Impressive win for S1/S2 against Kirkcaldy

Match report by Derek Robertson

Sunday 29th November was the first sunny day for weeks and gave perfect conditions for playing expansive rugby. Kirkcaldy brought a mixed S1/S2 squad to Redcloak, and asked to play 15 a-side. Mackie had an equal split of S1 and S2 players, but at 15 a-side there would be no substitutes for the forward pack.

The first period began with Mackie kickoff, caught and played by Kirkcaldy who immediately ran into a consistently strong Mackie defensive line. Mackie tackled well, with forwards quickly turning over the ball before scoring a quick try. This set the scene for the rest of the game, with Kirkcaldy struggling against strong tackling, rucking and many turnovers. One of the best moves in first period, started from strong forward play, saw the ball moved through the hands to the left wing, with Logan bean supporting from full back to create an overlap allowing Jamie to score.

Second period swapped the 9/10 partnership pairing of Tom and Ethan, for Fin and Logan. The game continued in similar way, with Max finishing another great passing move despite determined tackling from Kirkcaldy. In the final period Tom came back on at 9 with Logan remaining at 10, with some shuffling of centres. All Mackie players maintained concentration and continued to dominate the game, scoring several more tries. Kirkcaldy looked like scoring when they intercepted a Mackie attack, and sprinted clear of the Mackie pack. The try was prevented with excellent tackle from Eoin, which was quickly supported by the hard work of the full Mackie squad.

Final score was 18 tries and 8 conversions for Mackie, with no points conceded, despite all Kirkcaldy's hard work. The work rate of all players was excellent, with 12 individual scorers. Most impressive was the way the S2 players showed good leadership and recognized the effort of the S1 players– as Liam said “we are playing as one team not 2 squads”.

Mackie team:
Forwards: Euan, Alex, Dean, Jack, Oscar, Nathan, Fraser, Liam.
Backs: Tom, Fin, Ethan, Robbie, Kieran, Ethan D, Jamie, Max, Logan B, Eoin.