Cumnock 10 gordon schools 7

Walk through

Sorry small camera

Scotland 14 samoa 12

The girls rugby stopped for scotland playing. It was the last play scotland won with. The semi final is against south africa. We play 2pm.

Cumnock 2nd game

Cumnock lost 4 tries to do

Cumnock 17 central 12

Were 1st kick off 10am

Cumnock

Cumnock at murrayfield

Murrayfield

Were here

Club

Cumnock rugby club house

IRB 7s

We will be running a bus to the IRB 7’s again this year. Tickets will be allocated on a first come first serve basis and demand always outstrips supply so get your skates on. This event gets the kids and the old yins up close and personal with some of their heroes. I have attached some pictures from last year to give a flavour.

Let Kevan Aitken know how many tickets you need as well as getting the cash to him a soon as we confirm prices.

EDIT:- I hope everyone that is going has fun Saturday and Sunday, any details from Sunday I will post (hopefully including pics).

Tommy.

Cumnock awards day

Pic 3

Awards day

Think we were busy

Awards day

Cumnock under 17s vrs coaches

Water bombs were reigning in

The officials

Above was before the mini/midi section got out with water.

Cumnock touch judges

Cumnock coaches

I will go.

Cumnock coaches down hill

And thats before game

Cumnock awards day

2nd pic

Cumnock awards day

2nd pic

Cumnock awards day

June - August social events

The following are the social/club events so far for June to August (please support them)

Annual General Meeting 5th June

Car Boot Sale 14th June

Quiz Night 20 June

Barbeque 15 August

More details will follow.

Link to chatboard

EDIT:-
The Quiz Night which was scheduled for Saturday 20th June has been cancelled.
Also the Car Boot Sale which was scheduled for Sunday 14th June has been cancelled, both functions have been cancelled as an outside function has also been arranged in the club.

We will advise when the Quiz Night/Car Boot Sale is rescheduled in future.

We apologise for any inconvenience
Tommy.

BAKING STALL AT HOLY FAIR MAUCHLINE SATURDAY 23RD MAY 2009

CUMNOCK RFC CLUB FUNDS

BAKING STALL AT HOLY FAIR MAUCHLINE SATURDAY 23RD MAY 2009

We need your help! Do you like baking or does your mum, gran, sister or friend? We need good quality Scottish baking for the clubs stall at the Holy Fair on the 23rd of May.

As the theme is Scottish and the stall will be open all day we need as much baking as possible all money going to Club funds. Please select from the list below and phone Una on 01290 552987 or Marie on 01560 320593 to let them know what you are donating.

Scones, pancakes, potato scones, shortbread, tablet, toffee, empire biscuits, clootie dumpling,
Fruit loaves, gingerbread, millionaire shortbread.

Thank you for your support.

Chatboard thread

Cumnock Whitecraigs Tournament Report

Cumnock Primary 7s at Whitecraigs
Primary 4 reports:-

Cumnock 2 – 1 Whitecraigs

Cumnock kicked off their tournament by, unusually, playing Whitecraigs at touch rugby.
This inevitably meant that it was much harder to find space and as a result scoring chances were few and far between. Cumnock managed to open the scoring with Owen Young finishing off an excellent team move in the corner. However, Whitecraigs managed to equalise with a long range score before half time.
The second half continued in a similar fashion to the first with Cumnock scoring the only good chance of the half with Owen Young on hand to sprint clear of the covering defence after a break from Rob Drummond.

Cumnock 1 – 6 Ayr A

This was a fine example of the kind of game where the score doesn’t represent the game. Cumnock stuck in well at this game with a committed defensive effort against a strong Ayr team.
Austin McBirnie scored Cumnock’s try after a typically jinking run which seemed to take him round every member of the Ayr defence at least twice. Also worthy of a mention was Ross Wallace who prevented two tries with magnificent covering tackles just short of the line.

Cumnock 5 – 7 Hamilton

The team then played a strong Hamilton team and once again were unlucky not to come away with a better result.
This was a very exciting game with excellent handling and running skills on show from both teams. Owen Young was the star of this game, scoring four tries and making the other for Adam Veitch. There were also impressive defensive showings from Adam Watt and Rob Drummond who unfortunately injured himself making a heroic tackle to prevent a Hamilton score.

Cumnock 7 – 4 Ayr B

Cumnock played their final game of the season against their second Ayr team and were determined to go out with a win.
This showed with a very impressive performance from the team who all worked very hard for this result with some excellent support play breaking the Ayr defence down time after time. Owen Young scored twice in the first half with Adam Watt and Austin McBirnie also adding scores before half time to make the score 4-3. After the break Cumnco took control of this game with a further two scores from Adam Watt to complete his hat trick with other coming from Adam Veitch. Once again the star defender was Ross Wallace who made another brace of try saving tackles.
The side had another encouraging weekend against strong opposition and this bodes well for next season.

Thanks for David Kerr for report.

Link to chatboard p4 thread

Primary 5 Report:-

The last day of the season saw Cumnock heading up to Whitecraigs for 4 games of rugby.

Cumnock 9 Whitecraigs 4

The team got off to a slow start in the game and were lucky to go in level at 1/2 time. The second half was a different story with some great running and solid defence work resulting in a convincing victory.

Garnock 6 Cumnock 5

This was a great game with Cumnock taking an early lead. Garnock pulled the game back and it looked to be a draw until Garnock scored in the last play of the game.

Cumnock 8 Hamilton 5

Another good performance from Cumnock taking an early lead. With a solid defence, great running and support play the result of this game never looked to be in any doubt.

Ayr 5 Cumnock 4

This was the best game of the day with both teams putting in a great performance, lots of exciting open play with possession changing hands at a furious pace. The game could have gone either way and this game again looked to be a draw before Ayr sneaked in a late try to snatch victory.

