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P4 Lasswade Tournament
Toss of a coin!
If are reading this whole article you may want to get a cup of tea or glass of wine first.
On the back of such disappointment last week, the boys stormed back to the performances we have been used to all season. While Currie were well deserved winners at our level, nothing should be taken away from the superb feast of rugby that was on show.
Having agreed to field two separate teams, to make up for call offs, we were fully stretched and had to play for most of the day with the same six boys on the field.
Chris will do the report for the squad who had the misfortune to face excellent teams from Currie and East Kilbride(the eventual two finalists).
On the other half of the draw we had a team of Craig(who left early to be a mascot at Hearts!)Evan M(who unfortunately had to leave after one game as he had not recovered from flu) which left Josh, Finlay, Declan, Fraser, Joe and Charlie.
Pool A
Lasswade 6 - 1 Linlithgow
Lasswade 9 - 3 Forresters
Semi-Final
Lasswade 6 - 6 East Kilbride
(after extra-time lost on a coin toss)
Craig: Played another solid game and combined forward runs with some good tackles. I hope the jambos appreciated the sacrifice Lasswade had to make today!
Evan M : showed great maturity accepting he was under the weather and rather than only being able to give 50% stood aside to recover for next weekend.
Josh: Captain for the day and he certainly lived up to the moniker. After last weekend, when a wet paper bag was posing problems for our defense, Josh stepped up to the mark time and time again and brought down his opposing number. His dad's rugby knowledge is immense and his sharing of it with Josh throughout the afternoon kept Josh on his toes and he produced a season topping performance.
Finlay: Several tries and numerous tackles were just reward for Finlay today for his overall effort. What was really pleasing was the fact that he played every game from start to finish, shrugging off his usual head injuries as he was well aware we had no subs to put on! With all the time and effort his Mum puts into the club they are terrific duo.
Declan: A trifle rusty after his wintering abroad, Declan took a few moments to adjust to the cut and thrust of the games. He soon began his forward runs and a little more energy in chasing down the tackle will complete his repertoire.
Fraser: Scored a cracking try against Forresters where he stretched their defense and broke it. He also put in some brave tackles that I hope increases his confidence and he now knows that he can bring down anyone, no matter their size. The smartness of our strips was down entirely to his mother's selfless efforts.
Joe: Bouncing back from an indifferent performance at Mussleburgh, Joe was unstoppable in attack today. Always eager for the the ball he only ever carried it forward. 7 tries against tough opposition( not including extra time as I was too excited to write down who scored!) speaks volumes for the determination he showed. Not one try was scored without at least two opposing players hanging off him! I will cut him some slack when it comes to tackling as he was just getting his breath back!
Charlie: It's always difficult to write about your own kid and Charlie and Cameron have suffered from this over the years. Today I would find it had to fault him for once! 11 tries and tackles too numerous to count, he dominated each team we faced. It's pleasing to see that now we are up against teams like East Kilbride that do stop him short of the line, he is getting the ball back to supporting players so they can go over themselves. Now if I can just get him to tidy his room...
Some would say we beat East Kilbride 7-6 (just me and the EK parents who were keeping the score!) but it really doesn't matter as the boys knew they had put in a stellar performance and had no need for plastic medals to tell them they had been part of a special day.
How they played today as a team will stay with me for a very long time and the parents who contribute so much to the running of the club should be bursting with pride, not just for the kids but for themselves as well.
With only the East Kilbride tournament next Saturday we are reaching the end of our season but Chris, Paul and I are determined to keep them together, with training and maybe some surprise activities over the summer, so that we start P5's with a bang!.
As Tom points out the other Swade boys were in the other side of the draw with Currie and EK. We knew we were in for a tough afternoon and to be honest were a little nervous given last weeks lacklustre efforts however the worry was soon dispelled when the first game started against EK and the boys to a man tackled their hearts out.
Lasswade 3-6 EK (I still can’t believe this scoreline – nothing controversial just that we played far better that the score suggests.)
Lasswade 5-5 Currie (As the score suggests nothing in it.)
Lasswade 8-2 Linlithgow
Kyle – Played out of his skin today, rarely missed a tackle and used his pace to make some great forward runs with a neat step inside on more than one occasion. Held the ball tighter in the contact and released very well once tackled. Got his reward with a great try against Linlithgow.
Liam – Smallest kid in this team but lead by example. Marshalled the defence really well in the middle and was always first at the breakdown. Passing from the breakdown was excellent and will be even better when the boys learn to space out a bit more. Best game that I have seen Liam play for the team and he got his reward with a typical sneaky dive over the line against Linlithgow.
Evan H – Power house in the middle of the park today. Strong and at times unstoppable with the ball in hand. Could still go lower in the tackle but Ev was solid in the centre of the defence and nothing went past him all day. Didn’t manage to cross the line but many of our try’s came off the back of his driving forward runs.
