Biggar Midis Home Page

Biggar RFC Midi section caters for those of high school age. We currently have teams in S1, S2, Under 15 and Under 16 age categories, as well as an Under 16 girls team. The gradual incorporation of full rugby union rules over the different age grades makes Midi rugby the perfect stepping stone for progression onto under 18s rugby and then to the senior game. All midi rugby teams train on a Wednesday night at the club at 6.45pm. 

Midi section games postponed

Sunday dawned cold and frosty and this meant that the Midi games scheduled – against Hawick, Linlithgow and Ayr – were all postponed. The frustration at these postponements was increased ten-fold when at 1pm the pitches had thawed sufficiently for a contact session to go ahead. Damned if you do….damned if you don’t!!

Details of the U-15 and U-16 cup games have yet to be finalised – hopefully there will be a decision this week.

This weekend is another international weekend with Scotland playing on Sunday against France. Despite the fact that several of the Midi age group purchased tickets weeks ago for the game it seems that those in the U-15 and U-16 age groups may well have to play in their respective knock out competition games and miss the international. Quite how this comes to be no one knows especially as the SRU strive to get folks to buy tickets for the games…!! Watch this space!

Development Officer Update

After a meeting this morning between Andy, the Vice-President and I it has been agreed that in the best interest of both parties Andy will stay in post until the beginning of March.
This will ensure that our commitments up until then are fulfilled properly, and will enable us to have all necessary documents in place for a new D.O. when appointed.
Dr. Doug Ward CBE.
President BRFC

Youth section news

There was no rugby action for anyone at the weekend as once again frost bound pitches at Currie and Portobello prevented play for the Youth sides on Sunday. These postponements are likely to rule out full completion of the Edinburgh U-15 and U-16 league programmes as the deadline for this competition is 19th February.
The sides will then enter into cup competitions the draws for which will be made on the 20th – details to follow whenever the draw is published.

There is some great news about the club’s Colts XV who finished top of their preliminary section of the Edinburgh Cup. They are now through to the Shield section although the next tie is currently delayed awaiting other sections to complete their programme of games.
In addition to this the top 4 finish in the EDU U-18 league means that they have qualified for the U-18 National Youth Cup; the first round of which is on 18th February 2012 and will be a home game against Hamilton. This is sure to be a touch encounter and will make for another exciting day at Hartreemill as the 1st XV face Peebles in Premier C action on the same day.
Meanwhile, and not to be outdone, Biggar High School’s U-16 side face Larbert High on Friday afternoon in the quarter finals of the Brewin Dolphin Bowl. The game will be played at Hartreemill and it is hoped that there will be a good turnout of supporters for this match. The winners will gain a place in the semi-finals against one of the following school, Trinity (Edinburgh), Westhill (Aberdeen), Plockton (Highlands), Madras (Fife), Shawlands (Glasgow) and Hawick (Borders).
Good luck to all involved.

Advance notice is given of a Girls Open Day scheduled for Sunday 19th February (1-4pm). This will be led by DO Andy Tither but will feature other club coaches as well. There is currently a strong group of S1 girls playing at Biggar High School and the hope is that this day will provide a spark for others to join.
The U-16 side achieved considerable success last season but with the squad diminished as they could not compete at U-18 level there is a pressing need to rejuvenate the girls section.
Central to this would be the involvement of a Girls coach. Anyone with an interest in driving what could be a very successful group forwards would be made more than welcome. It may be of course that the role could be shared, so please….think about it and if interested get in touch with the club.

The Girls Day will be one of the last official events Andy will attend in his capacity as DO as he tendered his resignation last week. A combination of reasons convinced him to leave although he has thoroughly enjoyed his work with the youngsters at the club.
He will return south where he hopes to pick up a similar role in local schools.
The club join in according Andy a sincere vote of thanks for his efforts and wish him well.
The post has once again been advertised and interested parties should check the SRU website for details.

Andy Tither Resignation

I regret to have to announce that our Development Officer, Andy Tither, has tendered his resignation and will be leaving us with effect from 29th February.

I am sure that everyone at Hartree Mill will join me in wishing Andy every success in his future career and offer our sincere thanks for all his hard work with the surrounding schools and at the Club.