A great all round performance from the team of John Watt, Sean Houston, Scott Teece, Callum Bell, Lucy Watt, Tyler Wallace and Rory Nimmo. Tries scored by Callum, Sean, Scott and John

Lnik to chatboard p5 thread

Report for Cumnock RFC P7 Team, Whitecraigs Tournament

Whitecraigs 2 Cumnock 5

Cumnock started the game well, taking the game directly to their opponents. Some good interplay amongst the forwards allowed Callum McKenzie in for his first try for Cumnock. Cumnock kept up the pressure, forcing their opposite numbers into making handling errors and allowing the Cumnock backs to move the ball about freely resulting in tries for Zak North and Aiden Kerr (3). The team played together well going forward but again only mixed results in defence with fierce tackling from Kerr, Reilly and Aitken covering for some of the others.

Cumnock 1 Hamilton 2

The result didn't do justice to the effort put in by Cumnock against this bigger team, some of whom wouldn't have looked out of place in an S2 team.Cumnock opened the scoring with a great move from the backs with slick passing from Reilly and Aitken creating the space for Jack Reilly to score. Cumnock seemed to ease off a bit and let Hamilton back into the game. The tackling was ferocious at times but the indifferent refereeing didn't do Cumnock any favours. The winning try was scored after a pass that was so far forward it showed up in next weeks calendar. The Hamilton coach apologised but the score meant that Cumnock were out of the competition and Whitecraigs went through to the final against Ayr on try difference, having beaten Hamilton five nil.

Overall the team played well but the players knew that they should have won against Hamilton despite the refereeing decisions. The players felt a bit flat afterwards but the coaches have seen enough to look forward to next season as they move up to S1 to play Midi-rugby.

Link to Primary 7 chatboard topic

Struan Camp -Glasgow Players Selected

Link to full story on Scottish rugby website

List of the players from Glasgow that have been selected through the National Pathway 2008-09 to attend the National Camp at Struan in July (from Cumnock). Congratulations to the players on their achievement and thank you to all the support they received from coaches, managers, parents and the medical staff.
Forname Surname Age Club School

Mark Bennett 17 Cumnock St. Joseph's Academy
Alan Haynes 17 Cumnock Auchinleck Academy
Craig Greer 18 Cumnock

All the other players from other clubs can be found on above link.

Player of the Year Awards

It's that time of year again. Nomination forms are now available behind the bar for you to vote for the various awards. The categories are:

Player of the year
2nd XV player of the year
Most improved player
Young Player of the year (U21)
Most deserving Player

If you can't get down to the club, then contact Jim Morton in order to cast your votes. The awards will be presented on Sunday 24th May after the 1st XV v U17 game.

As we should all know the Under 17s and playing the 1st team next Sunday 24th May. It is ofcourse still the the Mini/midi awards day. tickets are £6 for adults and £3 for children.

There is some unfortunate people that need to be at the club for 9am. The marquee we used at the mini festival will be there again. There is going to be a BBQ and a tuck shop. There is some of you that are at Kilmarnock this weekend and Whitecraigs. So that we can order enough food we need to know this weekend for many tickets are sold, so that we can buy enough burgers, so buy your tickets this weekend.

So help us all out and get the tickets sold.
(thank you coaches/parents and everyone else)

Tommy (Webmaster for mini/midi officially (seeing as that me on that committee as well) and senior section of Cumnock Rugby Club.

Uddingston tournament with Cumnocks p5 & p7 AND primary 3/4s

Primary 3/4

Cumnock Primary 3 &4 Uddingston Tournament Report

Uddingston Lions 4 Cumnock 3

Cumnock kicked off their tournament against one of the two entries from the home side. Uddingston had taken 10 tries off the Cumnock side only a few weeks ago and would have expected another comfortable win.

However, this was without considering the considerable fighting spirit that this team discovered today and this game developed into an enthralling affair with some rugby played by both teams.
Cumnock’s standouts in this game were Ross Watson who made some heroic try saving tackles as well as try-scorers Owen Young (2) and Alex Houston.

Uddingston Tigers 4 Cumnock 2

It is perhaps a mark of how impressive the team’s first performance had been that the coaches were left slightly disappointed that this game got away from them.
Uddingston Tigers were the eventual winners of this competition but they were lucky in some respects that Cumnock let them run in a few tries virtually unopposed while Cumnock narrowly missing out on a couple of scores with both Austin McBirnie and Alex Houston both bundled into touch just short of the line.
Both of Cumnock’s tries were scored by the outcasting Owen Young who finished off good team moves with typically jinking runs as well as making some crunching tackles.

Cumnock 4 Waysiders 3

Cumnock came flying out of the blocks for this match with alex Houston breaking straight from the kick off before slipping the scoring pass to Owen Young.
This set the tune for the match with Cumnock finally putting in the kind of team performance that they threatening to produce for several weeks.
Cumnock’s defence in particular was outstanding with thumping tackles from Rob Drummond causing spilt ball that the side’s dangerous running could benefit from.
Cumnock seemed completely in control with further scores from owen young and Austin McBirnie. However Cumnock looked set to blow it when they allowed waysiders to sneak a couple of quick scores and level the scores.
However, the fighting spirit that the side had shown all day came to the fore once more again on the lastb play of the game when McBirnie broke from behind his own line, beat most of the wayside’s team before being caught just short of the line. The ever present Young was on hold to receive the pass and cross to claim a richly deserved victory.

Cumnock 2 East Kilbride 5

Cumnock started well against a much larger East Kilbride team with Austin McBirnie using his pace well to score in the corner after a looping run.
East Kilbride answered with score of their own before Owen Young finished off his prolific day with his eighth try.
However their busy day suddenly caught up with the primary 3 & 4s and East Kilbride were able to use their size advantage to run in four more tries without answer.
Overall this was a very positive day for the p3 & 4s with several outstanding individual performances. However, it is the team that counts and this is a side that is starting to gel and work together which bodes well for their two remaining tournaments.


Primary 5s

The team played 5 hard games of rugby during a long day at Uddingston tournament.

