Academy S1s

Welcome to the Linlithgow Academy S1 Page

Over the season we will look to bring you latest news, photos and reports.

Linlithgow Academy S1 Squad just before their opening match of the season

Basic Team Information

Click on the links below to download the latest files:

The squad photos will be going on sale in the near future to help raise funds for the S2 Tour to North Wales in march 2011. Parents can order a 9" x 6" print for £5.00 or the pair of photos in 9" x 6" format for £7.50

Season 2009/10 & 2010/11
Playing strips sponsored by Venesky-Brown Recruitment Ltd

Dress Shirts: Sponsored by James Mochrie Plumbing and Heating Ltd.

Match Reports for the Season

Sunday 2nd May

Victory at Livingston Tournament

Click here for photos and report

Saturday 12th December

High School of Glasgow S1 16 Linlithgow Academy S1 8

Click here for report

Saturday 5th December

Jordanhill School S1 7 Linlithgow Academy S1 16

Click here for photos and match report

Sunday 29th November

Linlithgow S1 23 Biggar S1 11

Click here for photos and match report

Saturday 28th November

Linlithgow Academy S1 16 Madras College S1 10

Click here for photos and match report

Saturday 21st November

Linlithgow Academy S1 8 Marr College S1 12

Click here for photos and match report

Saturday 14th November

Linlithgow Academy 12 Kelvinside Academy 20

Click here for photos and match report

Saturday 7th November

Royal High School 4 Linlithgow Academy 46

Click here for report and photos

Saturday 31st October

Trinity Academy 0 Linlithgow Academy 43

Click here for report and photos

Saturday 19th September - Home to Loretto

Saturday’s home fixture against Loretto S1s turned out to be a classic “game of two halves” with the S1 Reds dominating the first half, then allowing the visitors back into the game in the second half. The S1 Reds dominated the first half both territorially and with possession and were soon on the score sheet after a lengthy period of sustained pressure and fluid handling; several phases of play was finished off when Cammy dived over trailing a wake of three Loretto players. He duly converted his own try.

Loretto brought closed the gap a few minutes later with a fine move which used the width of the park to move the ball into space and round the Linlithgow defence for a run in to the corner for an unconverted try. This spurred the home team back into the attack and the Reds were soon stretching the score line after another spell of good attacking play saw the ball being passed quickly out to the left wing for Adam to come into the line and cross for the Red’s second try. Murray slotted the conversion to give the lads a five point lead.

Just before the stroke of half-time, however, the Reds suffered a momentary lapse of concentration and conceded a soft converted try. This score was against the general run of play and served to flatter the opposition to a certain extent, considering he amount of possession and territorial advantage the Reds had.

The Loretto coach must have had strong words with his charges at half time as they came out in the second half with all guns blazing and succeeded in snuffing out the Reds for most of the half. The home team started to play as individuals and while the use of the ball through the hands had reaped the rewards in the first half, too many times the lads took the ball on in ones and twos. Naturally, possession suffered as time after time the turn-overs were snatched by the visitors when the Reds in ones or twos got isolated. Eventually though, the lads strung a passage of play together as a team and got the ball out to Rory who burst into the line with support from Connor C outside. Despite giving the coaches a heart stopping moment in the decidedly narrow dead ball area, Rory had the presence of mind to run in to behind the posts to make the extras a certainty; duly taken by Cammy.

The scoring however was not over, and before the final whistle, the Reds conspired to concede another soft converted try to take the score back to a one point differential. On balance, the final score slightly flattered the visitors, especially in the first half, but the Reds are going to have to work hard on their defensive concentration if they are to stop leaking soft tries…. Unless they enjoy playing in one point nail biters (Madras)!!

Final score – Linlithgow: 12, Loretto 11

Squad:
Loosehead Prop – John, Hooker – Lauchlan, Tighthead Prop – Euan (captain), Second Row – Adam, Second Row – Gregor, No. 8 – Cammy, Scrum Half – Murray, Stand-off - Rhys, Left Wing – Connor B, Inside Centre – Callum, Outside Centre – Andrew R, Right Wing – Connor C, Full Back – Rory. Subs: Alistair and Andrew K. Alexander and Ross were late call-offs due to illness and Drew had to call off due to injury. Man of the Match – Cammy (chosen by the coaches)

Saturday 5th September - Away at St Andrews

From the outset, the S1 Reds dominated this match, but struggled to cross the whitewash when they had opportunities. Despite the bulk of possession and having the upper hand territorially, the Reds were only three points ahead at the end of the first period through a try from Callum; Murray’s attempt at the conversion drifting just wide.

Madras edged into a slim lead near the start of the second period with a converted try under the posts. The Reds then had several fruitless surges towards the Madras lines before Adam finally managed to regain the lead with an unconverted try. For the remainder of the period, the Reds continued to press and several chances again came to nothing. The most agonising of these was when Hamish was denied a debut try by the opposition No. 8. Hamish was brought down millimetres from the line and the big No. 8 was first to his feet, took the ball and raced the length of the pitch down the wing to score an unconverted try. At the end of the second Period, Madras again had a slim lead; albeit very much against the run of play.