Ian Conn,

Hon Secretary

U-16 v Penicuik

The Under 16’s were in action and again many thanks to Richard Adams for this report.
Biggar U16 61 Penicuik U16 7
After the festive break Biggar travelled away to Penicuik to complete the league season. All thought that it would take a while to get back into the flow of rugby after such a long break but Biggar were also looking to put things right after their last outing ended in defeat.
The worry of too much Christmas dinner causing a lack of fitness and skill within the Biggar team were brushed away within seconds as the Penicuik kick off went straight into the hands of Graig Stewart who ran all the way to the try line but knocked on. This was a clear sign of things to come as Pencuik simply could not get out of their twenty two. After doing everything but score, Biggar did finally cross their opponent’s line through Ryan Anderson. The visitors continued their dominance with Scott Graham scoring moments later and completed their impressive start after a surging run from Grant Hamilton, giving the away side an early 19 point lead with Jack Warnock again kicking well.
The points stopped flowing as Pencuik seemed to wake from their Christmas hangover and despite better play from the home side, Biggar added seven more points to their tally when Richard Adams scored and Warnock again converted.
The game then heated up a bit. Pencuik attacked Biggar and pushed them back, taking the spring out the visitors step. Penalty after penalty was given away by Biggar and they were pinned back and it allowed the home team to get on the scoreboard with a converted try from a long throw at a line out close to the line.
Biggar replied though with a try of their own from Danny McAllister after a back move worked perfectly. The first half ended as Biggar made the score 40-7 at the break with another try, this time from Warnock. However, Biggar were accused of chatting back to the ref and captain Anderson  was put in the sin bin before the interval.
The second half was much the same as the first with Biggar knocking hard at the Penicuik door in hope of more tries. McAllister scored again, Steven Campbell got a try and William Cooper got his first Biggar try with a fine run down the wing. Warnock continued his fine kicking from 2011 to make the score look even more emphatic.
A good, comfortable win for Biggar who will likely finish in the top four in the league, meaning there will be tougher games to come but, nevertheless, a very fine start to 2012 for the Under 16s.

U-15 and U-16 games this Sunday

Sundays U-15 and U-16 league games against Portobello both succumbed to water-logger pitches and this pretty much ends their rugby action for this year, training will resume in January.

U15s v Gala and U16s v Dunbar - 4/12/11

On Sunday, while the Mini and S1 and S2 games were all postponed the U-15 and U-16 sides managed to atke the field – cold though it undoubtedly was!
The U-15’s travlled to Gala in their league game. In the corresponding fixture last season and coincidentally in similalrly bleak conditions, Biggar were on the wrong end of a thumping. Comfidence has been growing however and although they still lost out, this group of players are to be commended on their efforts, the pack in particular rucking well and producing some great ball. Gala managed 3 good tries in the first half and a 4th early in the second but Biggar replied with 2 scores of their own. Mark Ewart and Richard Morgan got the Biggar tries.
Portobello is their detination next Sunday for the last league game prior to the Christmas break.

Biggar fail to tackle Dunbar challenge : Richard Adams
 

Dunbar U16           49  Biggar U16            45

With the league coming to an end, Biggar had three games left, including this Sunday’s trek to Dunbar. Biggar’s opponents were like a bag of liquorice allsorts, with their results being good, bad and indifferent so Biggar were again going to have to perform to keep the chase for second place alive.
With snow sprinkled across the ground in Biggar and the surrounding area in the morning, prospects of play seemed very low but past Edinburgh, the snow disappeared. Once arriving in Dunbar, the sun was shining and no snow in sight on a cold December morning near the East coast of Scotland. The hosts seemed up for the game with them training before half the Biggar squad had arrived, proving that Biggar should not have been complacent thinking that this game would be a walk over.
The game began and Biggar seemed to be still in their beds dreaming of a white Christmas with their tackling absent. Dunbar went over for a try. This should have been the wake-up call Biggar needed but it didn’t seem to be with again Dunbar breaking tackles and increasing the lead to ten very quickly, with both conversions missed.
Biggar finally got a grip of themselves and started to get pumped up for the match realising that this game was not going to be a walk in the park. Danny McAllister got a try back for the visitors, hoping to kick-start the revival but the try seemed to have the opposite effect, with the home side immediately adding five more points to their tally.
Biggar were struggling. The game seemed to be running away from them and they were unable to get a foothold in the game. Dunbar were winning the ball from every ruck, consistently ripping the ball out of tackles and offloading the ball well. This combined with Biggar missing tackles on a regular basis meant another try to the home side, increasing the lead to thirteen.
The nightmare first half continued. Biggar just couldn’t get anytime on the ball and when they had possession, Dunbar tackled everything and rucked really well, legal or not is debatable.