Cumnock 8 Uddingston 8

The team got off to a poor start against the hosts and were trailing 5-2 at half time, but the team put in a great performance in the second half and ended up with a draw.

Cumnock 2 East Kilbride 7

This was a hard game against the eventual winners of the tournament. The end result not really reflecting the passage of play. Missed tackles and poor support play losing the team this game.

Cumnock 7 Helensburgh 8

Another smashing performance from the team in this game. Helensburgh running in 2 late tries to deny Cumnock a victory.

Cumnock 6 Waysiders 2

A well deserved victory in this game with another thrilling performance from the team. Putting up a strong defence and running in some well worked tries.

Cumnock 5 Strathaven 5

The last game of the day was a real spectacle with both teams giving their all to provide a thriller for the spectators.

The Cumnock team today were Calum Bell, John Watt, Jack McSeveney, Sean Houston, Tyler Wallace and Lucy Watt. Tries coming from Calum, Sean, Jack and John

Primary 5 chatboard topic

Report for P7 Team

Strathaven 3 Cumnock 0

Cumnock opened well, pressing their opponents from the start. Only poor ball retention at the breakdown and a few missed tackles allowed Strathaven in to score. This was a much better performance by Cumnock and the scoreline flattered their opponents.

East Kilbride 4 Cumnock 2

Cumnock started lively enough with a fine team effort allowing Connor McSevenney in at the orner. However the powerfull running and supprt play from their bigger opponents soon started to tell and East Kilbride replied with two fine tries. Cumnock took the play to their opponents in the second half but it was always a chasing game and the outcome wasn't in doubt despite a try from Zack North.

Uddingston 3 Cumnock 2

This was the best game of the day and again Cumnock started well with an early try from Aiden Kerr. Both teams passed and tackled well and the crowd were treated to a fine dsplay of rugby. Cumnock's other try came from Cameron McGuire but injuries started to take their toll and in the end Uddingston managed to sneak a win.

Cumnock 5 Waysiders 4

Cumnock were playing for pride in this game and played to their strengths. At last the backs moved the ball wide and utilised their pace in the wide open spaces. In fact the Cumnock score should have been higher but poor retention of the ball in the tackle and poor decision making by the ball carrier , often cutting back inside and ignoring the over-laps outside him kept the game tight until the final whistle. Scores came from A Davidson, A Harkiss, E Hendry, A Kerr and J Reilly.

Over all the performance was good from the Cumnock players, in particular the forwards gelled well and provided a good platform for the backs. The Players Player of the Day was Rachel Shankland who had some great runs with the ball and tackled fiercely on the wing.

The other players on the day were C McKenzie, S Faulds, G Aitken, T Dowds and R McLaren

Primary 7 chatboard topic

Social events in Cumnock Rugby Club in April and May

The following are the social events being run in the club for the month of April/May (more details will follow).



under 17s vs 1st Cumnock team, Awards Day 24th May

Come along and support them.

Mini festival inlcuding reports

Picture of winning Primary 5 Cumnock team
P7 Coaches - Jim Faulds, Kevan Aitken, Danny McLaren
Winning Cumnock P7 team

This was a festival that was scheduled for last October but was cancelled due to inclement weather. However this did not diminish the quality of the rugby on show and produced two age group winners for Cumnock.

Over 160 primary school players from P3 to P7 competed against teams from Ardrossan, Dumfries and Kilmarnock in the quest for silverware.

The format used for these young players has been pioneered by Cumnock Rugby Club to promotes the use of the players skills as the mechanism to win the tournament and rather than the team who scores the most. “We tried to focus on encouraging the core skills that players of these age groups should be displaying” said Harry Reilly, one of the Festival Organisers. “Too many times we see teams at these age groups focussing on winning a tournament/festival rather than focusing on the basic skills that produce high quality players for the future”. These coaching principles are certainly showing results as Cumnock had four players selected for U16 Glasgow Warriors Squad which won the Inter District Championship today.

Primary 7 reports for Cumnock Mini Festival

Cumnock 8 Ardrossan 3

Cumnock were fired up for this game, closing down Ardrossan right from the start. Once Gregor Aitken got the first score after some great team interplay the result was never in any doubt. The midweek training session paid off with the forwards using their new move to pentetrate the Ardrossan defence again and again and by the interval Cumnock were 5-0 ahead. Some slackplay and poor defending let Ardrossan in for three scores, but Cumnock replied with three fine tries of their own. Man of the match for Cumnock was selected by the Ardrossan coach and was Andrew Harkiss who had put in a powerful performance in the centre of the pack. Cumnock scores came from Gregor Aitken (2), Jack Reilly (3), Taylor Howie and Aiden Kerr (2).

Cumnock 5 Kilmarnock 4

This was a terrific game played with great determination by both teams. The skill levels demonstrated by both teams were of an extremley high level and the crowd was treated to a wonderful game of rugby. Kilmarnock opened the scoring but Cumnock dug deep and responded quickly with a great move leading to a try for Jack Reilly. Both teams traded scores until Cumnock opened up a two point lead. After that the result wasn't in doubt and Cumnock held out for a fantastic win over their old rivals. Scores came from Jack Reilly, Taylor Howie, Andrew Harkiss, Zack North and Connor McSevenney. Special mention must be made of Man of the Match, Scott Faulds, who works away in the game, winning and securing ball for his team.

The P7 team were overall winners of the Festival and the coaching team of Kevan Aitken, Euan Kerr, Harry Reilly and Danny McLaren won the P7 coaches award for the way that they coached their players on the day, assisted by Jim Faulds. The Players Player of the day was Andrew Harkiss.

