Whitecraigs U16 7

Peebles U16 46

George Blair

at Braidholm

PEEBLES Under 16s reached the last four of the Scottish National League Cup following a thrilling display in Glasgow at the weekend.

The Pees trod unfamiliar ground on Sunday, when they took on Whitecraigs in the quarter finals.

The match, originally scheduled to take place at Whitecraig’s own ground, was moved to Braidholm’s 3G pitch, with the kind permission of GHA Rugby Club, due to waterlogged conditions following the heavy rain.

The red and whites laid down their marker from the kick off and didn’t allow Whitecraigs any possession until the 11th minute of the game.

First score came after some great forward drives close to the line.

The ball was eventually moved wide for Cameron Boak to touch down in the corner.

A short time later, a perfectly executed short lineout allowed Finlay Sinclair to barge over for a second try. James Thomson converted.

Within a minute, however, Peebles were down to 14 men when centre Patrick Cannon was asked to have 10 minutes rest after being adjudged to have deliberately knocked on.

Whitecraigs took full advantage and from the resultant lineout, drove over for a converted try.

Once Patrick was restored to the lineup, Peebles started to exert their dominance once more and from a ruck beneath the home side’s posts, Finn Colledge drove over for another try, again converted by James Thomson.

Right on the stroke of half time, Finlay Sinclair intercepted a loose Whitecraigs pass on his own 22 and, despite some attention from the opposition, managed to run the length of the field to score in the corner.

It had been an excellent first half from Peebles, who deserved their 24-7 lead at the interval.

Within two minutes of the restart, Cannon was again making headlines, this time dancing over for a try close to the corner.

Further tries in the second half came from another Finn Colledge pick and drive, and a snipe around the ruck from scrum half Frey Maciver, before Cammy Boak, who opened the scoring and hour earlier ,brought the game to a finish with a fine try in the corner.

The Peebles lads now look forward to a semi final on February 2 at The Oriam.

The other teams going into the last four draw are fellow Borderers Hawick, Boroughmuir and Mackie, with a date on the main BT Murrayfield pitch the reward for the finalists.

Peebles: Ben White, Robbie Weir, Arran Cameron (c), Daniel Askew, Finn Colledge, Oliver Landers, Evan Maciver, Finlay Sinclair; Frey Maciver, James Thomson, David Cathcart, Oscar Weipers, Patrick Cannon, Cameron Boak, Liam Forsyth. Reps: Reece Hunter, Ruaridh Johnson, Owen Jones, Luc Caulton.