Ruben – The colossus of Lasswade – Yes he’s a big lad and yes he’s a real power runner but make no mistake this boy has handling and passing skills to die for (Maybe because the ball looks like a peanut in his hands). Ruben was tremendous today with ball in hand and in defence. The opposition think they’ve worked out our strategy by tackling the big boy but when he sucks in three defenders and passes it wide they are left floundering. Scored 7 try’s as well today.
Cameron – As Tom says its as difficult for us writing about our own kids as it is for them playing as the coaches kids, but here goes. After a couple of indifferent weeks Cam was back to his best today, unplayable in attack with his jinky runs but even more pleasing for me as a dad and a coach was his defence were he tackled everything low all day – a very impressive day. Got his reward with 5 try's
Matthew – Wow – where I do I start with this guy. I hear his mum and dad have him on a tackle bonus and if that’s the case he must be the richest kid in Midlothian. I am convinced that the whole team tackles better when Matthew is playing, he seems to have this quiet knack of lifting the rest of them. He made a tackle in this game that was every bit as pleasing as seeing the boys score a try, He chased a breakaway kid 30 yards across the park and leapt like a salmon to bring the boy down in the most textbook perfect tackle you could imagine. I have said before that he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves for his attack but make no mistake he runs straight with pace and power and never drops a ball. Top man.
Todd – A bit Rocks and diamonds is our Toddy but today everything was sparkling. Tackled like a kid possessed and all below the waist. Toddy is another one of our boys with excellent handling and passing skills and the full range were out today. His usual bump and spin running was impossible to defend and got his rewards with 2 good try’s.
As much as we all want to win, today was perhaps a classic example of how working on the skills and team spirit is far more important. Make no mistake about it we will play worse than we did today and win a tournament. The passing and the skills on show today were a tremendous credit to the boys and I didn’t see any other team put the ball through the hands like we did neither did I here any other coaches encouraging the boys to express themselves.
I spoke to Markie B and Ally (Pitch 1 ref and first team player) afterwards and both commented on how surprised they were with the quality of the rugby on show today.
Whichever way you cut it and even at this age Rugby is a very tough sport and to see these boys take bumps and bashes week in week out and still keep coming back for more speaks tremendous volumes for their spirit, character and commitment to the team. To say that Tom, Paul and I are proud of each and every one of them is a massive understatement. I also saw one magnificent bit of team spirit (Finlay) which I will mention on Wednesday rather commit to press.
We are also extremely proud and grateful to all of the parents who support our team and the club in general and we cannot thank you enough for your continued support throughout the season and in particularly today to make the tourney such a massive success.
On the back of such disappointment last week, the boys stormed back to the performances we have been used to all season. While Currie were well deserved winners at our level, nothing should be taken away from the superb feast of rugby that was on show.
Having agreed to field two separate teams, to make up for call offs, we were fully stretched and had to play for most of the day with the same six boys on the field.
Chris will do the report for the squad who had the misfortune to face excellent teams from Currie and East Kilbride(the eventual two finalists).
On the other half of the draw we had a team of Craig(who left early to be a mascot at Hearts!)Evan M(who unfortunately had to leave after one game as he had not recovered from flu) which left Josh, Finlay, Declan, Fraser, Joe and Charlie.
Pool A
Lasswade 6 - 1 Linlithgow
Lasswade 9 - 3 Forresters
Semi-Final
Lasswade 6 - 6 East Kilbride
(after extra-time lost on a coin toss)
Craig: Played another solid game and combined forward runs with some good tackles. I hope the jambos appreciated the sacrifice Lasswade had to make today!
Evan M : showed great maturity accepting he was under the weather and rather than only being able to give 50% stood aside to recover for next weekend.
Josh: Captain for the day and he certainly lived up to the moniker. After last weekend, when a wet paper bag was posing problems for our defense, Josh stepped up to the mark time and time again and brought down his opposing number. His dad's rugby knowledge is immense and his sharing of it with Josh throughout the afternoon kept Josh on his toes and he produced a season topping performance.
Finlay: Several tries and numerous tackles were just reward for Finlay today for his overall effort. What was really pleasing was the fact that he played every game from start to finish, shrugging off his usual head injuries as he was well aware we had no subs to put on! With all the time and effort his Mum puts into the club they are terrific duo.
Declan: A trifle rusty after his wintering abroad, Declan took a few moments to adjust to the cut and thrust of the games. He soon began his forward runs and a little more energy in chasing down the tackle will complete his repertoire.
Fraser: Scored a cracking try against Forresters where he stretched their defense and broke it. He also put in some brave tackles that I hope increases his confidence and he now knows that he can bring down anyone, no matter their size. The smartness of our strips was down entirely to his mother's selfless efforts.
Joe: Bouncing back from an indifferent performance at Mussleburgh, Joe was unstoppable in attack today. Always eager for the the ball he only ever carried it forward. 7 tries against tough opposition( not including extra time as I was too excited to write down who scored!) speaks volumes for the determination he showed. Not one try was scored without at least two opposing players hanging off him! I will cut him some slack when it comes to tackling as he was just getting his breath back!
