Dunfermline V's Mackie U15's

Mackie v Dunfermline
4 March 2012

A sleety Sunday afternoon saw a match-rusty Mackie under 15s side meet Dunfermline.

The Dunfermline side were first to kick. Despite a spirited defence by the Mackie players, pressure from the opposition eventually tied Macke up close to the try line and Dunfermline spun the ball out wide to score and then convert. 7-0

The Mackie side start was followed by some evenly matched skirmishes, but Dunfermline broke through to score a try off a dominant scrum close to the try line, and then convert. 14-0

Refusing to let their heads drop, Mackie continued to withstand opposition pressure with good defensive play. Some great passing moves from the Mackie backs got the ball over the try line (Euan Kirkwood), but sadly it was held up. From the resulting 5m scrum, the ball was taken forward by the scrum half (Ronan Leitch) but he was pushed into touch by Dunfermline.

From the line out, the Mackie forwards made a powerful surge, but again could not quite reach the try line.

Great forward pressure by Mackle in the scrum gave them possession and the ball was spun wide, and then back towards the centre by the backs for a try (Daniel Elphinstone). 14-5

Boosted by this, the Mackie backs took the ball forward again. Following a penalty for the opposition, Mackie passed the ball out to the wing and scored a try in the corner (Kyle Mair). 14-10

With only 4 points in it, the game was now alive. Return pressure from Dunfermline was thwarted by a Mackie tackle pushing them into touch.

Half Time

The second half saw Mackie take the first kick. From a lineout on the Mackie 22, a great individual effort by the Dunfermline Centre resulted in them scoring a try right under the posts, but they did not manage to convert. 21-10

In response, a big effort by the Mackie side took them close to the try line, but the ball was turned over in a tackle and kicked into touch by Dunfermline. Mackie took the ball on their lineout and won a penalty close to the try line. Again they got close to the try line, but a forward pass turned the advantage to Dunfermline. Excellent pressure by the Mackie forwards resulted them overpowering the Dunfermline scrum and when the ball came out it was taken over the line by the Mackie scrum half (Ronan Leitch) in a great opportunistic move. 21-15

Mackie put up a spirited defence to the responding Dunfermline attack on their lineout by pushing the ball, and the Dunfermline player, into touch. A subsequent attack by Dunfermline resulted in a penalty to Mackie, whose kick did not find touch, but they were saved by a knock on by the opposition.

Great attacking play from both sides continued until there was a Dunfermline turnover, followed by a concerted effort from the Dunfermline backs who broke through Mackie defences resulting in a converted try. 26-15

With both teams starting to fade, Dunfermline took advantage of a penalty to score again, and then finished off the game with a sixth try. 36-15

A very physical game with exciting and high quality rugby from both teams, with the final score line not reflecting the effort and commitment of a Mackie side who dominated in the scrum for much of the game, and whose backs had moments of brilliance.