This Week @ Penicuik Rugby

Its all about the Greenstone Energy Solutions Penicuik Hunters Festival of Rugby and Live Rugby returns to the TV on Friday night

Grab a coffee, relax and have a read

Youth Convenor Welcome

As Youth Convenor I have the privilege to lead what is an amazing Mini Section here at Penicuik and I am extremely excited to welcome all the visiting teams and spectators on Sunday.

Over 450 players & coaches will be visiting for what is always a great day of mini rugby.

We are asking members/parents/players to support our mini section with…..

• Tombola Donations

• Baking

If you are able to assist with tombola donations and baking please can you drop off  Friday eve from 7:30pm (its also my bar night if anyone wants to see my pint pouring skills) and Saturday evening from 7pm

I’m sure we are in for some top-notch rugby and can’t wait to see everyone’s super silky skills. Our first 2 fixtures of the season have gone well and it’s great to see the kids continue to grow in confidence and improve week on week.

My rugby career has come full circle since I was inspired by my first rugby Coaches Eddie Hanratty and Ian Young to play.

Now I’m the coach and it’s my turn to help development the future stars of PRFC.

As we play the various teams it great to see so many people I played against and others giving back to our fabulous sport.

Thanks to everyone who’s supported and helped out at the festival and I hope you all have a fantastic day here in Penicuik.

For all the days timings and event details please click here – https://penicuikrugby.org/portfolio-items/greenstone-energy-mini-rugby-festival-2024/?portfolioCats=10

Best wishes

Gav Stephen

History of Penicuik Rugby Weekend

Thank you to all our members who took time out their busy schedule to call into the clubhouse over the weekend to see all the hard work put in by Brian Doyle, Ben Cartwright, Bobby Watson and Jim Watt.

The boards situated around the lounge told a great story of Penicuik Rugby through the decades and all the various contributors to shaped the club over the years and into our 100th year of existence.

One of the visitors over the weekend was also named on the boards as one of our Contributors who helped shape the club

William T Ferguson (Fergie) – born on 29 August 1933. Billy is the Club’s oldest living player. He started playing at Penicuik only because his brother was playing for the club, which encouraged him to improve his physical fitness. Over his playing career, he played Scrum Half, Centre, Wing and Full Back and was 2nd XV captain in seasons 1962-63 & 1963-64. His playing career was interrupted between 1953-55 as he was serving in the RAF.

Unfortunately, Billy’s playing career stopped when he fractured his skull on 28 Sept 1963 in a game against Lanark as a result of which he spent two weeks in hospital and returned to work after 5 weeks. Post playing he served on the management committee from 1964 to 1968. Interestingly, when arranging to meet with Billy to gather his background story, he wasn’t able to meet us at the suggested time of 10 am. When enquiring as to why he would be unavailable at that time, we were pleasantly surprised to be informed that he likes to train at the gym at 10, not bad for a player in his 90s!

After spending Sunday enjoying the history weekend, Fergie commented “You don’t know what this means to mean to, absolutely fantastic”

At time of writing and we are working on a permanent home for them.  For those not in position to visit the lounge, they can be viewed here – https://penicuikrugby.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/100-Years-of-Penicuik-Rugby-Club-A3.pdf

200 Club winners – August 2024

1xv

On Saturday the 1xv welcomed Hawick Harlequins to the Montgomery Park for the opening home league game of season 2024/25.  We have to go back to a cold February 2017 for the last visit of Quins, who came away that day with a 60-0 nil victory, Cammy Crawford was the only Penicuik player in the side last Saturday who was on the pitch during that massacre along with Quins legend Ricki Kiore

Penicuik opened the scoring on 20 minutes through captain Alan Haynes (try below) however, from the resulting restart kick Penicuik were quickly down to 14 men with Waibuta sent off for a dangerous tackle.  From the resulting penalty Quins just the short side to draw the scores level 7-7

Penicuik extended their lead on 30 mins, finally the side won some line out ball having had another flustered afternoon with the set piece.  The ball was taken wide through Canakauvita and Randall, before hitting up under the posts.  Haynes spread the ball back across the pitch for Dean to crash over in the container corner.