Biggar, on the other hand , were struggling to tackle anything and after another surge from Dunbar, they scored another five points in the corner. The hole Biggar were in was getting deeper and deeper. Heads seemed to be going now. There was moaning and bickering with the opposition and between themselves becoming almost as common as missed tackles from the visitors.
When another try was scored by a rampant Dunbar, the score was 32-7. Biggar were facing a mammoth challenge now to just get back into this game. With the knowledge this was a win or bust game, Biggar came out fighting and hit back after pressure in the home half resulted in Ryan Anderson crashing over from short range. And on the brink of half time, Biggar had something to shout about. Relentless pressure on the opponent’s tryline eventually ended in McAllister scoring in the left hand corner after a quick tap penalty. Jack Warnock added the extras with a brilliant kick, giving Biggar some hope with the score at 32-21 to the home side at the interval.
The break had come at the wrong time for Biggar however as they were on the front foot and Dunbar came out of the blocks quickly for the second half as Biggar dozed again. The home side scored an early second half try under the uprights after more poor tackling from the Biggar boys. This try was the first to be converted by Dunbar and made the lead eighteen points.
Biggar needed to act quickly and pushed the consistently offside Dunbar back line towards their own tryline. The continuous search for gaps in the home teams defence finally paid off when Biggar shipped it wide and scored in the corner. Warnock supplied yet another superb conversation, reducing the gap. The comeback then was well and truly on as Biggar added another try from Anderson wide left after more banging at the door. Warnock missed the kick but Biggar were now in striking distance.
Then a minute of madness.
The score was 39-33 but in the blink of an eye it was 49-33. Dunbar ripped the ball off Biggar  almost immediately from the kick off and scored. Only seconds later from Biggar’s restart, they collected the ball, passed it to their winger and he ran up the wing and over for another try. All of Biggar’s hard work was undone. Tackling, or lack of, once again being a main culprit for this shocking period.
Biggar fought back through a quick penalty in their twenty two, good hands feeding ball to Graham, who had been denied what seemed a perfectly good try earlier, cutting inside, scoring and leaving an easy conversion. 49-40. Nine points in it.
With time ticking away, Biggar mounted another charge at the Dunbar line. Both teams worked tirelessly but Dunbar cracked under the wave of Biggar pressure and Richard Adams got  the try Biggar needed. Warnock missed the conversion from out wide but if it hadn’t been for his fantastic performance with the boot, Biggar wouldn’t have even been close to Dunbar.
With four points in it, it was the final play. Dunbar deliberately kicked the kick off  straight out. The referee, unsure of what to do, asked around. Was it full time? Was it Biggar’s ball? After a few members of crowd and coaching staff were asked, the ref decided on a scrum at halfway to Biggar. This farce seemed pointless as Biggar lost the scrum, Dunbar booted the ball into touch and the game was now officially over.

A loss for Biggar is a bitter pill to swallow. It is going to be a struggle now to reach third place and second is almost impossible. Dunbar played well but Biggar will rue the vast amounts of missed tackles. Only two games remain for Biggar, who now need to hang on to get a top four finish and a place in the national cup.

U15s and U16s v Haddington - 27/11/11

Sunday’s programme was severely curtailed following the rain of the previous day and night, the Minis, S1 and S2 games all being cancelled.
Those games which did survive were the u-15’s and U-16’s who both entertained Haddington, and many thanks to the East Lothian club for agreeing to arrive and kick off earlier than had been scheduled, this as there was only the one playable pitch in Biggar.

The U-15’s were on the same number of league points as Haddington prior to kick off and both sides felt that given their previous results this would be an evenly matched contest.
That this was not particularly the case was down to a growing confidence within the Biggar camp.
The pack is now beginning to set back good ball consistently which not only puts their opponents on the back foot but importantly gives scrum half James Barr and the three-quarters a little extra time. Their handling is again developing and with a good combination of guile and strength, things are beginning to come good. This then all contributed to Biggar U-15’s second win in the league, and there was justifiable pleasure with it.
An opening try was credited to Liam Black who plunged through the Haddington defence and although there was some good fortune in Simon Denholms score (a suspicion of a knock on perhaps), it was nonetheless deserved as he chased a kick from Gregor Stewart. Stewart kicked conversions to both of these tries but was off target to the sides 3rd score, this from Robert Hall whose strong direct running gains lots of yards.
Turning round to play with the elements Biggar exerted further pressure to score 2 more tries one from Jamie Campbell and a second for Hall.

This was a very much-deserved win and suggests that with 3 league games remaining there is every chance of finishing the league on a real high.
Congratulations to all!

Biggar put up fighting performance against hostile Haddington (Richard Adams)