At the start of the third period, the Reds conspired to throw the game away when the kick-off was received by the big No. 8. None of the Reds chased the kick, giving the big forward the space to build up a head of steam and force his way round the defence for a clear run in under the posts, duly converted by the Madras stand-off. Not long afterwards, the Reds committed a similar defensive error, allowing the No 8 in again under the posts for his hat trick, duly converted. Finally, the two try deficit appeared to galvanise the team and against tiring opposition, they found a ruthless streak at the breakdown and clawed the Madras lead back to a point through two tries to Cammy, both converted himself. Ultimately, this fight-back proved to be too little, too late though as the clock wound down to the final whistle. The S1 Reds left it far too late to step up the gear that they should have been in from the start. This match was definitely “the one that got away” and the squad will have plenty to work on at training this week if they are to get back to winning ways against Boroughmuir on Saturday.

Final score – Madras 15, Linlithgow 14

Squad:
Loosehead Prop – John, Hooker – Lauchlan, Tighthead Prop – Euan (Captain), Second Row – Drew, Second Row – Gregor, No. 8 – Adam, Scrum Half – Murray, Stand-off - Cammy, Left Wing – Connor C, Inside Centre – Rhys, Outside Centre – Andrew R, Right Wing – Rory, Full Back – Callum. Subs: Alistair, Connor B, Hamish and Ross.

Man of the Match – Shared by Ross, Rory and Hamish for volunteering to play for the opposition for a period each.

Sunday 30th August - Away at Bannockburn

The S1 Reds made the journey along the M9 on Sunday to play the Bannockburn RFC S1/2 combined team. With Bannockburn short of players, Andrew K kindly volunteered to play for the hosts in a 12-a side match. Euan resumed the captaincy after returning to the side having recovered from his illness.

At half time, Linlithgow led 16-3 through tries from Adam, Cammy, Connor C and Andrew R. Cammy converted three and Murray one.

The boys carried on the scoring in the second half with a further three tries scored by Drew, a second for Adam and Rory and one conversion taken by Cammy.

Final score – Linlithgow: 26, Bannockburn RFC: 3

Squad:
Loosehead Prop – Alistair, Hooker – Lauchlan, Tighthead Prop – Euan (Captain), Second Row – Drew, Second Row – Gregor, Scrum Half – Murray, Stand-off - Cammy, Left Wing – Connor C, Inside Centre – Rhys, Outside Centre – Andrew R, Right Wing – Rory, Full Back – Adam. Subs: Connor B. Andrew K played for Bannockburn

Man of the Match – Andrew K (for volunteering to play for the opposition)

Saturday 29th August - Home v Preston Lodge

Preston Lodge arrived at the Academy Pitch with a large but relatively inexperienced squad for their first game of the season. Linlithgow won the toss, but elected to choose ends to make the most of the strong wind blowing down the pitch, giving the kick-off to the visitors. Linlithgow dominated the first period and scored two tries through Andrew R and Callum; the first try converted by Cammy and the second by Murray.

Linlithgow’s dominance continued in spells through the second period, however P.L. started to come into the game and had one or two incursions into the Red’s half. Connor C, on from the bench opened the scoring the second period with a try converted by Cammy, however P.L. scored a fine try from deep in their own 22 following a turn-over from some sterling defence. Rhys’ try under the posts resumed the gap and Cammy’s conversion opened it further.

With the wind again behind their backs in the third period, the Reds dominated both possession and territorially. Connor C scored two more tries, both converted by Cammy. With the game into stoppage time, Callum bagged the Red’s seventh try under the posts, which he converted himself.

The Reds would like to thank Preston Lodge for a good game and look forward to meeting them again in the second half of the season.

Final score – Linlithgow: 28, Preston Lodge 3

The squad agreed that thanks to his hat-trick, Connor C deserved to be awarded man of the match for the second match in a row.

Squad:
Loosehead Prop – John, Hooker – Alexander, Tighthead Prop – Alistair, Second Row – Drew, Second Row – Gregor, No. 8 – Adam, Scrum Half – Murray, Stand-off - Cammy, Left Wing – Connor B, Inside Centre – Rhys, Outside Centre – Andrew R (Captain), Right Wing – Rory, Full Back – Callum. Subs: Lauchlan, Andrew K and Connor C.

Saturday 22nd August - Home Start v St Columba's

The S1 Reds welcomed St’ Columba’s School to Linlithgow on Saturday for their first Fixture of the 2009 – 2010 Season. On a fine day for running rugby, St. Columba’s won the toss and kicked off the new season. For the first five minutes of the first period, the visitors piled on the pressure the home S1 team, with their well drilled forwards winning the breakdown battle and pinning the Reds in their own 22.

