Having lost by nearly 50 points in their first encounter with Stirling County earlier this season, and then narrowed the margin to 30-odd points earlier this month, Perthshire U16s really stepped up to the mark on Sunday and were only a penalty away from a win.

Both teams made light of the heavy going pitch and Perthshire ended up putting the first points on the board with a well-finished try. Stirling County then edged themselves back into the game and went into half time 5-7.

Given the pitch conditions, the second half saw uncontested scrums. There was spirited defence from both sides, with Stirling County eventually conceding a penalty which looked quite kickable. Despite being only 2 points down at this stage, Perthshire chose to run the ball and Stirling County defended well to relieve the threat. Thankfully, Perthshire had another bite of the cherry later in the half which they executed well taking the score to 15-12.

Close to the end of the game, Perthshire conceded a penalty which Stlrling County scored from out wide leaving the final score 15-17. Not unlike England against Australia earlier this month, the Perthshire U16s may have been left rueing not kicking their penalties in such a close encounter. However, all credit to Stirling County for holding on against a gutsy performance from the Perthshire U16s who have improved significantly throughout the season so far