Biggar Colts report - Saturday 24th November, 2007. Murrayfield  Wanderers 3 : Biggar 74.
On the back of their recent form, the Colts travelled through to Murrayfield determined to avenge the narrow defeat earlier in the season. This they did with 12 unanswered tries from 8 different players.

Iain Renwick scored the first after 5 minutes with a good run from a 22m ruck spotting the gap between the centres. Andrew Goodall scored with a pick up from the base of a ruck on half way which saw him evade several tacklers before sprinting under the posts. Gary Morrison broke up the right wing, but was stopped 5m short, a ruck was formed and the ball popped to Colin Arthur to crash through from 5m out. The next came from a sweeping move out to the left wing; ball set up from a ruck and fed out to right wing Gary Morrison to score in the corner. From a penalty in the 22, the Colts drove for the line, set up a ruck, then fed the ball left for Nash Darwish to drive over from 5m out. The final score of the half came from Nick Ryan who hacked the ball through the defence to touch down in the in-goal area.

The Colts maintained their discipline and shape in the second half despite making several substitutions. From a Murrayfield line out on the 22m, pressure was put on the stand off, who fumbled, allowing the ball to be kicked through for Andrew Muir to win the race, between three forwards, and to touch the ball down. From a 22m scrum, No8 John Hislop picked up and drove, popped the ball to flanker Charles Cochrane who passed the ball back inside to Gary Morrison at pace to score. Charles Cochrane then scored a similar try, taking the ball at pace from a pop pass at the base of a ruck. Colin Arthur score his second of the day with another crashing run from 10m out. Charles Cochrane and Andrew Martin started a break from within the Colts 22, set up ruck ball which was fed to Chris Lawrie who popped the ball to the ever present Charles Cochrane, who took the ball at pace to burst through the Murrayfield line for a score under the posts. Iain Renwick finished off the game with a superb individual run from within his own 22m, beating several players to score under the posts.

Gary Morrison and Ian Renwick converted three and four of the tries respectively.

Biggar Colts Report  1/12/07.

Boroughmuir 40  : Biggar 0.

The Colts had a poor first half when, even with the wind advantage, they were 26-0 down at half time. Whilst Boroughmuir played well, a distinct lack of commitment and aggression from some of the Colts made it too easy. A quiet, inspirational team talk at half-time by coaches Barr and Murray had the desired effect. Biggar competed much better but were still unable to score despite coming close on a couple of occasions. Charles Cochrane was the pick of the players with some excellent tackling and good breaks from scrums and rucks.

Biggar Colts  7 : Dumfries Colts  21 - Saturday, 15th December, 2007.

At Hartreemill, the Colts put in a good performance against the Glasgow Division 1 leaders in this friendly fixture. Against the wind in the first half they conceded two well worked tries, mainly through Dumfries’ ability to offload in the tackle. Biggar pressurised the Dumfries line in the second half but could not find a way through a very well organized defence. Against the run of play Dumfries scored their third try following some slack first up tackling. This did not deter Biggar, who came straight back and scored via a typical Colin Arthur crash ball from 10m after several phases of play. Andrew Angus converted. Five minutes later a drive by Andrew Goodall was held up closed to the line then taken on by Nash Darwish to ground; the ball on or just over the line. However, the referee did not award the try and gave the 5m scrum put in to the defending team – which no one, including the Dumfries supporters could understand. Biggar closed out the last 5 minutes of the second half in the Dumfries 22, but could not cross the line to close the gap.

The whole squad is delighted to offer its congratulations to four of the Colts - Iain Renwick, Ruaraidh McLatchie, Andrew Goodall and Josh Harvey, who have been invited to a two week training camp in Perpignon in July with the Glasgow Thistles. These camps have been running for a number of years now – they were initially to New Zealand – and offer the participants a real taste of a professional life in rugby, with strict timetables of training and games. All aspects of the player are covered from fitness and skills training to diet. Definitely an opportunity not to be missed – well done boys!

Saturday, 19th January, 2008 - Dumfries Colts 31 : Biggar Colts 12

Biggar travelled south to take on Glasgow league winners Dumfries, in what was a return fixture after Dumfries came to Hartreemill in December.

Biggar fielded a familiar XV although they left several of their stronger players at Biggar where they played for the 2nd XV. As was the case in their first meeting, it was the Dumfries side which came out on top although the score was not reflective of what was a fairly even game; the advantage Dumfries enjoyed being a result of their very quick support play and their better offloads.

Biggar’s points came from tries credited to Rhuari McLatchie and Alistair Dow, with Andrew Angus kicking a solitary conversion.

Of the others on show Colin Arthur again deserves credit for his overall contributions.

Saturday, 26th January, 2008. Biggar Colts 37 Haddington Colts 7.

Earlier in their Edinburgh U-18 league games, honours were even with the sides closely matched and sharing a win a-piece. This game saw a much improved display from the Biggar side, however, and one which will hopefully augur well for the East of Scotland Cup which begins in two weeks time (although Biggar will not begin their campaign until the following week due to the withdrawl of Duns from the competition).

