Reds Youth round off season in style
In our final set of youth rugby reports, we have a delayed report from the Young Reds S1s sojourn to St Andrews to play in the Beach Rugby Sevens (photo above), plus two reports (Wee Reds P5 and P7) from the WEE REDS trip to Falkirk on Sunday, which saw the P7s play their final match (photo below) as Wee Reds Minis before moving up to be next season’s S1s!
P7s sign off in style
Sunday 18 May
Report by Neil Allardice
The P7 boys arrived at Falkirk on a sunny Sunday morning. As it was their last P7 game, the boys were determined to end their season on a high. At the end of an hour of rugby – the scoreboard had 15 tries to 2 tries in favour of the mighty Wee Reds. There was some champagne rugby on display, with a mix of big runners up the middle and the ball being passed through the hands to the speedsters on the outside. However this was all built on a strong defensive display. A moment that summed up the boys attitude was when Falkirk was hammering a way on the Wee Reds try line. After 4 phases of determined defence the Reds turned the ball over and ran all the way back to the half way line.
Congratulations to the P7s on the victory and we look forward to seeing you playing in the Young Reds S1s in a few months time.
P5s Too Hot To Handle!
Sunday 18 May
Report by Graham McKenzie
For the final match of the 2025 season, a big Wee Reds P5 squad travelled to neighbouring Falkirk on another glorious Sunday morning. The sunshine brought out a large and vocal travelling support containing mums, dads, grannies, grandads, brothers, sisters and pets of the team.
Across the sun-drenched adjacent pitches, the 2 Linlithgow teams continued their recent impressive form by winning each match. Once again, it was their committed and aggressive defensive work, particularly in the middle of field against some big Falkirk players, that made the difference.
Then came the big end of season match between Jay’s and Paul’s teams (we definitely need to work on some better team names). Despite the heat and all the boys being very sweaty, they were all super excited to get a final chance to take on their pals. The standard of rugby in this game particularly was fantastic, with all the boys contributing either in attack or defence.
Some individual highlights from another brilliant day included:
Brodie’s, Kian’s, Harry’s and Findlay’s dancing feet, nipping around the opposition!
Luca’s, Zac’s and Patrick’s quick hands (and the occasional dummy)!
Harrison’s, Angus’ and Julen’s straight direct running!
Finlay’s, Calvin’s and Olly’s offloads in the tackle!
Gregor’s, Ferris’ and Rory ‘s successful tackling!
After the final whistle, the boys enjoyed a lovely very deserved ice lolly passed over from the P6 crew!
Thanks to Falkirk for a great morning.
Young Reds S1 excel at beach rugby
Sun, sea and sevens at St. Andrews tournament
Saturday 10th May 2025
Report by Stuart Taylor
A reduced playing squad of 12, from the regular under 13’s team made their way to the West Sands 7’s tournament organised by St. Leonards & Madras (SLM) on Saturday. With hardly a cloud in the sky, the stage was set for sunshine rugby.
Restricted by the tide line and the availability of compact sand, each pitch was reduced to 40 metres by 20 metres. Those anticipating running rugby in the traditional 7’s sense were to be initially disappointed, but given the rising temperature, the smaller pitch and short game time of ten minutes were later welcomed by the players and supporters alike.
In fact all of the participating teams should be commended for adapting as well as they did to the reduced pitch size, the unpredictable nature of the playing surface in bare feet and a no kick rule.
5 rounds of 10 minute games ensued with 3 points awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw and a bonus point for scoring 4 points or more. Results and try scorers as follows:
· Dundee High 2 – 4 Linlithgow (Joe, Jay, Callum 2)
· Musselburgh 1 – 2 Linlithgow (Logan, Callum)
· SLM 1 – 6 Linlithgow (Lucas 2, Logan, Jack, Callum 2)
· Dundee Rugby 2 – 0 Linlithgow
· Howe 1 – 2 Linlithgow (Archie 2)
Linlithgow managed four wins out of the five and picked up two bonus points along the way to finish the tournament as respected runners up. In true beach style, Linlithgow slipped, slopped and slapped through the tough contest and were unfortunate to not get across the try line against the eventual winners Dundee Rugby having had the majority of the possession in what became the tournament deciding game.
The whole Reds squad gave a good account of themselves and left their mark on their opponents and on West Sands. Special mention to two players: Lucas this year’s recipient of the unsung hero award who crashed over the try line for his first and second tries of the season! And Logan (pictured) who looked born for beach rugby as he carried bravely throughout and defended like a lion, thoroughly deserving the man of the match accolade.
With temperatures running high, the final whistle was met with cheers followed by a well-deserved ‘taps aff’ team plunge in the sea! All in all a great day out and a great way to round up an excellent season.