Second XV given chance to shine

Published 11 Nov 2009 14:00

Clydebank first XV were off duty this week when the notoriously poor Paisley pitches succumbed to the rain during the week and the match was cancelled.

The second XV, however, travelled to Hamilton to play a league match.

The Clydebank second XV have started to work well as a team as they get more matches together and this proved to be the difference between the two squads and allowed Clydebank to run out winners by 5-12.

Clydebank kept their composure and tackled ferociously throughout and Hamilton soon began to show signs of the pressure from Clydebank and injuries started to occur on a regular basis.

Fortunately for Hamilton, they did have plenty of replacements to keep their strength up on the park.

But after 10 minutes another big tackle in the middle of the field saw Clydebank gain possession from the Hamilton backs.

The ball was fed to the Clydebank backs and Stephen Barnett was off down the park to score a try which converted for a 0-7 lead.

The match settled back into an even affair until just on 25 minutes when Barnett saw another break and was off again.

He ran 30 yards, side-stepping the defence, to the Hamilton 22-metre line where he was finally stopped.

Alex Allan was in support and took the ball on and was stopped by the full-back, but managed to pass off to Connor Sloss who crossed the line for what appeared to be a clear try.

The referee however felt differently and called the final pass forward, dashing Connor’s celebrations.

The second half saw Clydebank get off the starting blocks very quickly.

Within a few phases of play after the kick-off Alex Allan had made a break to the Hamilton try line.

The ruck saw Clydebank recycle the ball quickly and Alistair Smart ran over for an easy try and despite missing the conversion, Clydebank went up 0-12.

Ten minutes later a scrum was awarded to Hamilton on the Clydebank line and put Hamilton into a good attacking position.

A break from the scrum left the Clydebank back-row flat-footed and allowed Hamilton to narrow the gap with an unconverted try to bring the score back to 5-12.

Clydebank played well for the remainder of the second half, with several excellent breaks through the Hamilton defence, but could not make the extra yards to get the scores.

The second half was entertaining for the spectators and the match eventually ended with Clydebank the victors.

Sunday saw both the U15 and U17 teams playing at home against Loch Lomond and Cartha Queens Park respectively.

The U15 match was lost 31-5 as the stronger Lomond team controlled the match throughout. The single try came from Mark Woodcock.

The U17 match was also lost by 38-3 with the larger Cartha team proving to be too strong for a Clydebank team who lacked imagination and determination in too many key areas. The only Clydebank score came from a penalty kicked by Jack McCombe.

Training will continue at Whitecrook on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7pm for both senior and U17 players. The S1, S2 and U15 age groups will train on the same nights between 5.30pm and 7pm.

Anyone at primary or secondary school who would like to take up rugby should contact Gordon McCombe (07812582775) or Michael Starkey (07792154625) for details.

Clydebank are currently seeking club sponsors. Anyone interested in supporting their local rugby club should email sponsorship@clydebankrfc.com for details.

Next Saturday the first XV travel to Oban in the National Bowl competition, while the second XV play Loch Lomond at home in the league.

The U15s play Uddingston away while the U17s play on Daziel away Sunday November 15.

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This article appeared in Clydebank Post 11 Nov 09

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