Cumnock P5 Match Reports

The Cumnock P5 team put in a great performance on Sunday at the clubs annual mini festival. The club were hosting teams from Ardrossan, Dumfries and Kilmarnock . The day produced 3 thrilling games of rugby at P5 level with the Cumnock team stepping up to the mark and securing victory in all of their games. Man of the match awards going to Sean Houston, Jack McSeveney and John Watt. The team also went on to win the overall award for their age group. This was a real recognition of the team's performance as this award is based on the team's execution of the core skills (running, tackling and support play) and not on game results. The P5 team which put in such a great performance were Calum Bell, Kory Galloway, Lucy Watt, Sean Houson, Tyler Wallace, John Watt, Calum Hendrie, Jack McSeveney and Rory Nimmo. Congratulations P5, you all put in a superb performance today.

Cumnock P3/4 Match Reports

Cumnock 11 – 12 Ardrossan

Cumnock kicked off their tournament against a dangerous Ardrossan team.

Unfortunately it took the side a few minutes to realise this and they quickly found themselves three scores down. After this slow start however Cumnock fought back with two quick-fire tries from Owen Young and from then on both sides scored freely with some tremendous attacking and support play from both sides.

Cumnock’s much improved support play was the most impressive aspect of this performance with breaks made by Alex Houston and Adam Watt ably followed up by Rob Drummond and Ross Watson Indeed it was noticeable that Cumnock’s overall team play was much better than that of Ardrossan whose man of the match scored ten of his sides tries in an impressive individual display.

Cumnock’s man of the match as selected by the Ardrossan coach was Austin McBirnie who put in probably his best performance of the season so far and had a hand in every move of the match, despite somehow not managing to score himself!

The rest of the scores came from Owen Young (7), Alex Houston (2) and Craig Sloan (2) and despite the result Cumnock could take a lot from this game as their attacking play was much better than in recent weeks.



Cumnock 4 – 10 Kilmarnock

This local derby was the sides other game of the day and they were confident of another competitive display following their impressive form in the opening game.

However the traditional Cumnock slow start was in action once more and the powerful runners of the Kilmarnock side took advantage of this score five tries before half time. Only one long range try from broken play by Adam Watt came in Cumnock’s favour.

The side rallied after a reminder at half time about the importance of tackling the opposition and they came flying out of the blocks for the second half with some excellent tackling by Ross Watson and Rob Drummond. This seemed to rattle Kilmarnock and it allowed Cumnock to run in tries from Owen Young, Alex Houston and another from Adam Watt.

Unfortunately this fight back was short lived as Kilmarnock ran in another five tries without reply as Cumnock’s defence seemed to go to sleep. The man of the match for this game was Adam Watt for his two tries and a tenacious defensive effort that many of his team mates could learn a lot from.

Ultimately this was mixed weekend for the P3/4s though several positive aspects such as an impressive attacking performance with some spectacular individual moments from several players means that this team can be very positive about its future.

Link to chatboard

Credit to Fiona and Harry for the reports and pics.

Harry (and the rest of us) wishes to thank everybody who helped out Sunday.

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

2nds v Allan Glens Sat 25th April

Please note that the kick off has been moved to 2.30pm. Come down and watch the last game of the season and have a few beers afterwards.

Allan Glens won 36-5 and by the noise I heard when I phoned the rugby club, some of them had stayed.

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

Cumnock Primary 7s report for 19 April

Link to Cumnock Chatboard

Cumnock 2 Strathaven 7

This was a glorious day for running rugby but it was the Strathaven team, fresh from an Easter Tournament in France that took the initiative, leaving Cumnock to play catch-up. The boys looked rusty, particularly in the first half and their handling, usually their best skill, let them down. Some poor tackling and covering let Strathaven win this desicively. Overall though Cumnock didn't play badly, with improved performances from Ross Phillips and Scott Faulds leading to a try from Ross. Cumnocks first score came from the ever eager Aiden Kerr.

Cumnock 6 Uddingston 7

Cumnock played much better against a strong team that had just drawn with Strathaven. They closed down their opponents and didn't give too much space to the stronger Uddingston runners. Again, though poor tackling let them down. Some of the Cumnock tries came from well worked set-pieces and there were some good individual runs from Gregor Aitken and Robbie McLaren ending in scores for these players. The other scores came from Jack Reilly (3) and Zack North. Man of the match fro the day was awarded to Ross Phillips who put in his best performance in a Cumnock shirt.

2nds lose at West

The 2nds travelled to Burnbrae to take on the best team in the league on a beautiful spring day. The 18 man squad contained no fewer than 10 teenagers.The game was played in a hard but fair manner from beginning to end, and was well refereed. Cumnock started well and some big tackles were put in, which forced errors from the hosts. The visitors also drove the hosts back at mauls and rucks. However, the toll of those early hits started to tell. The home team threw the ball wide at every opportunity, and they began to find holes in the defence. Half time came with the hosts leading 40-0.Cumnock rallied in the second half and started to take the game to the hosts. There was some excellent driving play, but the home defence held firm. They counter attacked again and again, and scored 4 more tries. Cumnock had the last say in the match when from a penalty 5 metres out, Craig McWhirter was driven over for his first try for the seniors. The West supporters applauded a well deserved try. The final score was 66-5.The WOS website reported : However, this was a predominately young Cumnock side that showed much promise for the future of their club.Well done to all players who never gave up and were rewarded by that try.
Man of the match (as selected by the referee) Graham Hunter.
DOD: ( for missing tackles) Steven Taylor.
Next week sees the final match of the season as Allan Glens visit Broomfield. Kick off is at 3pm, and all spectators are welcome.

Link to Cumnock chatboard

Link to West of Scotland website

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).

Cumnock Girls Team

Congratulations to the girls team who have made it through to the semi-final of the U18 cup after a hard fought victory over Ayr. They now travel to Aberdeenshire to meet Aboyne. According to coach Mark Linden, it was an excellent game of rugby and the Cumnock team were worthy winners. The final score was 10-29 in favour of the girls in Red and Black.

In the semi final the Cumnock Rugby Club Girls Under 18s team play Aboyne/Banchory Academy in Aberdeenshire on Sunday 12 April.