The Colts played some of their best open rugby on Saturday, with the backs passing/offloading and using the full width of the pitch. In addition some of the first up tackling put pressure on the opposition and often turned defence into attack.

After some early pressure, Ruaraidh McLatchie collected a clearance kick, sprinted over to the other wing to link up with Declan Moore who made further ground before offloading to Nick Ryan to crash through from 10m out. Five minutes later, a quick tap penalty to Colin Arthur saw him drive to the line and ground the ball on the line, but the referee was unsighted and did not award the try. Andrew Angus scored next via a penalty for handling in the ruck.

Haddington almost scored from an interception on their own 22, Ross Atkin chased back and was just about to tackle the scrum half but he kicked the ball through to the touchdown area but was beaten to the touchdown by Andrew Goodall who was covering back.

Biggar came straight back scoring after 4 good phases of play by David  McArthur, Chris Lawrie, Charles Cochrane and finally to Andrew Goodall who drove over the line from 5 metres out.

The second half was similar with Biggar dominating most of the play. A crunching tackle by James Cochrane dislodged the ball from a Haddington player on the Biggar 22. Nick Ryan hoofed the ball through and showed some excellent footballing skills and pace to win the race to touchdown the ball. Haddington’s only score was via a charge down of a Biggar clearance kick. Biggar responded via Andrew Goodall who collected the ball on halfway, sprinted to the wing and evaded five tacklers via pace, side-step, handoffs and a dummy to the ever present Charles Cochrane. A clever kick by tight head prop, Colin Arthur, into the Haddington 22 was collected by the svelte Gary Morrison (returning after 8 weeks out with injury) who popped the ball to James Cochrane to crash over in the corner. With the final play of the game, quick ball was fed from the ruck to Scott Wheelan, who squeezed in at the corner for a try in his first game for the Colts.

Andrew Angus converted two of the tries.

Biggar Colts report - 23rd February, 2008.

Ross High Colts 0  Biggar Colts 39.
The Colts played well again on a dry but very windy day. Colin Arthur almost opened the scoring after 5 minutes with a typical drive but was held up over the line. Iain Renwick scored with a penalty after 10 minutes after he had scragged the opposition scrum half at the base of the scrum and he failed to release.

Midway inside their own half, Callum Moorhouse took one against the head and Andrew Goodall picked up at the base of the scrum and outpaced the cover to sprint all the way to the line. Five minutes later from almost the same place, an identical try was scored. Just before half-time, Josh Smith collected the ball at pace about halfway, outpaced two defenders and managed to stretch over the line after crashing through the last two defenders – a superb effort from the loose head prop.

James Cochrane scored the first try of the second half after good quick ball was secured at a ruck then fed out the backs for him to power through a couple of tacklers in the corner. From loose ball Andrew Angus made a good break, offloaded to Gary Morrison who continued the break and slipped a delightful pass to Iain Renwick to finish off the move under the posts.

Josh Smith scored the final try after grabbing a loose ball from a Ross High line out and driving over the line from 5m out.

Iain Renwick converted three of the tries.

The Colts game on Saturday is against Musselburgh with a 1.00pm kick-off at The Showfield.

Biggar Colts Report 16/02/2008.

Preston Lodge 0  : Biggar 79  

The Colts got their East of Scotland Cup campaign of to a great start with an emphatic win over Preston Lodge. The game was essentially won in the first twenty minutes with Biggar scoring five tries by five different people. Their speed, strength and commitment at the breakdown were first class. Despite the early scores the team maintained their discipline and played some excellent continuity rugby with passing out of the tackle and good support play to the fore. The try scorers were Andrew Angus (2), James Cochrane (2), Andrew Goodall (3), Ruaraidh McLatchie (2), Declan Moore (1), Richard Peacock (1), Iain Renwick (2) and Josh Smith (1). Iain Renwick converted 6 of the tries and Andrew Angus 1.

Congratulations to Andrew Goodall who has been selected to play for the Glasgow District U-17 team.

In one of their best displays of the season the Colts beat Musselburgh to set up a group decider with Kelso next week in the East of Scotland Cup.

After two defeats already against Musselburgh this season, they were determined to win. From the very start
Biggar showed more commitment and determination, both in attack and defence. The first score came from a defensive Musselburgh scrum 5m from there line. David McArthur scragged the opposition scrum half. The backrow then secured ruck ball which was popped up to Colin Arthur at pace who was tackled on the line. The ball was recycled to Iain Renwick who jinked over from a couple of metres. That was the only score of the first half ,with both teams coming close but either the final pass or good defence preventing the score. In fact Biggar weathered the final 5 minutes of the half camped in their own 22, stopping all Musselburgh attacks with the best defensive display of the season.

Early in the second half, good ruck ball was fed out to Ruaraidh McLatchie, who made a half break then offloaded to Andrew Goodall who broke through the Musselburgh line and sprinted in from halfway, evading the fullback. The third try came from an attempted drop goal by Iain Renwick, which was held up in the wind. It was fielded by the fullback 5m from his line but he was well tackled following a great chase by Ruaraidh McLatchie. Nick Ryan was next there to rip the ball and evade the cover to score near the corner.

