REPORT | Caledonia and the Borders remain in contention for the BT Sports Academy U17 Championship trophy

The BT Sports Academy U17 teams have played their first round of the BT Sport Academy U17 Championship, with Borders & East Lothian U17 and Caledonia U17 claiming victories over Edinburgh U17 and Glasgow & the West U17, respectively.

Both sides will battle it out next Wednesday (11 April) at Gala 4G to decide who will lift the trophy, with Glasgow and Edinburgh also playing to decide the 3rd and 4th spots.

The BT Sports Academy U17 Championship is a new fixture in the academy set-up and next week’s decider will round off all age groups, U16, U17, U18, U19 & U20, and competitive fixtures for the 2017/18 season.

These fixtures are an opportunity for players as they compete for selection along with identified players from the Scottish Qualified (SQ) Performance Pathway for the Scotland U17 Development Squad that will join up with England for a weekend of training and development matches later this month.

The Scotland based players will have a short break before preparation for the BT Sport Academy U18 Championship in the summer when the BT Sport Academy 2018/19 season kicks-off in July.

Match Play

Wednesday 4 April, BT Sports Academy U17 Championship, Broadwood

Glasgow & the West U17 v Caledonia U17

Caledonia U17 scored a total of 8 tries against Glasgow & the West U17 to remain in contention for the BT Sports Academy Championship, taking a 48-14 victory.

Scrum-half Finn McIlwraith got things under way for Caledonia with a try, which he converted successfully. Captain Josh King followed suit coming over the white wash before McIlwraith came through for his side with another conversion.

Ben Mace and Mungo Sommerville added to Caledonia’s score-line before replacement Liam Dreelan scored the side’s 5th try of the game. Granite City’s Greg McRae also touched down before Josh King scored for a second time.

Dunfermline’s Niall Dowds scored Caledonia’s eighth and final try before replacement Aiden Watson came through with the conversion.

Glasgow and the West put up a good fight with 2 tries from Colin Taylor and Adam Scott, both converted by Adam Scott from St Aloysius College, however Caledonia’s try-scoring capabilities proved too much of a challenge for Glasgow, taking the win 48-14.

FT: Caledonia U17 48-14 Glasgow & the West U17

The Borders & East Lothian U17 v Edinburgh U17

The Borders & East Lothian U17 showed great ability to look after the ball in very challenging conditions at a snowy Broadwood to seal a 28-0 victory over Edinburgh in the first round of the BT Sports Academy U17 Championship.

The Borders side race to a 7-0 lead with a try by Hamish Tweddie, which was converted by Nathan Sweeney.

Once again Borders improved on their score line with a try from Matthew Crane, completed with another conversion from Nathan Sweeney to secure a 14-0 lead going into the break.

Edinburgh were unable to make more of an impact in the 2nd half with Borders once again adding to their points tally with a try by Sweeney who followed through with another conversion.

Sweeney once again added to Borders’ triumph when the Loretto School pupil converted a try from Melrose player Trystan Andrews.

Borders & East Lothian controlled the game well through midfield players Scott Clark and Scott King, both players for Preston Lodge School.

Edinburgh can take some confidence into next week through strong performances from Harri Morris and Dean Anderson, but were unable to retain the ball to convert any pressure into points against a strong Borders side.

FT: Borders & East Lothian U17 28 – 0 Edinburgh U17