This weekend @ Penicuik Rugby

Our teams kick off the first games of 2024, and we launch our annual Burns Supper

Gav’s message

Back to normality this weekend as Saturday afternoon rugby makes a welcome return with both our teams in action including a local derby.

Firstly I’m sure we were all shocked and saddened to hear the tragic news from Ross High this week that their captain, Aiden Hoenigmann had sadly passed away.
Our deepest condolences to Aiden’s family and all at Ross High .

A couple of big games this weekend for us to enjoy. The 2s welcome our neighbours Lasswade to Montgomery Park as they look for their first win of the season. The first encounter was a close entertaining affair and I know the Penicuik lads will be keen to put in a similar performance on home soil.

So if you don’t fancy the trip to Dunbar with the 1s there is a great home fixture for you to enjoy. A must win game for the 1s if they want to maintain the slim opportunity to win the league this year as they make the trip to Dunbar. Never an easy place to go and this too promises to be an exciting game as the home team look to keep their title changes alive too.

As ever both teams will welcome you support!!!

Finally we are now in our centenary year and have exciting plans to celebrate in style – more to come on this shortly. However our first event is the welcome return of the club Burns Supper in 2 weeks time – please read below for details.

Have a good weekend

Gav

Up and Coming Events

🎵 Join us for a Memorable Burns Supper! 🎵

📅 Date: 27th Jan

⏰ Time: 7pm – late

📍 Location: Penicuik Rugby Club

🎶 Live Music: Get ready for an unforgettable evening of toe-tapping tunes and soul-stirring melodies! Our talented musicians will be bringing the Scottish spirit to life with traditional and contemporary music.

🍽️ Haggis: Indulge in the iconic Scottish dish, the haggis! Savor the rich flavors and unique blend of spices that make this traditional delicacy a must-try. Vegetarian haggis options will also be available for those with dietary preferences.

🥳 Fun and Laughter: Prepare for a night filled with laughter, camaraderie, and joyous celebrations! We have exciting activities and surprises planned to keep you entertained throughout the evening.

🎁 Giveaways: Don’t miss out on the chance to win exciting prizes and giveaways! Stay tuned for more details on how you can participate and win.

📝 RSVP: Secure your spot by registering in advance. Limited spots available, so make sure to reserve your place early!

📲 Book Here – https://penicuikrugby.org/centenary-burns-supper/

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Embrace the spirit of Robert Burns and join us for a Burns Supper like no other! It’s a night you won’t want to miss! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

2024 Guinness Six Nations

Join us in the clubhouse for the following games.

Check here for updated food promotions and opening times for each weekend – https://penicuikrugby.org/portfolio-items/2024-guinness-six-nations/

Sat 3rd Feb

Sat 10th Feb

Sat 24th Feb

Sat 9th Mar

Sat 16th Mar

Youth Rugby

Midi Rugby (S1-S5)

U14’s away to Preston Lodge 10am

U16’s away to Murrayfield Wanderers 10:30am

Mini Rugby (p1-7) & Micro Rugby

Training 11am – 12pm

1 XV

Penicuik away to Dunbar

This is more than just a must win.  If the boys don’t turn up on Saturday, they’d be as well driving to Dunbar Harbour and going fishing for the rest of the season.

The defeat to Dalkeith was massively disappointing and now takes the league out of our hands.  There is no point in discussing permutations as ultimately every club in the top 3 have to win all their remaining games to win the league.

I’ll be honest, we didn’t preform to our best against Dalkeith, the conditions massively played in their favour and we didn’t maximise the available space behind their heavy squad.  Loosing Ketchen and Reid in the first 15minutes meant a reshuffle with players in positions they haven’t trained for, that said, they all stuck in and the pressure we applied in the final 15 was unlucky not to at least secure a losing bonus point.

With Ketchen and Reid now out for a lengthy spell, we’ve had to call up Nemani to the wing and move Sprott out wide as well.  This could work well in our favour on the hard fast pitch at Dunbar, but the centre’s need to remember and not drift across and waste the wide space.

We are short in reserves with a lengthy unavailable list (ski-ing season apparently), but thanks to Michael for traveling straight from his work who starts on the bench.

Next weekend the 1xv are away to Hawick Linden, 2pm ko

2xv

Penicuik home to Lasswade

Who doesn’t like a local derby? One of the clubs first ever rugby games back in 1924 was against Lasswade, so what better way to spend the first game weekend of our Centenary year than against our Midlothian neighbours.

This has been a hard season so far, the players all recognize this.  But we are playing some quality opposition and our younger guys are learning a heck of a lot against seasoned pro’s and players who have come through the private school level year on year.

Lasswade Line up :

2xv

Penicuik 7 – 32 Lasswade 2XV

The start of the centenary year fixtures brought a major midlothian derby to Montgomery park. With Lasswade 2XV making the short town to town journey. The opening quarter of the match was a cagey affair, with neither of the teams looking to play a wide expansive style of rugby too soon. However the games scoring would be opened by Lasswade through the brute strength of their forward pack. With an attacking scrum on the Penicuik 5 metre line. The away side would drive the boys over the whitewash. This aspect of a dominative scrum wouldn’t last the entire game however, as the mighty 2XV forward pack would front up and give their all to save themselves from another humiliating scrum. From there the game would become fairly contested within the 2 packs to make for an exciting game. 

The first half stayed one of the most tightly contested games the 2XV have played all season. Keeping Lasswade to just scoring 10 points with two unconverted tries. Scoreboard pressure would also be applied through a loose ball off the floor, dribbled along the pitch as if he was playing on the astro over the fence by flyhallf Alfie Harris who would be able to pop the ball to the crashing centre Roni Vatuloka who had nothing on his mind but scoring in that moment.

The second half would unfortunately be the home sides downfall in the match with 3 yellow cards handed out, Lasswade were able to move from a tight forward dominated game and employ their backline in exploiting the space out on the wings where the boys just couldn’t reach in time to defend. This ultimately would lead to Lasswade heading home with a more flattering scoreline in their favour and bumping them up to 4th in the league standings as it stands. 

Despite everything the 2XV keep their heads held high in this tough season. With some exciting rugby still being played and practiced on the field week after week. With little games left to the domestic league season for the side, the 2XV look to cap it all off strongly putting out a strong side every Saturday no matter the circumstances and show their worth.

200 Club winners – December 2023

League Tables

1xv Fixtures

2xv Fixtures

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