1stXV beat Sedbergh

The Ardvreck Sevens is always one of the highlights of the rugby season even more so this year with the Loretto Sevens not taking place and this being the 25^th year of this prestigious event. We arrived in high spirits following a wonderfully gutsy, brave and skilful performance on Friday when we defeated a strong and powerful Sedbergh side on Friday.  I was going to write a report about that, and that will follow in a day or two, but thinking back to Friday and our annual visit from our friends down at Sedbergh.

It was a really tough and physical encounter against our old friends from Cumbria and we were severely tested in all aspects of the game, having to match them physically and work really hard to score. After falling behind to a well worked try in the opening minutes before we had even touched the ball, we settled much better in to our game than we did on Wednesday, going through the phases, committing more men to the breakdown and getting the ball wide in to the outside channels where we had lots of pace and power. The breakdown was hotly contested, but by committing more men, it meant we had much more front foot ball which allowed us to get over the gain line and not play on the back foot which we were guilty of against Merchiston on Wednesday: we tried to play too much rugby if you like, before we had earned the right, such was our desperation to get the ball wide. Today, we played with much more control and scored three tries in reply to Sedbergh’s opening effort which gave us a well deserved lead at half time. However, we should have scored a couple more playing down the slight slope and although their defence was excellent, not to score when just a few yards out was disappointing as we knew what was going to happen 2^nd half as the brown wave hit their straps and gathered momentum. To be fair, we did defend really well despite a ferocious onslaught on our line and although they scored two tries, we were organised, we tackled, we won turnovers and kept the penalty count down, all of which frustrated the men in Brown as they looked for the winning score. One tackle in particular stood out as Cody and Cameron bundled their winger in to touch at the corner flag as he was about to score. Tremendous commitment. That, perhaps was the turning point, as we then managed to gain a sense of control in the final 7 or 8 minutes, working our way up in to their 22m and staying there. The forwards were utterly relentless at the ruck, with Xander and Charlie getting crucial turnovers and penalties, which allowed us to run the clock down as we chose to kick at goal, and on his second attempt Conrad put the ball through the posts which was followed by the final whistle, giving us a famous 24-17 win against the mighty men in Brown.

To be honest, I have rarely been prouder of a group of boys as I was at the final whistle. To bounce back after the disappointment of losing in the final play at Merchiston, a game we really should have won, we showed a huge amount of resilience, guts, commitment and no little skill as we managed the end of the game really well given the tight, tense circumstances. This team is full of leaders, full of boys who leave everything out on the pitch and hats off to you all for what you achieved this afternoon. I have no fingernails left, even though, I actually thought we would not throw this one away and I was proved right. A mighty effort and a wonderful result. Fantastic!

Right, now on to Ardvreck 7's on Sunday....and what a day that turned out to be!