Ellon P6

Well done to the boys today in what was a very warm and windy St Andrews on rock hard pitches. But it suited our running game nicely!

The boys got stuck into the new P6 rucking and kicking rules. Played 4, won 4. Beating Glenrothes, Howe of Fife, and two Madras teams. The boys played particularly well in game 1 and 3, but by number 4 they were getting very tired on the bigger pitch, longer games and the rucking is energy sapping. It was very pleasing to beat both Madras teams who always present us a good challenge.

We do have some defensive frailties to work on but the rucking was generally very good, kicking out of trouble when we needed to, and the kick returns were great.

When we got into a bit of rhythm with quick rucks followed by quick hands moving the ball wide, the team was pretty much unstoppable. There were some lovey team try’s today (for one the entire 8 touched the ball) and there were also a number of brilliant individual ones.

Top try scorer - Struan Fotheringham
Some great individual try’s beating players inside and outside. He was outstanding under the high balls from Madras, scrambled back quickly, caught and returned aggressively. Also played the most number of minutes, according to our statistician!

Most Improved - Jamie Taylor
Seems to have kicked on from where he left off last season and was solid today. Amazing pace down the wing and was very unlucky to be caught just short of the try line a couple of times. His massive boot got us out of trouble twice which was impressive as we only practiced that for 10 mins yesterday!

Player of the day - Finlay Reid
This was unanimous! He was outstanding today. Tackling low and early, shoring up attacking/defending rucks. All coaches mentioned “bravery” and “vocal”. He broke through a lot today which was due to a good mixture of passing, dummy’s, attacking inside and outside shoulders. This unpredictability caused a lot of problems for the opposition defenders out in the wider channels!