Anyone wanting to come along and add their support are more than welcome.
We have arranged a coach and for a small fee will be charged.
All welcome. For details contact Mark Linden.

Chatboard link, comments please

Unfortunately the Girls lost 34-19. The aboyne team had a couple of quick players. The Girls played really well. Thanks to Una for the update.

Cumnock 1st XV vs Strathclyde Police rearranged fixture

cumnock is playing Strathclyde Police on this Saturday 11 April 2009, by mutual consent. It was scheduled for 25th April. Please come along and support. Kick off 3pm

UPDATE: the score was Cumnock 10 Strathclyde Police 28 Kevin Brady and Alan (alcho) Smith scored our tries. The police scored 4 converted tries.

Link to chatboard

Link to Strathclyde Police website

Strathclyde Police website online photos

Perpignan Fundraising Ceilidh

Cumnock RFC Mini/Midi Section:-
Perpignan Fundraising
Ceilidh

Venue:- Cumnock Town Hall
Saturday 2nd May 2009

To raise funds to send CRFC Junior players to the Glasgow Thistles Training Camp at Perpignan, France.

Tickets priced at £12.00 and are available from Morton Houston (552987) or Stewart Bennett (426327), Harry, Gordon amongst others. They are already selling quickly following last years fantastic night.

Under 17 tour

The under 17s have just returned from a fantastic trip to Belfast. They played 2 games defeating Ards 40-28 and Malone 31-12.

Both these teams are in the premier league in Northern Ireland. Malone are undefeated at the top of the league.

The players played out of their skins against Malone after a slow start to the tour against Ards.

The 20 our so parents and coaches who attended also had a great time.

They play what could be one of their last games together against Dumfries at home this SUNDAY at 2pm and it would be good to get a great crowd along to see the players who will be figuring in the firsts and seconds next year.

The Irish teams could not have been more accommodating or friendly to us during the trip

Credit to Houstie from chatboard for report.

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

Primary 7 reports

primary 7 reports for 22/03/09

This is one of the toughest weekends that this P7 face all season with a double header against Ayr and GHA at Millbrae . Both these teams have won a number of tournaments so far this season so the task ahead for the Cougars could not be underestimated.

Ayr 8 Cumnock 1

The Ayr team came out of the traps fast and furious with Cumnock allowing the hosts to score at will. By half time the score was sitting at 5-0 and some plain speaking from the coaches ensued. Cumnock buckled down to the task in the second half with a significant improvement producing some excellent phases of play and a resulting score by Euan Hendrie. This step up in performance disrupted the flow of the Ayr side placing pressure on them when in possession and limiting their opportunities.


GHA 9 Cumnock 1

The Cumnock side did not carry forward the improved performance from the first game and retreated into their shells again for the first half. GHA turned over Cumnock ball at will then followed by some slick handling to their wide men produced a host of scores. By the half time whistle GHA had built a commanding 5-0 lead and it was time for the coaches to “earn their corn” again. It was pointed out that time and time again a Cougars player would make good yards however seldom was there a supporting player to help him out. This would need to change in second half if any improvement was to be seen. From the restart Cumnock looked like a different team with each and every player making a contribution. Whilst GHA did touchdown another four times they had to produce their very best as Cumnock controlled significant parts of the second half. The Cumnock score was the result of a good phase of team play which drove towards the GHA line and only a series of penalty incidents delaying the seemingly inevitable score. Ultimately the referee had no choice but the award a penalty try in favour of Cumnock due to the persistent fouling by their opponents, this was truly a team score.

The stand out man of the match on the day was Jack Reilly with driving runs, crunching tackling and some excellent distribution contributing to a first class overall performance. In conclusion the coaches were disappointed that the hard work carried out on the training ground over the past few weeks had not been put into practice and if this team are to step up to the next level they must start to work together.

Primary 6 reports for 22/03/09

Cumnock P6 at Ayr

Ayr A 5 Cumnock 0

Ayr B 1 Cumnock 5

GHA 0 Cumnock 1

Cumnock P6’s took a revitalised squad down to Ayr on Sunday with 6 new players who had never played a full game of rugby before to play two strong teams in Ayr and GHA. In the first game Cumnock played Ayr A, one of only two teams to have beaten them on grass this season. Cumnock matched Ayr in tight first half only to loose their way a bit in the in the second half, however it was a much improved performance. Cumnock immediately got revenge by beating Ayr B and then GHA in a tight game.

All in all the coaches were delighted with all the players, the more experienced boys and Rachael played to their usual high standard but the all the new boys showed great determination and got stuck in. It cant be emphasised enough how good these results are against two strong rugby teams whilst playing with up to three players who have never played before, the coaches have high hopes for the remainder of the season.

Primary 5 report for 22/03/09

Cumnock visited Millbrae today for 3 thrilling games of rugby

The team got off to a slow start in their first game against Ayr and were 5-2 down at half time. After the break the team found their form and pulled the game back for a final result of 10-10. After a short break the team took to the field against a well drilled GHA team. The Cumnock team never really found their form and were beaten 6-1 in this game. The final game against another GHA team saw better rugby from the Cumnock team and were unfortunate to lose this game 4-2 . The Cumnock try scorers today were Sean Houston and Scott Teece support play coming from Tyler Wallace, Brandon Stewart, Lucy Watt, Calum Bell, John Watt, Louise Vietch and Calum Hendrie

p3/p4 reports for 22/03/09

Report for Cumnock P3 / P4 Team

Ayr (P4) 5 Cumnock 6
This was a cracker of a game with great play from both teams. Ayr took an early lead before Cumnock woke up at half time. In the second half Cumnock fought back well with some fierce tackling and great running and passing and eventually ran out deserved winners. Scores from Rob, Adam, Adam and Owen (3).


GHA (P4) 7 Cumnock 2
Cumnock never really got going against this much larger, well drilled team. The standard of rugby from GHA was very high but Cumnock rose well to the challenge and some determined tackling kept the score down. Tries came from Adam (2).


