This week @ Penicuik Rugby

The 2xv continue to face more senior clubs and our midi’s are away to Leith

For all the Penicuik rugby information keep reading below

Youth Rugby

Midi Rugby (S1-S4)

Last week’s awful weather curtailed the home games.  This weekend our midi sides travel to Leith Hawks for a morning of rugby.

If you have a child in S1-S4

Training is Mon eve 7-8pm, Wed 7:30-8:30pm and games on Saturday mornings

Mini Rugby (p1-7)

As its Remembrance Sunday our normal training is paused, however there is an option to train 10-10:55 then our mini players will observe the 2 minute silence at 11am.

Micro Rugby (Pre-School Nursery Age)

Also will train at 10am

First XV

Penicuik 51

Hawick Quins 36

Tries : Haynes (4), Adler, Ketchen, Sprott,

Cons : Sprott (5)

Pens : Sprott (2)

Highlights video click here –  Peni v Quins

This was a tough outing.  The game should have been out of sight but a 2nd half rally from Quins reduced the score from 51-15 to 51-33, given the weekends other scores from Dalkeith and Dunbar we hope the points difference doesn’t come back to bite us.

Haynes opened the scoring with a penalty and quickly converted his own try following a drive into the 5m line from Holmes to establish a 10-0 lead.  Quins came right back with their own penalty and try to close the gap to 10-8.  Quins missed a penalty to take the lead, only for Penicuik to extend the lead through a try from Adler after running in from the Quins 10m line.

Another penalty and converted try from Haynes seen the score race to 27-8 before Ketchen, who came on for an injured Malone, touch down before half time to make it 32-8 and the Bonus Point.

Playing down the slope, Quins started the 2nd half the stronger scoring and converting.  Mitchell picked and went through the Quins defence before offloading to Haynes for his hat-trick try.  Following a period of pressure in the Quins 22, Penicuik were awarded a scrum on the 5m line allowing Sprott to pick and dart over the try line.

A goal line drop out was collected by the Penicuik forwards who set up a series of rucks which led to Haynes getting his 4th of the afternoon and Penicuik’s final points to make it 51-15

Quins came back with 3 more tries to secure their own bonus point to end a high scoring afternoon

This weekend Penicuik 1xv have a free afternoon, and return to Union Park on the 18th whilst 2nd and 3rd battle it out at Kingspark

2xv

Penicuik – 0

Linlithgow – 32

After a week off from league action the 2s were set for a true bottom of the table scrap as they hosted a youthful Linlithgow side who were also looking to kick their league up and running with better form. The match wasn’t looking promising from the get-go with the heavens opening on Montgomery Park and flooding the pitches midweek bringing training to a halt on the Thursday before the match. However, the weather would clear, and it was game on.

It was a scrappy game from the get-go with no team able to find running rugby in the opening quarter of the match. Linlithgow would break the points drought soon after, with the hosts conceding a penalty on their 22-metre line allowing the Linlithgow halfback to line up his kicking tee and take the score to 3-0. 

From there it would only go downhill for the 2s, with Linlithgow’s fast hands and well drilled moves allowing them to break through the Penicuik defence. The hosts would also see two players be sent to the bin simultaneously for repeated high tackles. With this, the visitors managed to force the gaps and get round the defence to score the remainder of the 29 points of the game in the opening half.

A half time talk from Rich Mann would provide enough to lift the heads back up of the men and turn what was looking to be a landslide victory for the travelling Linlithgow side into a true scrap they never wanted to be a part of and keeping them scoreless in the 2^nd half.

The newly adapted springbok ‘bomb squad’ tactic crept its way into the 2^nd xv once again to provide that punch at scrum time in the second half. Despite not scoring any points through the whole game, the mighty 2s put on a performance worthy of watching by all the spectators on a big day for the club with many big names from teams past watching on. The fast and open, back and forth game played by the 2s provided a more than enjoyable 40 minutes of rugby in what has been a challenging season for all involved so far. Despite there being a lot to work on, there was also a lot for that group of players to be proud of after that game.

As a club, we can also only hope for the speediest of recoveries for scrumhalf Nemani Vakamara and lock Eric Cannon who both picked up unfortunate injuries during the proceedings.

This weekend the 2xv welcome Boroughmuir 2A to Montgomery Park, last meeting saw the Meggetland team win 76-12

Team selection –

C Duncan

200 Club winners – October 2023

In and Around the Clubhouse

Former Players Day

It was great to welcome former players and faces back into the clubhouse last weekend and we hope you all enjoyed the afternoon and the reunion chats and stories.

Although too many to name, it was especially great to welcome back past captains Jim Watt (75-76), Jim Cockburn (87), George Watson (90), Brian Doyle (92), Brian King (93), Ian Young (95), Pete Rainey (96-98), Ally Leadbetter (98), Bruce Lambie (00), David Sinclair (01), Alun Semple (02,04-06), Jamie Thorne (07-08), Andy Aitken (09-10) and Gavin Stephen (2011).

Pictured below is one of our oldest surviving players, Bill “Fergie” Ferguson alongside club Captain Paul Hope and President Gavin McQuillan.

Although not all our players, especially those oversea’s, could attend the event it was heartening to see USA based Graeme Briggs over to enjoy the World Cup Final in the clubhouse and more recently a few players were able to meet up with New Zealand based Andy Greer who was over for a conference.

Pitch Damage

Many of you will have seen our post earlier in the week about the thoughtless act of vandalism to our pitches https://penicuikrugby.org/pitch-update/

It’s great to report the replacement turf is holding up well thanks to the incredible team at Currie & Son Landscapers who stepped forward to assist.  If you are looking for landscapers then please reach out to Sandy and his team at 07712727757 or sandycurrie86@gmail.com

Dogs on the Pitches.

We also reported on Saturday morning a local resident who was happy to watch his dog empty its bowels on our pitch whilst we were setting up.  Only for the resident to leave the dog’s mess on the pitch, jump in his car and drive away leaving our team of volunteers to clean the mess before the players took the field.

We all love our town and its beautiful open spaces, including our cherished rugby pitch. We kindly ask everyone to be considerate and respectful of our shared spaces.

Let’s make a collective effort to maintain the cleanliness of our community areas. If you’re a dog owner, please be responsible and carry waste bags with you. It’s a small gesture that goes a long way in preserving the beauty of our town.

By being mindful of our surroundings and taking responsibility for our pets, we can ensure our town remains a clean and pleasant place for everyone to enjoy.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us keep our community spaces pristine and inviting for all residents

Next Week & League Tables

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