Reds u16s lose out to strong Gala side in final

U16 East Cup Final – played at Lasswade Rugby Club

Linlithgow  22 – 35  Gala Red Triangle

Saturday 29 March 2025

Report by Nick Smith with photos courtesy of Graham and Neil

So here’s the match report on this weekend’s East Cup Final against Gala.  If I’m honest I have put off writing it and I should have just brought forward the pain and got it done.

However this was how we decided to approach the game. With a stiff breeze blowing down the pitch we opted to bring forward the pain and play into it in the first half. The intention being to then use in the second half to apply some territorial pressure. Lets just say the first victim in any campaign is ‘the plan.’

Gala kicked off and put it long. They started the half putting us under real pressure with a swathing attack down the left and some great movement back to the right. They looked strong and we knew we were in for a game. Our approach to clear our lines didn’t quite work and we found ourselves under greater pressure. However our line-out served us well with jumpers: Ewan, Alley and Cammy and Liam (throwing) initially doing a great job.

We soon worked to our strengths and rather than experiment on a breezy day, we kept it tight with Finlay Mac, Greig and Cammy carrying heavily and making good ground up the pitch. A penalty gave us a line-out close to their line, Liam carried from the tail and looked to burrow his way over. This dragged their defence with him, opening up a massive space on the blind side which Joe spotted and put Alex E away for our first try.

Gala scored the next try with an intercept try. It was a bit of a gift given how hard we had worked for our first 5 points.

The rest of the the first half can only be described as tough. We looked to create space on the wings only to find that Gala’s streetwise ‘drift’ defence left little room for Alex E or Alfie to work their magic. Instead we had to deal with a barrage of attacks from their strong centres who continually made dents in our midfield and deal with their set of pacy wings who put the points on us. We also lost Finlay M to injury, from which we hope he has a swift recovery. Despite this our scrum and line-outs were strong, with Alex K and Cameron showing their strength in particular in the front row. We ended the half 21-5 down – an unusual situation for us as we tend to put the points on in the first half and hold on for dear life in the second.  

We started hard in the second half. Rory came on at fly half, with TJ switching to number 8. After his ‘boot malfunction’ in the first minute of the game Connor came back on to replace Cameron.  We took the game to Gala, applying pressure and keeping territory well in their half. Frustratingly they turned us over and some quick ball saw them score a break away try. With the score now 28-5 in Gala’s favour had a mountain to climb.

The boys showed some great spirit and were not going to give up. Alexander came on for Alex K and Liam showed his versatility by switching  to prop. Max also slotted in for Joe and we went again.

A series of penalties saw us move up the pitch. We were now camped on their line. Another penalty for us and Ewan was the first to react by taking a quick tap and diving over.  Our spirits lifted.

From the resulting kick-off Cammy caught the ball, charged at the line, stepped, saw a gap and was through. He chipped ahead with Finlay Mac at his side. Both were chasing. A kind bounce saw the ball sit up beautifully into Finlay’s welcoming arms. A bit of interplay with the Ewan in support, fooled us all and Finlay kept ahold of the ball to wriggle through, dive and score.  17-28, could we dare to believe…?

Unfortunately there was a relatively quick answer to that. Gala again were quick to pounce when we became isolated. One break away felt a certain try but a great tackle from Ali B led to a knock on and some relief. But it wasn’t long before the same happened again and this time they made no mistake. Our last throw of the dice led us to bring on Calum and Tom to add pace and aggression to our tiring pack. Both got stuck in their own inimitable way but could not change the course of the game which was already well set. 

Angus C scored a late consolation try for us with a dance down the left wing, but the game belonged to Gala.

The boys showed immense spirit to come back in the way they did.  On another day some key passes might have gone to hand or we might have had the luck of the draw on the bounce. However it was not our day and I think it is fair to say that Gala finished deserved winners.

All the boys were magnificent. But there are a few deserved mentions.Liam was relentless all game, giving his all in whatever position he played. Alex E can only be described as “dogged” on the wing. Not able to find any space to show his usual blistering pace he took some hefty tackles but never gave up. Player of the match this week goes to Cammy. He was relentless in defence and showed real rugby nous with his chip ahead which led to Finlay Mac’s try.

The boys have had an amazing season and whilst the competitive part of the season is now done, there is plenty to play and train for before it comes to a close.

Finally thanks to all the parents and relatives who came down to watch.  It made a real difference and it was great to see how full our section of the stand was.

Photos below courtesy of Graham Black