Ayr (P3) 5 Cumnock 3
This was a real ding-dong game with lots of action at both ends of the pitch. Scores were traded evenly throughout the first half but Ayr just pulled away towards the end of the second half. Tries were scored by Corry (2) and Adam.


The coaches were extremely pleased with the way that the boys played, particularly as the day went on. If only the players would realise that the shortest way to the try line is to run in a straight line!

Cumnock 1st XV 3 Loch Lomond 22

Although slightly cold on the weather front, this was a cracking day, to be playing in a game of rugby, especially if you were one of the Cumnock youth set up now being blooded into senior rugby. From the kick-off it was end to end play, with both teams showing good attacking and equally the same in defence. Although from the sideline it was noticible that Lomond did have the heavier pack, yet with Greer and Hunter in the front row backed up with Cross and Brady, they were hardly ever troubled, Miller even stealing a couple.

After fifteen minutes though, it was a charged down clearance kick from Hill, that allowed Lomond in for a try. Possession was still running on 50-50 Kerr and Hodge linking with Stuart Hunter off the back of scrums, Barr waiting on second phase, and using the pace of Nisbitt to puncture the Lomond defence. Lomond's main attacks for now were through their backs, but with Nairn Harkin and McMillan in the back line once again, this week no one was getting through. A long clearance kick from his own 22 metre line and the follow up tap tackle from Greer was to result in Lomond penalised for holding on, Hill slotting home to make it 3-7.

Don't know if Cumnock were just missing someone in there to take note of when the ref was playing an advantage, certainly from the shouts on the sideline they all noticed, and he was very generous with it and mostly in Cumnocks favour. It was from an advantage that Lomond got their next score, Hodge making the break but that wee bit lack in support alowing for a turnover. With the rule of the day being, no one was to get through the fringes of any breakdown, this was held with rigour, until just before halftime when the Lomond hooker went straight through the middle untouched 3-17.

Cumnock at the start of the second half were to introduce another two of the young guns Euan Cunningham on for the battered and bruised Cross and Tony Foster replacing Nairn. As in the first half pssession was similar, but territorial advantage was in Cumnocks favour, but as did happen in the first half with the goal line in sight they chose the wrong option.
With the wind advantage Lomond were relying on the boot upfield, but with Nisbitt switching on his fullback head and Foster following up his clearance kicks, Cumnock were well capable of a counter attack.This half looked like a no score, until near the end Lomond on the attack and the player bundled into touch by a metre threw the ball back in play for one of his teamates to score 3-22.

Thanks to Alex Dunsmuir for report

Saturday 14th March INCLUDING RESULTS

Link to story on chatboard, come on please can more people join, there is only 17 members, Remember you have to join as a member of chatboard to view it (after verification)

If you are not going to Murrayfield, get down to Broonfield and support the guys who are playing.
The 2nds kick off at 1pm against Hamilton, followed at 2pm by the 1sts against GHK.
Both international matches will be shown on the big screen afterwards.

Result from Alan Hall on chatboard:-

Another defeat for Cumnock 1st XV at the weekend. 50 - 10 against GHK.

Highlight of the day was the two father and son appearances of

David & Euan Kerr
&
Mark & Stuart Bennett - both combined to score Cumnock's only try of the day.

Result from Jim on chatboard:-

There were two highlights in the 2nds game: Kyle Johnston's try after a successful chase and harrying by Martin Thomson. This followed one of Alex's well placed box kicks! The other highlight was Stephen Taylor's outrageous try. Kyle had taken a penalty into the wind, but the wind had held the ball up and it landed in goal. Stephen followed it up and touched down for the try.
The only downside was the broken ankle sustained by JJ.

Whats happening socially at Cumnock Rugby Club

Sportsman Dinner
Friday 27th March 6.30pm for 7.00pm Tickets £25.00
The speakers are Brian Donald BBC Rugby and Golf Presenter plus sports writer for the Daily Mail and Sunday Times and Jim ‘Buller’ Reid Renowned local Speaker will be at our local rugby club.
The ticket price includes a FOUR COURSE MEAL and the tickets are available from behind the bar.

HEIDERS CLUB HAWIIAN DISCO
Saturday 28th March
It's only £2.00 a ticket (see Kevin). Following are the rules:
MANDATORY ATTENDANCE
£5.00 FINE for Bring a male partner
£5.00 FINE for non attendance
£10.00 FINE for Bringing no partner

New Dates for West Div 1 as @06/03/09

The Scottish Rugby Union have announced the dates for posponed games and the ones affecting Cumnock are as follows:

New Date/Match/Old Date

14 March Cumnock v GHK 25 Oct, 22 Nov, & 10 January
21 March Cumnock v Loch Lomond 7 February
25 April Cumnock v Strathclyde Police 29 November, 1 March
For scottish rugby link click here

2008 season 2nd team remaining fixtures

From Jim Morton on chatboard

The league management have made changes to Div 6 with regard to the outstanding fixtures that we have still to play. We now have only 3 games to play to end our league season. The games are:
28th Feb Paisley Home 12.00 kick off
14th Mar Hamilton Away 3.00 kick off
21st Mar Allan Glens Home 3.00 kick off

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

I've seen the future and its got a roof!

Cumnock Cougars travelled to play a series of matches against East Kilbride on 22nd Feb however this was not at EK's normal home ground but in the covered astro pitch at the Hamilton Palace sports complex. Whilst there are certain limitations to this type of facility these pale against the positives the most significant being that the vagaries of the Scottish weather are removed from the mix.

If we are to continue with micro and mini rugby during the winter months a facility such as Hamilton Palace make perfect sense however the age old problem of securing the necessary finance for projects seems as likely as Frank Hadden naming me in the next squad for the next round in the Six Nations.