Biggar U16 s   52    Haddington U16s   0
After a comfortable win last week, Biggar were back to league duties this week with a home match against Haddington. Biggar, after a blank weekend, had dropped to sixth in the league but would climb back into second if both games they have in hand were won. Haddington sat fifth with no games in hand, indicating that Biggar would have to play well to be credited with a win.
The game began and what seemed only moments after the whistle had blown for the start of play, Danny McAllister scored. Biggar had attacked from the word go leaving the visitors stunned . Jack Warnock kicked the conversion, giving Biggar a seven point lead.
The visitors, who were playing downhill and with the wind on a blustery day at The Showfield , decided the boot would be the best way to keep Biggar in their own half. This seemed to be working, with Biggar making mistakes in the cold conditions. Biggar did, however, still look very dangerous on the ball and their strong running led to another try with Ryan Anderson scoring. There was an unfortunate clash between the two teams but it seemed like only a bit of handbags. And compared with what was to come, it was.
Haddington again got back into the Biggar half, camping in the twenty two. But again, Biggar were always able to make yards, missed tackles being a key feature of the visitors’ game and allowing  Biggar to score a 3rd try as Richard Adams crossed the line , this giving the hosts a commanding lead.
Biggar upped the tempo thereafter and it was their turn to spend  time in the opponent’s twenty two. Haddington didn’t like this one bit and, when Anderson was bundled into touch near the tryline, a fight broke out. They were very ugly scenes with rugby forgotten. Anderson was sent off for his part in the brawl but many players could have been off for the part they played in the clash.
Seconds later, McAllister appeared to score in the corner from the resulting lineout, but no try was awarded, this seeing another full on wrestling match takeplace.
Referee Ian McKeand, who handled both situations very well, called in the coaches, the teams went to opposite ends of the pitch and, after a five minute cool down, play got back under way and no repeat took place for the rest of the match.
Biggar maintained their dominance and added another try just before the interval when a quick tap from a penalty from five metres out, gave them a 26 point lead at the break.
The start of the second half was almost parallel to the start of the first but this time with Craig Stewart getting the early try. Biggar were in command and didn’t show signs of stopping.

McAllister scored again after a powerful run from just inside the opponents half, giving the home side a forty point lead. Warnock  was again kicking very well, only missing two conversions in the match in the wintry, windy conditions.
Warnock then got a try of his own, with the Haddington side wishing the full time whistle to blow to stop the constant Biggar assault. The scoring was complete after Aird Jardine sent a kick over the Haddington back line and chased down the full back. He slipped on the wet turf and Jardine glided over the line. Warnock missed the conversion and the final score was 57-0 to Biggar.
Despite the moments of indiscipline, this was another fine result and performance from Biggar. The result is unlikely to affect their league position unless other results go their way but, with further  victories,  second place in the league is still very much achievable!

Biggar 99 Preston Lodge 7 - U16s 20/11/11

A Biggar blitz (Richard Adams)
Biggar U16  99 Preston Lodge U16  7
Biggar only had a friendly this week as they had a break in the league fixtures. However, Preston Lodge were in the same league but had forfeited the scheduled match earlier in the season due to lack of players and Biggar wanted to keep up their momentum.
Not having enough players was again an issue for the visitors as they had only travelled with 11 men. This resulted in a compromise to the normal laws of rugby at this age with it turning into a 13 a side affair with Peter Struthers and Grant Hamilton offering their services to the other side.
The game kicked off and immediately it was clear this was going to be a very one sided affair with Graham running in two early tries. The tries continued to flood in throughout the first half through Warnock. Campbell, McAllister, Anderson and McCarry.  This was all a bit dull but the Preston Lodge No 8 thought he’d given the crowd something to talk about. After Warnock had passed the ball, he put in a late Sam Warburton style tackle on Warnock. The result of this was a sin bin to the Preston Lodge player, not a red like Warburton received. And unlike Warburton’s, this was probably not going to effect the outcome of the game.
With Preston Lodge’s player storming off, Biggar sacrificed another player to the opponents. This time in the form of Kevin McCarry. The second half continued in similar vein with the continuous try scoring of Biggar with Jardine, Cullen and more from Graham, McAllister and Anderson.
Preston Lodge did muster a try of their own and although it was Hamilton that scored for the visitors, it was a try none the less.
The game finished with Biggar just one point off triple figures, a good clinical performance from the team. The league fixtures are back next week with Biggar playing host to Haddington and looking to get into second place.

Coaches Meeting 28th November

This is just a reminder for all Youth Coaches. Please check your emails in respect of season plans and lets move forward to a succesfull New Year.

At least one representative from each age group would be fantastic

Andy Tither   Rugby Development Officer Biggar RFC coaching@vikingrugby.co.uk 07898 800911

U-16’s Boroughmuir

Following last Sunday's epic U-16 clash between Biggar and Boroughmuir - read Richard Adams excellent report on the Midi page - Aird received an e-mail from Boroughmuir coach David Ladd. Well done boys!

Hi Aird

Can you please pass on my regards to your team and coaches. Sunday was an enjoyable day (mostly). It was hard fought and one of the best games of rugby we have had the pleasure to play this season. Your players are a credit to the club. I suspect your team will be disapointed by the draw after playing so well. I hope circumstances will allow a friendly at some point later in the year.