Saturday 1st March, 2008 - Biggar Colts 15 : Musselburgh 0.

Biggar Colts Report  8/03/2008 - Kelso 23 Biggar 26   

The Colts secured a hard won victory at Kelso to finish top in their East of Scotland Cup section. This means they go through to the semi-finals in two weeks time. Due to mechanical problems with the coach, Biggar were late in arriving and only had a short warm-up. They were slow to start and conceded a try within the first 10 minutes. It took Biggar a further 10 minutes to level the score after a quick tap penalty saw Colin Arthur held up on the line, but quick recycled ball to Nash Darwin allowed him to crash over for the try. Some poor discipline at the breakdown gifted Kelso two penalties for a 13-7 halftime score.

With the wind at their backs Biggar scored early in the second half with good hand outs the backs to Ruaraidh McLatchie to score in the corner. Kelso persisted with their strong forward play, especially the pick and drive. This paid off with a try when Biggar were down to 14 men with Nash Darwin being sin binned for a dangerous tackle. With only 6 minutes remaining, Kelso were on the ascendancy, but Biggar never gave up and a quick penalty was fed to Nash Darwin who made the final pass to Ruaraidh McLatchie to run in from 5 metres out. Kelso were now one point behind and launched another attack through their backs. However, James Cochrane read the play and intercepted the final pass. He broke up field and passed to Andrew Goodall, who sprinted up field and drew the fullback to pass to the ever present Ruaraidh McLatchie to score in the corner via the most ungainly dive ever seen. Iain Renwick added the very difficult conversion to two previous conversions. With the game won, Biggar relaxed and allowed Kelso to score with the final play of the game.

The 23 points conceded were the first points conceded in this Cup competition so far, and the win means that Biggar top the table with the maximum 12 points from 4 games.

Coaches Ian Barr and David Murray were, needless to say, delighted with this latest win, the boys responding well and gaining so much from a settled XV and a series of consistent performances.

The draw will be made following the final round of games in the other pools each of which has five rather than four sides. The leading teams are as follows:

Pool 1 : Melrose Wasps, Gala Wanderers and Hawick PSA are all in the frame,
Pool 2 : Hawick Wanderers,
Pool 3 : Boroughmuir,
Pool 4 : Biggar.

It is clear that regardless of the outcome of the draw, there will be no easy game in the semi-final, with all the Border sides likely to pose a massive challenge for the Biggar lads.

Biggar Colts Report  22/03/2008.

Melrose 43  : Biggar 17  .

As this was the semi-final of the East of Scotland Cup, Melrose allowed the game to take place at the Greenyards, a great experience for the boys. Despite the scoreline, the Colts competed well throughout this game, except when they gave away the ball to the excellent Melrose backs who punished Biggar heavily in broken play. Biggar’s only score of the first half came from a 5m penalty which was taken on by Colin Arthur, then Nash Darwin and finally Josh Smith who squeezed over from a couple of metres.

Turning round 31-5 down at half-time, there was a danger that the Colts would fold and allow Melrose to overrun them. However, they dug in and produced a superb second half which ended 12-12. The first score came from a good break up the left wing by Richard Peacock who offloaded in the tackle to Andrew Goodall who burst through one tackler and sprinted into the corner. Biggar came close to adding to this when Nash Darwin and John Hyslop were held up when across the line. However, from the resulting 5m scrum, No8 Andrew Goodall picked up and drove across the line. Iain Renwick converted the try.

Congratulations to Josh Harvey who has been selected at lock for the Glasgow District U-16 team, this a great achievement for Josh who only took up rugby 4 years ago.

Saturday, 26th April, 2008.

Pride of place this week must go to the Colts XV which engineered a magnificent tournament win at the Dalziel RFC Festival.

Drawn against Currie in their first game, Biggar were quickest off the mark to record an early try. In 10 minute halves the team which scores first has a great advantage and so it proved, Currie unable to get back : 5-0 to Biggar.

Ayr were next up and in a very tight game neither side could gain an advantage and the 0-0 score reflected the evenness of the contest. Greenock were Biggar’s third opponents but they were no match, Biggar running out convincing winners.

This led to a final against hosts side Dalziel. With the home support as expected very much with their own, Biggar had a tough match on their hands but they managed to maintain their unbeaten record as well as keeping a clean sheet – the only side in the tournament to do so.

Two scores eventually proved to be enough and Biggar collected the trophy – and are already looking forward to defending their win next season!

Biggar Colts Triumph at Dalziel Festival - Saturday 26th April, 2008.

The Biggar Colts were invited to the Dalziel Youth Rugby Festival on Saturday for the first time and won The Calder Trophy. They were the only unbeaten team with three wins and a draw against Currie, Greenock, Dalziel and Ayr respectively. In this, their last game of the season, the squad of 20, led by Captain John Hislop played some of the most attacking rugby in the tournament. They scored five tries via Peacock (2), Goodall (2) and Martin (1), four conversions Morrison (2) and McArthur (2) and one penalty by Morrison. In addition their defence was superb with only one try being conceded over the four games. This was an excellent way to finish the season, the players and coaches now take a well earned rest before preseason activities start in August.