On a nother point, Euan Kerr and I had a conversation with senior coach at EK who advised of a SRU backed initiaitive to pilot summer rugby. The proposal was fairly detailed and inv olved a significant number of clubs with factors taken into consideration such a s holiday periods and the like. Whilst there are some problems to deal with in the summer not least of which is rock hard pitches surely this would be a positve move for our young players - We await the results with interest

Harry

East Kilbride mini/midi reports Sunday 22nd February

P4
Cumnock visited East Kilbride today for 2 thrilling and hard fought games. The team played very well in both games improving as the day went on but were unfortunate to lose both games. The try scorers today were Alex Houston and Calum Bell, support play coming from Kory Galloway, Austin McBirnie, Lucy Watt and Adam Watt.

P5
The P5 boys put in 2 great performances today narrowly losing their first game 4-3. After a short break the boys came out firing on all cylinders blowing their opposition away with a 5-3 victory in the second game. Tries coming from Sean Houston, Scott Teece, Calm Park and Calum Bell ably assisted by Jack McSeveney, John Watt and Tyler Wallace

Cumnock P7 Report

East Kilbride 13 Cumnock 5

Cumnock travelled to an indoor astru-turf pitch at Hamilton Palace to play East Kilbride. The facility was excellent, with conditions obviously excellent for playing rugby. However, the pitch as set-out was very narrow, not much different to the training pitch at Cumnock Academy . This meant that there was not enough width for Cumnock to play to their strengths, getting quick ball out wide and running into the corners. The pitch suited the East Kilbride style of play with the ball kept tight with their large pack and only moving wide once Cumnock players had been sucked into any rucks or mauls.

The Cumnock tries from G Aitken, Z North (2) and J Reilly (2) came from some good passages of play with the ball moving about quickly through various sets of hands.

The coaches were disappointed with the way some players didn't get involved at the breakdowns despite spending weeks practising rucking and mauling. Too many players were content to stand back and see what happened rather than competing for the ball. On the positive side, the half backs and centres were linking up well with good positive runing and tackling from Kerr, Reilly, Aitken and North. This was the first defeat since before Christmas and hopefully it will be a wake-up call for some of the players

mini section are training next Sunday times tba

Uddingston 0 Cumnock 1st xv 56

This was never going to be, just another Saturday, this was a long awaited Saturday for some of the clubs, parents, coaches and of course what today was mostly about, four young players who have come up through the youth section and becoming of age to play first team rugby.
With a slight wind blowing, there was nothing really else you could complain about, considering what we have had lately, condition underfoot were good which was to prove favourable for the Cumnock backs. Four guys don’t make a team though, and it was the forward driving that was to put the early pressure on the home side, sucking in most of their defence, finally allowing Elliot to unleash a miss pass out to Bennett, but it was Houston also on his debut, popping up in support to receive what looked a slightly forward pass to score his first senior try, converted by Bennett. From the restart the young guns were linking once again, this time, it was a great take from Nisbet going across field, fed Bennet in his own 22metre, who then proceeded to scythe his way through the opposition to score between the uprights and convert. Play was then camped at the middle of the field for the next ten minutes, with a series of scrums, none of which Cumnock were too worried. With an ABC line up of a young Alan old Bobby and experienced Chad they had the front row sown up. It was Uddingston however that stole one against the head, Houston making up for the misdemeanour, intercepted their pass out to the backs and make a break with only the fullback to beat, he returned his earlier favour and slipped the pass to Bennett. From the restart once again Houston put in the chip ahead, Harkin put in the chase, then Thomsom overturned possession and this time it was Hill to feed Bennett. With halftime approaching, for some unknown reason, which the coach wasn’t happy about, Cumnock tried to run the ball out of their own 22metre finally conceding a penalty. With almost everyone asleep it was the alertness of Harkin who noticed a quick one being taken, but infringed before they had covered 10metres, getting sin binned for his actions, but in the end proved to be a good call. Half time 35-0.
Also making his debut, swapping new for old, Donald Hunter replaced a tired Horton and in the centres like for like McPheators came on for Hill. Uddingston looked now to have upped the tempo in the forwards with play mostly in the Cumnock half, but again good defensive work from Fulton and Kerr resulting in a knock on, Harkin playing the advantage put in a long clearance kick from his own 22metre line, McPheators and McMillan with the follow up chase, the latter getting the luck of the bounce and getting the try. As in the first half, we then encountered a spell of play around midfield again, although most of the time seemed to be spent at line outs, where once again with the inclusion of Andy Nairn Cumnock had got it just right. From the only No.8 pick up from Kerr of the game Cumnock went down the blind side but were finally bundled into touch. From the ensuing line out the home side failed to find touch, Harkin capitalised on the weak effort with a good run to pop it to non-other, Bennett to score. The remainder of the game was played in the opposition half, Brady trying to keep his forwards focussed on the game plan, when the ball slipped out to McMillan who had only a 10metre dash to the line, but for some reason he thought he had only 5metre, as he touched down a bit premature and was then pushed into touch. A steal from Nairn at the line out and quick ball from Houston to Elliott saw Bennett come through on the crash for try number 6.
The coach said he was pleased with the youngsters performances, he also recognised that it seemed to help and up the game of the others, he also praised the defence thus not allowing the opposition on the score sheet and with a bit more training together this can only improve.

More pics on chatboard thread, please send me more pics if you have it.

Stewartry 26 Cumnock S1/2 14

The S1 & 2 team undertook the long and winding journey to Castle Douglas, coming up against a fairly strong Stewartry side. Cumnock were fielding a side with several inexperienced players with two of them making their debuts. The first 20minutes were fairly even with the Stewartry boys only scoring 2 tries and unfortunately they were not countered, however it could have been worst had debutant Telbell not charged across the field to take out the opposite winger 5m from the try line. After the break Cumnock came out guns blazing with Man of the match Telbell scoring in the corner.

