Merchiston and Kelso claim Schools titles

Both Merchiston Castle School and Kelso High School were victorious in their respective Scottish Rugby under-16 Schools Shield and Plate finals at BT Murrayfield on Wednesday evening. In the under-18 Schools Shield final, Merchiston Castle defeated St Aloysius College 37-21, with the Edinburgh school scoring a total of six tries to St Aloysius’ three.Merchiston piled on the pressure within the first ten minutes of the game and were rewarded with a score from winger Jamie Armstrong left of the posts in the eighth minute.Another try came shortly after, with Angus Strudwick making the most of quick ball from the forwards to crash over before Armstrong crossed for his second and Merchiston’s third after the 20 minute mark.St Aloysius responded minutes later through Nicholas Sutherland after the forwards made precious ground. Michael Hughes converted and both sides settled for a 19-7 half-time score.After the interval, both teams lost players to the sin bin but maintained an attacking style of play despite being short on numbers. Merchiston moved the ball wide to find Dean Anderson in space who ran in at the corner, before Rufus McLean converted in the 50th minute.St Aloysius continued to impress when in possession and scored their third try through Christopher Lynas who barged his way over from the 22 metre line, with Hughes adding the extras.Merchiston Castle extended their lead with a penalty from McLean before Anderson found himself on the end of clever exchanges between the back-line to go over for his second and Merchiston’s final score in the 70th minute.Freddie Main, Merchiston Castle School under-16 coach, said: “In the first-half, our players controlled the breakdown very well and come the second-half, we played some strong, attacking rugby to secure the win.”Full-time: 37-21Man-of-the-match: William RichardsonReferee: John Ferry In the under-16 Schools Plate final, Kelso High School sealed the title with a 29-12 win over Caithness Schools. The opening exchanges provided Kelso with the majority of possession and the team soon capitalised through Andrew Thomson who crossed after an impressive line break. Matt Kindness converted to secure Kelso’s lead.However, Caithness soon fought back after the forwards began to challenge Kelso’s defence, hooker Jack Macleod crashing over for the try before Stuart Kirk added the extras with the boot after ten minutes.Kelso responded minutes later, Alex Traynor powering his way through the tackles from metres out and Kindness narrowly missing the conversion.Kindness then contributed a score of his own after dancing his way past the defence for a try in the 21st minute, the pacey centre converting before a half-time score of 19-7.In the second-half, both teams took a while to find momentum but it was Kelso who found it first, Dan Gamble crossing after 60 minutes and Traynor securing his second of the game minutes later.Caithness remained positive and kept the ball in hand to attack Kelso’s defence in the remaining ten minutes, Nathan Quinn eventually coming up with the final score of the match.Murray Walker, Kelso High School under-16 coach, said: “The boys stuck in right to the end and it was a great game. We are very proud of the team and the school hopes to be back next year if we continue to work hard at this age level.”Full-time: 29-12Man-of-the-match: Matthew KindnessReferee: Ruaridh Smith  The Teams…Scottish Rugby under-16 Schools Shield Final St Aloysius College: Daniel Sinclair; Rory Makie, Mark McCourtney, Andrew Hughes, Harry Clark; Michael Hughes, Joshua Kelly; Louis Campbell, Christopher Mullen, Christopher Lynas, Elliot Rooney CAPTAIN, Max Duffy, Lewis Reilly, Nicholas Sutherland, Fergus Andrew. Replacements: Johnathan Sciallo, Oskar Wilkie, Benjamin Devine, Kelvin Ng, Scott Kennedy, Nicholas Mcallister, Paddy Doonin. Merchiston Castle School: Jamie Boyd; Kayau Siu, Sam Whyte, Hamish Scanlan, Jamie Armstrong; Rufus McLean, Christopher Bell, Archie Walker, Angus Strudwick, Connor Hamilton, Sean McCann, Kieran Watt, Sean Yuille, William Richardson, Tyler Thomas CAPTAIN. Replacements: Jack Macaulay, Evan Francis-Macarthur, Lachlan Gaddie, Tom Edgar, David McTurk, Dean Anderson, Harry Higgins. Scottish Rugby under-16 Schools Plate Final Kelso High School: Neil Mallen; Ed Withall, Matt Kindness, Andrew Thomson, Murray Armitage; Liam Herdman CAPTAIN, Hamish Tweedie; Cameron Asante, Jack Docherty, Dan Gamble, Alex Traynor, Greg Cessford, Robert Hastie, Cameron Brown, Jack Walker. Replacements: Oliver Pickford, Daniel Ralston, Kris Sanderson, Charlie Ormiston, Mark Hill, Ryan Widdowson-Lewis, Sebastian Scott-Watson. Caithness Schools: Craig Kennedy; Michael MacGregor, Nathon Quinn, Max Paul, Jordan Millar; Jamie Mowat, Stuart Kirk; Lachlan Jardine, Jack Macleod, Aidan Sinclair, Ruaridh Mackay, Reece Mowat, Lewis Fraser, Ross Mackay, Michael Elder CAPTAIN. Replacements: Ryan Steven, Ben Millar, Cameron Ryder, Connor Ross.