Regards

David

Midi Report 13/11/11

On Sunday Boroughmuir provided the opposition at U-15 and U-16 level.
Following on from their great win last Sunday Biggar’s U-15 squad was looking to make further strides as they hosted a useful Boroughmuir outfit who have had a good season to date and who occupy 4th spot in the U-15 league.
Unfortunately while this was a fantastic opportunity to really build on the advances made recently Biggar had just 16 players available. Having said that please not the term ‘only’, as at the start of the season to have had 16 would have been a real bonus!
Biggar handled the opening salvos from Boroughmuir pretty well with much more shape evident in their play. The Biggar defence was tested but Biggar also managed to test their visitors defence with a  couple of forays deep into the B’muir half.
Boroughmuir were all, as expected, strong runners and able to play a deft handling game. This eventually paid off as a break from their 22 led to a score which in all truth was against the run of play.
This was much the case for the half, Biggar putting their visitors under pressure and onto a defensive role prior to making a half break and taking play back to the Biggar line. The visitors scored another 3 tries which took the game to half time.
Play was quite similar for the bulk of the half with Biggar often on the attack but unable to get the ball across the line.
B’muir ran in 3 tries in this spell before, with what were the final minutes of the game, a penalty was won on the B’muir 22 m line. A couple of passes later and winger William Greive was sent to the line for an excellent and ver well deserved score.
This Sunday is a ‘free’ Sunday for the Youth sections.

A battle without loss
Biggar U16                    34 Boroughmuir U16        34
The Biggar U16’s have had tough games from week one in this Edinburgh league but  have come through most with very good performances and good wins ,but their opponents, Boroughmuir, had played equally as well if league position was to go by. Biggar and Boroughmuir were joint third going into this match and both having games in hand on second place, making this game a real winner-takes-all contest.    

The weather was again as nice as it can be in Biggar at this time of year, possibly the reason for the rather large crowd from both sides that had made their way to the Showfield.
The game kicked off with both teams knowing how big a game this was. The early encounters showed this with mistakes and good defence from the two teams. It was a case of who was going to crack first.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, it was Biggar. A missed tackle in the midfield allowed Boroughmuir to break and score the first try of the match after a good run and support play down the right hand side. The conversion was missed giving the visitors a 5-0 lead.
This didn’t last long though as Biggar bounced back almost immediately. Biggar played rugby in the opposition half and after great offloading from the home team, they spun it wide to Graham, who went over to score, Warnock's conversion giving Biggar a narrow lead.
It was Boroughmuir’s turn to respond. They got the chance to mount an attack after a great restart gave them the ball in a good position. Biggar defended well but, whenever they got possession of the ball, they were unable to clear their lines successfully. Despite this, Boroughmuir were unable to create big gaps in the Biggar defence so a rather hopeful kick was stabbed through which Jardine ran back to put down ahead of the oncoming Boroughmuir player.
Queue some controversy.
Jardine appeared to put the ball down over his own line, giving Biggar a twenty two drop out. The ball bobbled away however and the Boroughmuir player dived on it and a try was awarded. Was there downward pressure from Jardine? Was the referee unsighted? Only a TV replay would show for sure what had happened but Biggar don’t quite have the technology to give the ref the luxury to watch the replay.
With this bizarre moment in the past, Biggar came back at Boroughmuir and scored a try of their own after a period of time in the opponent’s twenty two when Adams ploughed over from five yards after constant penalties were being given away by the travelling team.
Boroughmuir were again straight back at Biggar in what was becoming a very open and end to end game of rugby. Biggar struggled to gain territory under this pressure and good rucking from Boroughmuir kept the rural team on the back foot. Boroughmuir scored after more good forward work and then spinning the ball wide with the created overlap, making it 14-17 to Boroughmuir after two missed conversations.
Warnock got an important penalty with the last kick before the half time break. This came from a high tackle and when the game turned ugly moments  when a little bit of a “misunderstanding” between the two set of players turned into a bit of pushing and shoving. Tensions were bound to boil over with this being such an important match.
Half time came and went with the crowd wondering which way this game would swing next. The answer was to Biggar as, early on in the half, McAllister saw a gap between two players and went

through it with ease and strolled his way to the line. Warnock’s great kicking continued and his conversation gave Biggar a seven point lead.
This soon disappeared though with Boroughmuir going under the posts for a converted try to level things up once again. This constant replying from both teams was becoming a main feature, with neither team able to get clear daylight between themselves and their opposition.
This point was again true with Biggar going on the attack and getting a try to regain the lead after quick thinking from Campbell with a tap penalty which allowed him to power his way over, restoring the seven point lead with Warnock once again adding the extras.
Biggar looked like they may be the ones that would take the game by the scruff of the neck and score the killer try but, despite territory and possession for the home side, a knock on lead to Boroughmuir spinning the ball wide to their winger who ran into the open space down the left and touched down. The conversion was missed however so Biggar still had the slimmest of leads.
Biggar didn’t feel sorry for themselves and managed to win another penalty in kickable range. Warnock, whose 100% record was giving Biggar the lead they had, again slotted the kick beautifully between the uprights and gave Biggar a five point gap with only minutes left. Six out of six kicks is a hugely commendable performance.
Just when the crowd thought that might be it, Boroughmuir supplied a sting in the tail. The restart take was a mess by Biggar, giving the visitors possession. They surged forward, Biggar desperately trying to keep them out for a few more minutes. They continued to plough towards the Biggar line and, despite the defences’ bravest efforts, scored in the left hand corner. Scores were level with the conversation to come.
The conversation was missed but a retake was ordered by the ref as there had been some unsporting shouting from the home team! The drama in this game was unbelievable with the crowd chewing away on the finger nails they had left. Second time around was the same as the first and the scores were level. Then the ref blew the full time whistle.      
What a match! The controversial moments will be talked about with both sides probably feeling aggrieved for some reason or another but either team could have nicked it with a draw being the fairest of outcomes. Biggar were strong, almost doing enough and, on another day, second place in the league would be theirs but Boroughmuir played well and deserved to be credited with a share of the points.
On a day when we remember losses from the past, all could go home with out the pain of loss.