(Video below of the build up, however the cameraman was seriously injured by a Quins player charge and therefore missed the touchdown)

Quins again hit back straight away from the restart.  The Penicuik forwards were unable to knock the heavier Quins pack back, allowing them to barge over again down the short side to make it 12-14.

Penicuik last week and again this week had seen the side give away silly pointless penalties.  In the middle of the pitch the referee blew for a Penicuik penalty, however a late hit after the whistle and player talk back to the referee seen the penalty reversed and Penicuik marched back twice (20mins), Quins moved the ball to right handside, and with the man advantage quickly switched it wide left where the winger was able to touch down with no tackler in sight. 12-19

Penicuik made it 22-19 at half time following a long range penalty from scrum half Simpson, then a debut try for full back Canakaivata following some great back inter play, a great step back inside and hand off to go under the posts (video below)

The second half kicked off and Penicuik lost scrum half Simpson and prop Crawford to injury in the opening minutes, replaced by Cartwright and MacTaggart (yes he played again, yes he posted that’s another season under the belt …. #27 for those wondering…..)

Penicuik quickly extended their lead when a break up the field was quickly recycled for Vatuloka to score under the posts.  A quick second from Canakaivata further extended the score, before Quins pulled another try back.

Penicuik scored again through a hatrick from Canalaivata plus wingers Randall & Jones.

Quins finished the game with another try to secure a try bonus point, and also finished with 14 men following injury and only 1 on the bench.

Moving forward Penicuik need to reduced the number of silly penalties given away at the break down, and also work on their set piece which endured a horrific afternoon.

That being said, they played some great rugby against a very physical Quins side who never backed down and fronted up to ensure the spectators were treated to some big hits and great hands.

We wish the Quins centre well, who unfortunately ended up in A&E following being substituted early in the match.

2xv

The 2xv travelled to Myreside for a bounce game against Watsonians 2xv as the 3xv weren’t able to field a team resulting in an official 28-0 Penicuik win.

Its Penicuik’s bye weekend so no game.

Hear from 2xv coach Rich Mann about last weekend

Mini Rugby

This weekend its the Greenstone Energy Solution Penicuik Hunters Festival of Rugby

All our games at time of writing can be be found here :

On Sunday 22nd September we will host the Greenstone Energy Solutions Mini Rugby festival featuring teams from around the local area.

To help us with our annual rugby festival we would love the support from our members in the following areeas

• Tombola donations / prizes – we don’t need your finest malt, but any unwanted birthday/xmas gift would be appreciated.  These can be dropped off Wed 18th at training or Satb21st from 7pm

• Home Baking/baking donation – don’t worry if you never qualified for bake off, any donation would be appreciated.  Please drop off Sat 21st from 7pm

Josh ‘in’ around

Our club development officer Josh is in and around our local school.  Here’s what he’s been up to :-

This Week’s Rugby Highlights: Building Skills for Life!

This week, we had an exciting time introducing new age groups at Sacred Heart Primary School to the wonderful world of rugby. We focused on enhancing their passing skills and spatial awareness, which are crucial not only on the field but also in everyday life. At Cuiken Primary School, we continued our sessions, emphasizing passing under pressure through various fun drills and games. These activities help kids develop quick thinking and teamwork.

Our sessions at Beeslack High School took a step forward as we introduced some basic contact elements, teaching the students the fundamentals of tackling safely. We also used engaging games and drills to deepen their understanding of rugby laws, fostering discipline and respect for rules.

The highlight of the week was the first Emerging Schools Festival, a fantastic event where students from different schools in the local area came together. They worked on their game understanding and enjoyed friendly competition, building camaraderie and sportsmanship.

Playing rugby not only boosts physical fitness but also instills valuable life skills such as teamwork, resilience, and strategic thinking. We’re thrilled to see our young players grow both on and off the field!

Events

Penicuik Rugby Principal Sponsor 2024/25

Penicuik Rugby Main Club Sponsors 2024/25

Penicuik Rugby Club Sponsors 2024/25

Penicuik Rugby Position Sponsors 2024/25