P6 made the long journey to sunny Troon on 3rd November to play Marr. The boys last played this team in P5 almost exactly a year ago so firewoks were expected in this fixture. Marr are a decent side and beat the boys 2 games to 1 last season so this would be no easy match.

Kilmarnock Minis had also been invited but unfortunately their numbers were low, having only three P6 boys. It was decided to play the first game 8-a-side with two Kilmarnock boys playing with Strathaven and the other one with Marr. This did upset the coaches' carefully prepared game plan slightly as last minute changes to the team sheet were necessary. Strathaven had travelled with a slightly depleted squad of eleven however this was still a strong P6 side.

The game got off to a slow start with some uncertainty in the overall Strathaven play being evident. The two Killie players performed well at scrum-half and second receiver, placed there in an attempt to minimise the disruption to game play however Strathaven still looked like they were going at slightly less than 100% Marr provided a good game coach who did well in penalising ball-targetting and tackles around the arms which are a frequent infringement in mini rugby and can kill the open play. Marr opened the scoring before Luke Kennedy broke through to score with a spectacular dive over the line. Marr got a couple more from play that seemed tightly packed and mainly around the centre ground before Rory Mullen got his first try of the season on the fifteenth minute. Marr again took the lead and a long period of close contact play followed. In the second half Andrew Robertson made a good run weaving between the defence before being tackled; Matthew Dixon was on hand in support to take the offload and go over to score. Just before the final whistle Andrew made another break for it before making a slick switch pass to Ethan, one of the Kilmarnock players, who went over for the try.

Final score Marr 6 - 4 Strathaven

In the second game a shorter match was played however it was 12-a-side in order to give more kids a game. A couple of running injuries mended fast as boys were keen to get back on for this second game. Again the game looked to be a repeat of the close-play in the first match but with eight more players on the field it was always going to be a tight affair and the pitch was shorter than normal for P6. The Strathaven fast boys were finding it hard to get the space to create some running rugby and Marr used their strong players well in rucking and tackling soundly. Eventually Strathaven got on the attack and found themselves on the Marr 5m line. The home team got the ball and looked to clear their lines with a kick from inside their try zone, however a bold charge-down from Strathaven player Luke Kennedy, allowed the ball to spill free and Matthew Dixon was there to catch it and score for a spectacular try. Marr fought back and scored themselves before Ewan Watson made his mark on the game with a trademark powerful run through the Marr defence.

Final score Marr 1 - 2 Strathaven

This was a tough fixture for P6, coming out of their commanding performance against Dalziel the week before. The team never quite got up to speed and the play didn't look as confident as it was against Dalziel. The team still need to work on tackling and their discipline in keeping position on the pitch. It is all too easy to get sucked into each breakdown, leaving big areas undefended or not using the width enough in attack. Restarts are still static and the boys need to go forward in attack more confidently. All-in-all one win and one loss was a decent result on the day away from home, even though the overall team performance wasn't the best. It was good to see Rory Mullen scoring his first try this season; more to come there I think. Gregor Hair also showed great determination to stay on the pitch despite only being able to walk on one foot, clearly not wanting to let the team down. Lucas Blair and Duncan Campbell also played despite being unwell in the run-up to the game which shows real committment to the team.

Well done boys.

Squad for the day: Rory Mullen, Ross MacDonald, Gabriel Traill, Luke Kennedy, Matthew Dixon (Captain), Lucas Blair, Ewan Watson, Andrew Robertson, Duncan Campbell, Gregor Hair and Lachlan McGee.

Next game is away in Fintry against Strathendrick on 25th November.