1st XV
Matches
Sat 18 Aug 2018
Queensferry 10s
10
24
Edinburgh Northern RFC
1st XV
Queensferry 10s

Queensferry 10s

Dominic Harrison19 Aug 2018 - 09:04
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Northern bring home the silverware (not the Calcutta Cup though)

Edinburgh Northern travelled for the first away fixture of the 2018/19 pre-season schedule: The Queensferry 10s. Queensferry rugby club were celebrating the opening of their new 3G pitch as entrants into Tennent’s East League 3, and with the Calcutta cup making an appearance, the stage was set for new coach Chris Mckenzie and captain Dom Harrison to maintain their unbeaten record.

GAME 1: Edinburgh Northern 45-0 Leith RFC

In the first game of a 3 team round robin, Northern were faced with a familiar challenge against Leith RFC. Leith had gotten the best of Northern in their 1st XV meeting in 2017/18, but this was not the case today as Edinburgh Northern got ahead with an early try from the kick-off as Callum Harper ran the length of the pitch after corralling the short kick.

Further tries from Jamie Thompson, Jeremy Dobrowsky and a brace each for Crawford Leslie and Ross Tait rounded out a confident Northern win.

GAME 2: Edinburgh Northern 10-7 Watsonians

The second match was a much tighter affair as Watsonians utilised a quick blitz defence that initially put Northern on the back foot. However, when under pressure Northern reverted to the bread and butter of big forward carries and after some perseverance, Jamie McCann crashed over the try line for the first Northern score. When the cross-kick by second-row Dom Harrison was converted with an impressive catch by Ross Tait it seemed nothing could go wrong for the boys in navy and gold. A quick Watsonian response meant that the teams went into halftime with a tight score of 10-7.

The second half was all defence, as Northern couldn’t get anything going against the quick line speed of Watsonians, but they were matched by a resilient Northern defence that pinned Watsonians in their own twenty-two for much of the second half. Some strong carries by Andy Watt, Jamie McCann, and the rest of the forwards sealed the game with a tryless second half meaning Northern had guaranteed themselves a spot in the cup final.

FINAL: Edinburgh 24 – 10 Queensferry

The final was an important one, with implications beyond the silverware on offer. Queensferry will be visiting the bunker for the first match of the 2018/19 league season, so a victory today for either team would be a big psychological boost going into the season opener. In the early exchanges there was little separating the two teams. But this time it was the backs that opened up the scoring as some nice play from the 71-year old partnership of Andrew Spills and Wilson Craig led to a Jeremy Dobrowsky try.

Some shoddy tackling by Northern allowed Queensferry’s wing to strike straight back with a 70 metre run. However, on the very next play Crawford Leslie sought redemption for Northern’s missed tackles by ripping the ball from the winger’s hands leading to a Connor Forlow try. To end the half Queensferry scored a second to mean only an Andrew Spills conversion separated the sides at 12-10.

The second half was much more like the Northern defence we had seen in the first two games, as some solid tackling meant Queensferry were held scoreless. An early second half try by Crawford Leslie gave Northern a safety net and they managed to seal the game with a scrum won against the head in Queensferry’s own twenty-two, which was converted for a try by Jamie Thompson.

This meant Edinburgh Northern were winners of the tournament and got their first silverware of the season. However, there was definitely room for improvement and the #Cockerelnation boys will need to up their game to win what seems like it will be a very competitive game in the league opener at home to Queensferry on the 8th of September.

The coming week gives Northern super twos their first outing if the preseason as they take on Leith 2s at home, 1230 kick off. Hard work on skills, technique and fitness in training will continue to pay dividends for both teams.

Match details

Match date

Sat 18 Aug 2018

Kickoff

12:00
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