Charlie: It's always difficult to write about your own kid and Charlie and Cameron have suffered from this over the years. Today I would find it had to fault him for once! 11 tries and tackles too numerous to count, he dominated each team we faced. It's pleasing to see that now we are up against teams like East Kilbride that do stop him short of the line, he is getting the ball back to supporting players so they can go over themselves. Now if I can just get him to tidy his room...
Some would say we beat East Kilbride 7-6 (just me and the EK parents who were keeping the score!) but it really doesn't matter as the boys knew they had put in a stellar performance and had no need for plastic medals to tell them they had been part of a special day.
How they played today as a team will stay with me for a very long time and the parents who contribute so much to the running of the club should be bursting with pride, not just for the kids but for themselves as well.
With only the East Kilbride tournament next Saturday we are reaching the end of our season but Chris, Paul and I are determined to keep them together, with training and maybe some surprise activities over the summer, so that we start P5's with a bang!.
As Tom points out the other Swade boys were in the other side of the draw with Currie and EK. We knew we were in for a tough afternoon and to be honest were a little nervous given last weeks lacklustre efforts however the worry was soon dispelled when the first game started against EK and the boys to a man tackled their hearts out.
Lasswade 3-6 EK (I still can’t believe this scoreline – nothing controversial just that we played far better that the score suggests.)
Lasswade 5-5 Currie (As the score suggests nothing in it.)
Lasswade 8-2 Linlithgow
Kyle – Played out of his skin today, rarely missed a tackle and used his pace to make some great forward runs with a neat step inside on more than one occasion. Held the ball tighter in the contact and released very well once tackled. Got his reward with a great try against Linlithgow.
Liam – Smallest kid in this team but lead by example. Marshalled the defence really well in the middle and was always first at the breakdown. Passing from the breakdown was excellent and will be even better when the boys learn to space out a bit more. Best game that I have seen Liam play for the team and he got his reward with a typical sneaky dive over the line against Linlithgow.
Evan H – Power house in the middle of the park today. Strong and at times unstoppable with the ball in hand. Could still go lower in the tackle but Ev was solid in the centre of the defence and nothing went past him all day. Didn’t manage to cross the line but many of our try’s came off the back of his driving forward runs.
Ruben – The colossus of Lasswade – Yes he’s a big lad and yes he’s a real power runner but make no mistake this boy has handling and passing skills to die for (Maybe because the ball looks like a peanut in his hands). Ruben was tremendous today with ball in hand and in defence. The opposition think they’ve worked out our strategy by tackling the big boy but when he sucks in three defenders and passes it wide they are left floundering. Scored 7 try’s as well today.
Cameron – As Tom says its as difficult for us writing about our own kids as it is for them playing as the coaches kids, but here goes. After a couple of indifferent weeks Cam was back to his best today, unplayable in attack with his jinky runs but even more pleasing for me as a dad and a coach was his defence were he tackled everything low all day – a very impressive day. Got his reward with 5 try's
Matthew – Wow – where I do I start with this guy. I hear his mum and dad have him on a tackle bonus and if that’s the case he must be the richest kid in Midlothian. I am convinced that the whole team tackles better when Matthew is playing, he seems to have this quiet knack of lifting the rest of them. He made a tackle in this game that was every bit as pleasing as seeing the boys score a try, He chased a breakaway kid 30 yards across the park and leapt like a salmon to bring the boy down in the most textbook perfect tackle you could imagine. I have said before that he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves for his attack but make no mistake he runs straight with pace and power and never drops a ball. Top man.
Todd – A bit Rocks and diamonds is our Toddy but today everything was sparkling. Tackled like a kid possessed and all below the waist. Toddy is another one of our boys with excellent handling and passing skills and the full range were out today. His usual bump and spin running was impossible to defend and got his rewards with 2 good try’s.
As much as we all want to win, today was perhaps a classic example of how working on the skills and team spirit is far more important. Make no mistake about it we will play worse than we did today and win a tournament. The passing and the skills on show today were a tremendous credit to the boys and I didn’t see any other team put the ball through the hands like we did neither did I here any other coaches encouraging the boys to express themselves.
I spoke to Markie B and Ally (Pitch 1 ref and first team player) afterwards and both commented on how surprised they were with the quality of the rugby on show today.
Whichever way you cut it and even at this age Rugby is a very tough sport and to see these boys take bumps and bashes week in week out and still keep coming back for more speaks tremendous volumes for their spirit, character and commitment to the team. To say that Tom, Paul and I are proud of each and every one of them is a massive understatement. I also saw one magnificent bit of team spirit (Finlay) which I will mention on Wednesday rather commit to press.
We are also extremely proud and grateful to all of the parents who support our team and the club in general and we cannot thank you enough for your continued support throughout the season and in particularly today to make the tourney such a massive success.
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