George Watson's College won the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Schools Under-16 Cup last night after defeating St Aloysius College with a confident performance of handling rugby.
St Aloysius, daring to challenge east coast dominance in schools rugby, were on the back foot for much of the match but they enjoyed moments of excellence, with skilful displays, in particular, from the half-backs Rory McDonald and Liam Hughes and the strong-running centre Charlie Lonergan
"I think we perhaps underperformed but Watson's have been there many times and were the better team on the night," said Mark McKenzie, the St Aloysius director of rugby. "But our defence was good and we did well to keep the score close."
Watson's, looking the sharper with ball in hand, dominated territory and possession in the opening exchanges, but against a defence that kept their shape well and tackled tenaciously, the Edinburgh team could not chart a passage to the line.
When St Aloysius put pressure on Watson's with a lineout in the 22, Watson's came away with the ball but a turnover led to the Glasgow school being awarded a scrum close to the Watson's 22-metre line from which St Aloysius launched a forward attack before winning a penalty in front of the posts that allowed Liam McHugh to kick the opening points of the match.
Watson's reply was to put a stranglehold on the game with a constant supply of quality possession that eventually brought its reward. From a penalty-created lineout in the corner, the Watson's forwards drove to the line giving the No.8 Kenneth Drummond an unconverted try for a 5-3 lead, the score remaining unaltered as referee Dan Shaw blew for half-time.
The second half began as the first period had ended with Watson's producing nearly all the rugby and threatening on several occasions, only for fate to intervene as left wing Aidan McMillan intercepted in his own 22 before outsprinting a startled Watson's defence over 80 metres to score in the corner.
McHugh was off target with the difficult touchline conversion attempt but St Aloysius had the lead. It was to be brief as Watson's turned the screw with a clever move involving the scrum-half Fraser Peters and Gregor Tait, the full-back. It did not produce further points immediately but when the ball was recycled, Drummond made an unstoppable charge to the line for his second try, expertly converted by Peters.
An injury to the St Aloysius full-back Joe Skivington interrupted play and on the resumption Watson's were forced to defend after Lonergan had made a slicing run in midfield. The Glasgow school threatened again when they ran a penalty but it was Watson's who came away with the ball before applying a killer blow with a try by stand-off Murray Scott, Peters adding the conversion.
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