St Aloysius’ overcome Strathallan in U16 Cup Final showcase

St Aloysius’ College overcame Strathallan School 10-3 in a narrow contest to lift the Scottish Rugby U16 Schools’ Cup Final on the international pitch at BT Murrayfield on Wednesday evening. Both teams took the first ten minutes to settle their nerves in front of an excited crowd but it wasn’t long before St Aloysius’ took the initiative inside the opposition’s 22.In the 13th minute, second-row Luke McCutcheon crossed the line following a powerful run at a wall of Strathallan defence, as Tom Lonergan converted the score minutes later.The Glasgow school continued to pressurise through impressive forward/back play, Josh Kelly and Luke Jack pulling the string effectively across their half-back partnership.St Aloysius’ then went down to 14 men following a yellow card for second-row Tino Mudotti but managed to remain in the lead until the half-time whistle blew to settle a 0-7 score.Half-time: Strathallan School 0-7 St Aloysius’ CollegeAfter the interval, St Aloysius’ extended their lead over Strathallan with a fine penalty from Adam Scott following some effective work at the breakdown from the forwards.Strathallan then slotted their first points of the match with a penalty of their own, courtesy of Angus Vipond, to see them on to the scoresheet in the 40th minute.The Perthshire school continued to fight against a strong St Aloysius’ defence and attempted several attacks towards the try line.However, it was to no avail, and St Aloysius’ piled on the pressure in the closing stages to see out the game.The Glasgow School later lifted the U16 Cup for the first time since 1995 in front of ecstatic travelling support from the West.Full-time: Strathallan School 3-10 St Aloysius’ CollegeMan-of-the-match: Nick McAllister Referee: Ruaridh Smith Scottish Rugby U16 Schools’ Cup FinalStrathallan School: Lewis Louden; Campbell Carracher, Euan Nicol, Angus Vipond, Struan Milligan; Rory Bayne CAPTAIN, Henry Lapslie; Ross Walker, Rupert Joyce, Struthan Cameron, Fergus James, Alamin Kudehinbu, Iain Galloway, Paul Elliot, Alex Marsh. Replacements: Joe Higginbottom, Ozzy Hamzeh, Finlay Cleaver-Smith, Hamish Allen, James Shephard, Cameron Paterson, Peter Wallwork.St Aloysius’ College: Nick McAllister; Luca Bardelli, Andrew Hughes, Tom Lonergan, Adam Scott; Luke Jack, Josh Kelly, Lewis Patrick, Patrick Norris, Benedict MacLennan-Patton, Luke McCutcheon, Tino Mudotti, Max Duffy, Daniel Lizerri, Louis Campbell CAPTAIN. Replacements: Daniel Sharkey, Daniel Reda, JP Brawley, Zack MKeown, Ethan Darroch, Isaac Mitchell, Ronan Ross. Scottish Rugby Schools’ Cup Finals RESULTS U18 Cup: Stewart’s Melville College 36-32 Dollar AcademyU18 Shield: Glenalmond College 19-36 Strathallan SchoolU18 Plate: High School of Glasgow 18-23 Hutchesons’ Grammer SchoolU18 Bowl: Morrison’s Academy 39-15 Bell Baxter High SchoolU16 Cup: Strathallan School 3-10 St Aloysius’ College U16 Shield: George Watson’s College 31-27 Glenalmond CollegeU16 Plate: Earlston High School 26-12 High School of GlasgowU16 Bowl: Lomond & Helensburgh 26-31 Hutchesons’ Grammar School