Midi Report 6/11/11

The Midi section were all at home on Sunday.
S1 : Biggar 39 Livingston 0
The S1 squad took off where they left last week with a resounding victory over the visitors. A total of 9 tries were scored in the game with the Biggar line rarely troubled. A great team effort.

S2 : Biggar 18 Livingston 30
Biggar S2’s took to the Showfield this Sunday with some trepidation as they had been totally outplayed by Livingston (away) the week before.
However, with a few words from coaches Allison and Hill the boys showed their loyal home supporters what had been missing from the week before.
From the kick off there was a great commitment to tackling and attacking the breakdowns. This held the visitors off for the first five minutes but the pressure told and a well worked try saw Livingston take the lead.  This spurred the home team into a further step up in effort and some strong running from Seb Potter and Peter Steele with strong support saw Biggar score two tries. Seeing that Livingston didn’t really fancy a taste of their own medicine (strong boys running

directly) Biggar stayed on the front foot and another try from Potter following another surging run  was soon followed by a break by fly half Henry Adams from his 10 metre line which took him over the try line.
Livingston replied soon after against some huge tackles from Biggar, especially Scott Thomson and Ross Jackson, this leaving the half time score at Biggar 14 Livingston 7. The whole touchline was in a state of shock but very proud of the character shown from all of the local boys .
Livingston coaches did a good job in the interval and their charges scored straight away in the second half by supporting well and making space for their stronger runners.  As Biggar tired, following their efforts of the first period ,Livingston made more space and ran in 6 unanswered tries in the next 20 minutes. However the Biggar boys were able to summon up one last charge and Potter finished off a good move with his third try to finish the match on a high.
Despite the defeat the S2’s can take great heart from this performance and if they are able to carry this on for the season some great rugby awaits. They will have learnt that if you really want to you can get a huge amount from this game as a team with strength and character. Well done boys.

Biggar U-15 17 Livingston 0
It’s been a long time coming but the huge cheer which reverbated around the Showfield on Sunday came from the U-15 squad as they first of all scored their first try for some 5 weeks and then just less than 30 minutes later when referee David Adams blew for full time to signal Biggar’s first league win of the season.
Having suffered some real thumpings it says much of the squad that they have continued to appear in their nummbers for training on Wednesdays and have continued to work together on each match day.
Able again to select from the 19 players in attendance Biggar opened strongly and gave their visitors very little room to play. Indeed Biggar should have had not one but 3 tries in this opening salvo but on each occasion ball was not properly grounded as the Livingston defence strove successfully to halt the Biggar steamroller.
Happily Stewart Manock was eventually able to breech the Livingston defence for a score under the posts which Gregor Stewart converted for 7-0.
This was also the score at half time and while the side was relatively confident in their approach, Livigston made thogs a little more difficult as they romped over from a distance to open their account.
An 8-3 half time elad was barely going to be enough but the Biggar side stuck to their guns and manged to run in 2 more scores, courtesy of  Andrew Orr and Liam Black, one of which Stewart converted to give them their 17-0 victory and 2 comfortable league points.
Livingston had been keen to play 3x20 minute periods with the 3rd period used as a development game. This is often a far less structured period with players given the chance to play a different position and so it proved with far less focus from those involved. With all that in mind the contribution of newcomer Lian McCarry was oustanding, his defence passing a the test and an offload for a try beiong of the hgihest order.
Biggar ran in 2 good tries in this period, Martin Hunter running in the first and Adam Gibb taking McCarry’s offload for the second. Stewart converted one.
A grand day!!

