A big week for the whole Club as the London Scottish Lions took on Teddington in the Papa Johns Cup. After heavy celebrations following a league win last weekend, the Lions couldn’t quite back it up and fell to a defeat which ends their Cup journey.
However, London Scottish U13s headed north to North Berwick for an unforgettable tour. Read all about their incredible trip below.
London Scottish headed north this weekend for an unforgettable festival, hosted by North Berwick, with the cream of East Lothian and Edinburgh talent pitting their wits against their brethren from the Big Smoke.
There were changes a plenty for our men. SRU rules are different at this age group, with uncontested lineouts, no mauling, full pitch and tap restarts. Further, following biblical rain and rising water tables our venue was switched to the High School from the rugby club. None of this phased our lads.
Our first fixture came against the Vikings (encompassing players drawn from many of North Edinburgh’s leading schools – Stew-Mel, Heriots & Trinity). A tight win for Scottish was secured, with a try each from Eddie and Callum.
Next-up was Musselburgh. By this stage our team was in it’s natural rhythm and there were standout performances – in the tackle, breakdown and turnover by Ben, jackelling by Jean and Lucas, rampaging / bullocking running by Freddie, Mikolaj (a deserved try scorer) and Aleks. LS ran out 10-0 victors.
Haddington had long been heralded as the team to beat. Undefeated all season and sporting some very large, direct farming stock in the midfield. Irresistible force met immovable object, until Eddie broke the deadlock, sending Scottish into the lead, despite facing the uphill slope and the teeth of a fierce SW gale. Haddington were, however, not to be denied, and with the aid of some forceful running / rucking, a stray dog invading the pitch and the confidence of a winning side they drew level and held on for a draw.
Our final fixture was against our wonderful hosts from North Berwick. A side that shares the same ethos as LS, who have lovely runners and real positivity in their play, were ultimately undone by 3 tries- 1 from Callum and 2 from Rudy. Some wonderful interplay between LS players, with Finn Brady skippering the side on his last appearance and Will Robinson shining (despite missing much of the season) with some mesmeric runs.
Ultimately despite 3 wins and 1 draw, Haddington prevailed on points, however, London Scottish’s reputation was greatly enhanced, Callum picked up man of the tournament, the weekend was a roaring success and all had a blast. Off the pitch there was a BBQ, Awards & 50th b’day cake presentation, sumptuous Italian meal, golf club court session, sightings of Nessie, beach x-fit and a “looney dook” for the lunatics from south of the border. It was great to share the post festival lunch and festivities with Kenny Baillie and his LS u12s.
A hugely eventful, rewarding and successful tour. These tours require massive effort from many – a big thank you to the organising committee, fund-raisers, hosts, coaches and players – well done all.