The boys looked nervous initially, playing on a full sized pitch for the first time, however the break-out eventually came and the boys moved the ball wide to make headway into the Visitor’s half. By keeping the ball moving, the Reds made a surge for St. Columba’s try line and the move was finished off by Euan, scoring a fine Captain’s try, converted by Cammy. A few moments later, St. Columba’s used their forward’s dominance to bring the scores almost level with an unconverted try.

The Reds had soon re-established their lead though when Callum replied with a try in the corner after another attacking period of keeping the ball moving wide. Cammy’s attempt at the conversion was agonisingly close, hitting the upright, however bouncing the wrong way to deny him the extras. Having won the first period, probably against the general run of play, the S1 Reds struggled in the second period, conceding two converted tries as the forwards struggled to contain the visitor’s pack and were denied the space out wide to pose many threats.

On one rare chance to attack, the boys linked well and Rory found the space to round his opposite winger, then cut inside the full back to nip over in the right corner. With the game into its final period the hard work of pre-season training started to pay its dividends with the Reds starting to achieve parity up front as the visitors tired. Pressure from the home pack resulted in a ruck fifteen metres out, and with the St. Columba’s stand-off fringing off-side behind the ref’s back, scrum-half Murray exploited the narrow side well to release Connor B into the corner for the Red’s fourth try.

A few moments later, Alexander scored a nice forward’s try, managing to twist out of the tackle of three defenders to score. Cammy’s attempt at the conversion was agonisingly close; hitting the upright, however bouncing the wrong way to deny him the extras.

With the visitors visibly flagging, the Reds completed their dominance of the final period with another sustained attack just before the final whistle; Cammy powered over from the 22 breaking several tackles to score near the posts, making the conversion of his own try a relatively straightforward affair to make the final score 20-11 in the Red’s favour.

Squad:
Loosehead Prop – John, Hooker – Lauchlan, Tighthead Prop – Euan (Captain), Second Row – Drew, Second Row – Gregor, No. 8 – Adam, Scrum Half – Murray, Stand-off - Cammy, Left Wing – Connor C, Inside Centre – Rhys, Outside Centre – Andrew R (Vice Captain), Right Wing – Rory, Full Back – Callum. Subs: Alistair, Alexander, Connor B and Ross.

Man of the Match – Andrew R (chosen by St. Columba’s Coach)

Sunday 23rd August - S1s at Dunfermline

The S1 Red’s second game in two day was a game of contrasts to the day before in many ways; the weather, the performance of the forwards at the breakdown, fitness in the third period and ultimately the result. The Reds took to the wet and heavy Dunfermline pitch having won the toss and made an initial stab into Dunfermline’s half. However the massive home pack posed some early questions of the Reds forwards, which they answered well, matching everything that was fired at them. The Reds dominated territorially for the first half of the period and eventually a gap was exploited allowing Cammy in to open the scoring. From the restart, Dunfermline managed to keep possession and the remainder of the first period was spent battling in the midfield. Although Dunfermline had the bulk of possession, every attempt that they had at breaking out and scoring was snuffed out by some resolute defence by the young Reds. The forwards competed well against a much bigger and bulkier pack and won crucial breakdown contests to keep the boys in the lead at the end of the first period. With the weather deteriorating in the second period the boys struggled a bit in the early exchanges and conceded a try under the posts which was duly converted to give the home team a slender lead. The Reds pressured from the restart and in driving rain, the ball was shipped through the backs with some fine handling considering the conditions to release Full Back Adam for the line. He was pulled up five metres short, but the forwards were on hand to secure the breakdown. Rhys was next to get his hands on the ball and managed to squirm over under a pile of bodies to regain the lead with an unconverted try. The Red’s lead was fairly short lived however with the home team scoring twice more to regain the lead by the end of the second period. For the Reds, the third period was fifteen minutes of heroic defence, but the previous day’s match and the bruising first thirty minutes began to take a toll on the balance of the match; Dunfermline sealed their victory with three more tries, however Andrew closed the gap with a well snatched interception try under the posts, duly converted by Cammy. The final score of 20-10 in Dunfermline’s favour slightly flattered the home team, who had come into the match fresh and their huge pack did not achieve the dominance that they though that they might have gained. Having said that, the Reds were in a real rugby match against strong opposition and despite the score, stood up well to the challenge and the boys should be proud of themselves having played so well only 24 hours after their first match of the season.

Squad:
Loosehead Prop – Alistair, Hooker – Lauchlan, Tighthead Prop – Euan (C), Second Row – Drew, Second Row – Gregor, No. 8 – John, Scrum Half – Murray, Stand-off - Cammy, Left Wing – Connor B, Inside Centre – Rhys, Outside Centre – Andrew R, Right Wing – Connor C, Full Back – Adam

Man of the Match – Connor C (chosen by the team)

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