Biggar U16        59 Forrester U16   5
After the impressive 13 man win for Biggar over Heriots last Sunday, the U-16’s played host to a Forrester side who were in 2nd spot. A Biggar would see them leap frog the Edinburgh outfit and take that 2nd spot position for themselves.
Once the early morning frost had disappeared, it was a great day for rugby with the only possible natural hazard the sun that blazed down, providing a possible distraction to the eye when attempting to catch high ball.
Biggar flew out the blocks and got an early try through Craig Stewart after the forwards ground their way to the line and, although the conversation was missed, the lead was extended to 12 soon after with Danny McAllister going almost unchallenged to the line after a lovely Biggar backs move and the decisive break by McAllister.
It was a good start for Biggar but Forrester’s weren’t going to lie down. They controlled the game after Biggar’s second try and Biggar struggled to defend against the constant Forrester’s tryline onslaught. The visitors had the ball over the line after persistent pressure but Biggar held the ball up. This seemed insignificant when the inevitable try came from the resulting five metre scrum with the Forrester backs going blind side and Biggar unable to cover.
Biggar started to get back into the game but Forrester’s still looked very dangerous with ball in hand. The next try would be vital for the outcome of the game. And it was Biggar who got it with them spinning ball wide to the wing Richard Adams breaking a few tackles before  being brought down close to the Forrester line. Fortunately Steven Campbell was on hand and when the attempted pass rolled along the ground, Campbell hacked the ball on with his foot and touched down. Things got even better for Biggar when, after a long stay in the travelling sides twenty two, Ryan Anderson managed to force his way over the line just before the half time whistle blew leaving the score at 24-5 to the home team.
After the break, Biggar seemed to go up a gear in their performance and again came at Forrester with attack after attack. In spite of Forrester’s defence holding strong, forcing errors from Biggar, they couldn’t seem to get into the Biggar half to get a try to put them right back into the game. Eventually, the regular Biggar attacks were too much for Forrester and Adams went over for a try to give the visitors the feeling the game was drifting further away from them. The Biggar lead was
increased to 33 with Reece Cullen scoring after great play down the right hand side, leaving Forrester’s to moan at the ref, hoping he had spotted an infringement. But he hadn’t and Biggar continued to rack up the points with Jack Warnock scoring and converting his own try, making the score 45-5. The game then became hampered by mistakes and, even though they made some great breaks down both flanks of the pitch, no more points were added until Adams made a break. He was brought down just outside the opponents 22 and, due to some fantastic support play, was able to pop it to McAllister who went under the posts.
The game ended shortly after but not before McAllister was able to complete his hat trick, giving the home side a comfortable 59-5 win against a tough Forrester team. Biggar move up to second after the result but will have to keep performing well if they want to stay there.

Midi’s 30/10/11

RHC 29 Biggar 0
After a fortnight lay off Biggar travelled to Barnton to take on the RHC club’s U-15 side who like Biggar were winless prior to this game.
There were high hopes that Biggar would make strides forward after some hefty thumpings but as it is sometimes things don’t always go to plan. On this occasion and in contrast to several other weeks in this league programme, RHC had a full strength XV in opposition. Very encouragingly Biggar had 20 boys available, this posing some major selectorial problems for the coaches to mull over – but what a happy position to be in!?!
Sadly the numbers couldn’t provide the possession or pace to trouble the home side who ran in 3 tries prior to half time. Little went right for Biggar although their defence was pretty solid throughout, plaudits to Simon Denholm for his sterling defensive chores.
RHC added another 2 tries after the break.
Confidence is such a big factor at this age and improvements in ‘performance’ are less popular in this respect than a ‘win’. It isn’t always easy to believe but it will come!

Biggar U16’s      45    Heriots U16’s   29
After a great 12-10 victory over Murrayfield Wanderers three weeks ago, the Biggar Under 16s were ready, after a long break from the last match, for another classic encounter with an Edinburgh side. This time in the form of Heriots:
Just after arriving, Biggar realised we had quite a large problem as our squad lacked “strength in depth” as only 14 of us arrived at the ground. Panic spread. Could we play? Would we get the points if we won? Ideas of sending on anyone to come on, fake injury and leave, possibly reducing the other team to fourteen men as well. This suggestion was quickly brushed aside as it wasn’t exactly the most sporting of ideas.
As the teams huddled together, coaches giving the final words of encouragement, it was confirmed that we were allowed to play with fourteen, but Heriots would have 15. Going a man down at anytime can be disasterous, so as we’d have one less player for the whole game, we knew it was going to be an uphill struggle.
But it seemed anything but. After early pressure in the Heriots half from Biggar ,  Jardine  put in a great kick that bounced straight into the hands of Warnock, who went over for the first try. Biggar continued to put the pressure on and seconds later had another try. After good work in midfield from Biggar,   Struthers took it out the back of a ruck , going under the posts after a surging run. The astonishing early start was complete when Adams snapped the ball up after a sloppy pass from Heriots in the Biggar twenty two and it was a straight run to the line for Biggar’s third try, of which two of the three were converted, and a lead of 19.
Heriots decided they’d better wake up and pressure was soon put onto Biggar, who seemed unable to get out their own half after the landslide of tries. This pressure was soon turned into points with Heriots scoring their opening try. There was no panic in the Biggar ranks until Heriots scored their second try just moments later. Was all Biggar’s early hard work going to be cancelled out almost immediately?
Wave after wave of Heriots attack came flowing at Biggar with them still being camped deep in their own territory. Biggar’s ill discipline was costing them , as moaning at suspect referring decisions was allowing Heriots to pin them back. After fantastic defence from Biggar holding the

