumfries basked in glorious sunshine and the pitch was in great condition for a game of rugby. The Primary 7 game had been cancelled and some of the more experienced players swelled the numbers available giving Cumnock the luxury of a full team. However as Dumfries were short of numbers some of the S1 players agreed to play for the hosts to even things up and give everyone a game.

The match was played over three periods, each lasting fifteen minutes, giving the coaches a couple of breaks to pass on some tips to the players. Cumnock dominated the first period, running in four tries from McLaren, Gordon, Faulds and Kerr, with one conversion from Aitken, taking over kicking duties from Reilly who was playing for Dumfries. During the same period Gordon moved to the Dumfries team to replace an injured player and then somewhat uniquely scored for the hosts, which was also converted. Cumnock led 13-4 at the first break.

Changes were made amongst the players on loan to Dumfries. The second period was a more even affair with two tries for each team, the Cumnock scores coming from Dewhurst and Howie. Both scores came from good breaks from platforms set up by the forwards giving the boys an easy run in. Dumfries also scored two tries, both of which were converted. Cumnock were still in front at the second break, leading 19 - 12.

More changes followed at the start of the final period, with Cumnock again re-shuffling the players on loan to Dumfries. This forced Cumnock to make positional changes and allowed the P7 players to come more into the game and they took the chance to get stuck in. Cumnock scored five tries in this spell, from Howie. Kerr (2), Reilly, and Smith, with four fine conversions from Reilly. Most of the tries again came from the backs breaking the line and great support play and passing ensured the scores. Dumfries answered with two tries, both of which were converted by their excellent kicker. Final score Dumfries 20, Cumnock 38.

This was a fair result against a weaker opposition. By mixing the Cumnock players with the host team it gave some players the chance to play in other positions, which will assist in their development. The Primary 7 players enjoyed the wide open spaces of playing on a full size pitch and made a great contribution to the game, in fact they were collectively given the Man of the Match award for their efforts. Donkey of the day was Scott Faulds for his clearance kick from inside his own in-goal area which went higher than the five metres distance that it travelled!

Cumnock team was Harkiss, McLaren, Faulds, Phillips, Gordon, Kerr, Reilly, Aitken, Howie, Birrell, Smith, Hill and Dewhurst.

Pitchero Report and results

Cumnock minis at Ardrossan and S1 at Whitecraigs

Cumnock minis are playing at Ardrossan next Sunday 22nd November.

Kick Off is 12 noon please be there no later that 11:40am.

Meet Cumnock RFC at 10:30 for a 10:45 departure.

Meeting details for s1 match V Whitecraigs

Players in the S1 team are to be at the club for 1200 with the KO scheduled for 1300. Any players who have not paid their monthly subs for November are reminded to bring them along.

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