After some crunching tackles by big Iain, Robbie and Euan, Christopher made break and scored under the posts going on to convert his effort. In the final 20minutes Cumnock scored two great tries, another Debutant Dempster using his magic feet to pass the opposition and go over, while the other one was more of a team effort with Iain making the original impact while good support play meant George was able to stroll over the line. Unfortunately some missed tackles meant that the score line flattered the home side winning as they did 26 - 14. Auld Jim the head coach said after the game “ There has been a great improvement since the last game, and all the boys have shown a lot of potential” As noted before Man of the Match award was given to Telbell for an outstanding first game, while the eejit award was given to Callan for being sick on the bus!

Saturday 7th February Cumnock homes games off

Cumnock 1st xv vrs Loch Lomond and Cumnock 2nd XV vrs Paisley are both off.

CUMNOCK HALT THE PINK AND BLACK ATTACK!!

Under 17’s Match Report 14th September 2008

CUMNOCK HALT THE PINK AND BLACK ATTACK!!
Ayr 17 Cumnock 21

Cumnock Under 17’s programme of summer training paid dividends as they travelled to Ayr for their opening league fixture of the season. As expected this was a fiercely contested match, in which fitness levels could well have been the difference between the sides.
Cumnock knew they would be under pressure from a large well drilled Ayr pack and came out in fighting spirit to put down a marker of their drive and determination to compete. The first fifteen minutes of play saw Cumnock pounding the Ayr line and only some stout defending by the home side held the attack at bay. It was as a result of this style of play that led to the opening try for the visitors. From a breakdown on the Ayr 22 metre line, the Cumnock pack drove relentlessly and worked through four phases of play to feed the ball to Mark Bennett to crash over. The boot of Kyle Johnson was as reliable as ever and the conversion was in the bag.
Ayr came back from the restart and responded with some fine play from their forwards which saw them camp on the Cumnock try line. Despite some fine tackling from Graham Hunter, Greg Hamilton and Conor Nisbet, Ayr crossed the line twice but failed to convert either – a deficit which was to prove costly as the game progressed. Half time came with the score at 10 -7 in the home side’s favour.
Ayr returned to the field on form and opened their account early in the second half with a long range drive from the pack to touch down under the posts. There was no error in the kick which followed and Ayr pulled ahead 17 -7.
Cumnock redoubled their efforts at this point and held Ayr out for the ensuing fifteen minutes with tries being held up by the aforementioned Hunter and Hamilton. This set up the ideal platform for what happened next. Some dominant tackling from Craig Greer and Donald Hunter turned the ball over and the superb Alan Haynes wasted no time in spinning a precise pass to Bennett. He in turn punted the ball up the field and outran the Ayr winger and full back to touchdown under the posts. Johnson converted with ease and brought Cumnock back within three points.
This boost galvanised the Cumnock men and saw them immediately back on the attack, knowing that a victory was within reach. From a lineout in the Cumnock half, the ball was spread wide through the back line to flying winger Gavin Kerr. Kerr deftly chipped over the Ayr defence but was cynically taken out of play, unnoticed by the referee. Undaunted Cumnock resumed their attack and winning a scrum on the left side of the field scrum half Scott Houston lofted a well timed pass to number 8, Greer who fed the back line. Quick hands saw the ball out to Bennett who chipped over the Ayr full back. The ensuing chase and tackle from Bennett saw the ball dislodged from the full back’s grip and Bennett touchdown for his hat trick. Johnson again converted just as the final whistle blew, recording an outstanding and well deserved victory, 17 -21 to Cumnock.

Delighted coach, Morton Houston praised the effort and determination of all the players. “ This was a marvellous team effort with contributions made from each and every player. I could not select a Man of the Match from such a wealth of skill, industry and determination and this will be recorded as a team victory. The boys have worked extremely hard and deserve this win today. This was the result we wanted to set us up for the coming season. To open our season with a win away from home over the defending league champions is the best start we could have hoped for.”

Cumnock Under 17’s 68 Dumfries Under 17’s 14

Cumnock Under 17’s produced a resounding victory in their final warm up fixture before the start of their league endeavours next week. The home team meant business from the kick off and opened their account after only four minutes with a well taken try from No 8 Craig Greer who powered over the line from short range. On form stand off Kyle Johnson followed up within minutes as he teased the Dumfries defence with a show and go to score under the posts. A careless pass gifted Dumfries with their only try of the first half and highlighted the need for accuracy as the new season commences.
There followed a passage of play for which Dumfries had no answer as the Cumnock back line consistently exploited gaps to rack up four tries in quick succession – a second for Craig Greer, two from flying winger Tony Foster and one from Mark Bennett. All six tries were converted by Kyle Johnson, taking the half time score to 42 -7 in the home sides favour.
Dumfries returned to the field with a revised game plan which involved tying the ball in and restricting access to Cumnock’s back line. While this was good advice and resulted in more competitive play it did little to halt the scoring onslaught from Cumnock. A further try from Craig Greer completed his hat trick for the day. From the restart, Cumnock took the ball to the defence and some excellent support play from Craig McWhirter saw him on hand to finish off another fine example of flowing rugby. A stolen ball from the back of a scrum caught the Cumnock defence napping and allowed Dumfries their sole try of this half.
The next move saw Mark Bennett look as if there was no way through the Dumfries centres. A retrieved up and under fell perfectly into Bennett’s hands, was fed via Ross Black to a speeding Gavin Kerr who outstripped his opposite man for a well deserved score in the corner. In the dying minutes of the game Cumnock rounded off their performance with a try from full back Conor Nisbet who took his opportunity with ease. Nine of the ten tries were converted bringing the final tally to 68-14 to Cumnock.
Man of the Match was Alan Haynes whose work rate and industry both on and off the ball was outstanding. This week will see Cumnock Under 17’s make their final preparation for their tough opening league fixture against Ayr next Sunday. Coach Alan Hall said after the match “ There were some moments of brilliance this afternoon but the boys will need to maintain this high octane performance next week and erase lapses of concentration. Ayr are a well drilled outfit and any errors on Cumnock’s part will be punished.”