ball up over the line, the inevitable third levelling try came from the resulting five yard scrum. Biggar held on and went into the half time break level after letting the early lead they’d achieved slip.
After words of wisdom from the coaches, it was time for the second half. The second half started quietly until Sinclair, who had played fantastically up to this point, was tackled and stayed down, clearly in a lot of pain. The game continued however and Jardine broke down the left, being tackled just short of the try line. He tried to offload, the ball hit the floor and a scramble commenced. The result of this was a Biggar try which, bizarrely, hadn’t been blown up for an infringement and Biggar regained the lead.
The consequences of this try were serve though. Sinclair’s injury was a very serious one. He was going to have to leave the field, leaving Biggar with thirteen men. This only seemed to inspire Biggar even more with Anderson crashing over after a great run from McAllister from the restart to extent the lead to 12 after Warnock converted the try.
Heriots struck back after a wayward lineout on the Biggar five metre line lead to a Heriots try, putting them back in touching distance. Biggar responded brilliantly with Anderson running from the half way line, weaving in and out of defenders, to the try line to score again for Biggar, restoring the gap. And when Leek scored the 7th try, the game seemed safe. But Heriots made their two man advantage count, making the Biggar defence work tirelessly to keep them out ,but they got through the line and scored, leaving the score at 45-29.
Biggar played the rest of the game in the Heriots’ half, not allowing them to get the sixteen points they craved and when the Heriots’ wing  was bundled into touch on the last play, Biggar had won the match with blood, sweat and not many players. It was a fantastic effort from everyone and a great win, moving Biggar into 2nd place in the league with two games in hand. Biggar continue their climb up the leader board.

Round Up for 9/10/11

S1 v Dunfermline
The Fife side forgot their strips for this game and so had to borrow a set from the host club. A strong unit who trained throughout the summer the Dunfermline squad have not lost for some years and so it was no surprise that they recorded a hefty win b+-y around 9-2.

U-16’s
Biggar 14       Murrayfield Wanderers 10
With Murrayfield Wanderers sitting at the top of the league having played 5, won 5 this was always going to be a game that required Biggar to dig deep.
Playing on the G4 astro turf at Murrayfield also added a different dimension to the game as of late, both training and games for the Biggar boys has been on wet muddy pitches.
Wanderers took a controversial lead in the 7th minute when as their player was tackled and held close to the try line, he appeared to make another movement to ground the ball for a try. The referee from his position failed to see this second movement and the try was awarded.
Biggar however came straight back into the game and with Aird Jardine gaining possession on the Wanderers 22, he moved the ball through the defence with a grubber kick which he then managed to gather and run over the line. With Jack Warnock converting, this put Biggar 2 points ahead.
This point advantage was however not long-lived as Wanderers moved the ball out from a scrum to the their winger who carried the ball over the line in the 18th minute..
At half time Biggar were 3 points down, however, the game was there to be won as Biggar were clearly not being outclassed. With 15 minutes to go, Aird Jardine again secured the ball just inside the 22 and having sold the Wanderers defence two dummies, ran the ball under the posts for an easy kick for Jack Warnock.
The last 10 minutes saw much of the play near the Biggar try line, however, excellent defending kept Wanderers at bay and as the final whistle blew the disbelief in their players faces was obvious.
Scorers :
Tries:- Aird Jardine (2) Conversions:- Jack Warnock (2)

U-15’s v Lasswade
Biggar made the relatively short journey east to Lasswade for this latest league fixture. The squad continues to grow in size with no fewer than 18 players in attendance and with another 3 who are still injured and/or unavailable for whatever reason.
Playing on the new Lasswade pitches and into a huge gale Biggar struggled to find much flow about their play. They did have almost all of the territorial advantage and the bulk of possession so it was doubly galling when, as they were on attack, the ball was spirited away, the swift Lasswade centre managing to sprint almost 100 metres to score a fine opportunist try.
Minutes later and an error at the scrum base saw ball spilled wide for the home scrum to disrupt the heel, this yielding ball for the Lasswade scrum half who was quickest to dive and score.
After several barren games Biggar did eventually manage a try of their own and there was no more deserving scorer than Simon Denholm who made the most of the half chance presented to him to cross in the corner.
Try as they did the Biggar squad could not cross the Lassswade line again and the home team ran out victors by 12-5. This was another big step up however and with progress continually being made there is a good time coming!