Arran 7’s, 12th April, 2008.

Biggar began their 7’s circuit with a trip to the Isle of Arran, after receiving an invitation through Arran local Ally Walker. A young team was assembled with an average age of 19, the most senior player being Scott ‘The Doctor’ Watson at the ripe old age of 23. An early morning start obviously wasn’t early enough as the boys managed to find themselves catching the ferry literally minutes before it sailed (possibly due to an unexpected diversion through Morrisons fine wines department!). Nevertheless the ferry was caught and the boys arrived on a sun drenched Arran, something which this reporter thinks the island hadn’t seen much of recently judging by the softness of the pitch.

The tournament itself was made up of 12 teams split into four groups of three where Biggar were pitted against two invitational sides from Morgan and Edinburgh, forming without doubt the hardest of all the groups. Biggar played their first game against Morgan. Being the fourth game of the day the pitch had suffered quite a bit, particularly in the centre, where quite a mud bath had appeared, a big disappointment for the Biggar boys who were keen to unleash their speed merchants Chris ‘White Cider it’s a bargain!’ Mckeand and Mohammed ‘Call me Hani even though that’s not my name’ Darwish on the unsuspecting Fifers. As is usually the case with the first game of a tournament, the encounter was hardly champagne rugby but through superior skills and speed along with grit and determination Biggar come out on top. Scoring was opened by White Cider followed by Ally ‘Arran Turncoat’ Walker, Lewis ‘3 Robinsons Blackcurrant for £2! I’m taking some home!’  Mclachlan and The Doctor with White Cider converting three times to make a final score of 26-12.

Biggar’s second match against Edinburgh was greeted by wolf whistles from the crowd in appreciation for the skin tight tops sported by both teams. The Edinburgh outfit were in no doubt up for the encounter and would have had an eye on the silverware on offer. This became apparent from the offset as they scored in the first minute, added a second soon after and dominated the first half with Biggar touching the ball once. However, this was a vital touch as ball was turned over by Billy the Scandal and shifted to White Cider, who ran in 80 metres to score under the sticks, which he converted. In the second half, Biggar woke up and dominated play. The next score came via a superbly executed chip and chase from Michael ‘Hot Pants’ Mckeand; unconverted. Biggar were still down by 14-12 and time was running out. A break from White Cider took play into the opposition 22 where ball was quickly recycled and good hands saw the ball shifted from touchline to touchline where The Doctor offloaded out of the tackle to the shoe laces of Hot pants. Your average player would no doubt have fumbled such a poor pass but Hot pants is no average player and with fingers like superglue he gathered 3 inches off the ground to run in the remaining 10 metres to clinch the game. Again, this was unconverted by the lesser talented White Cider. Biggar closed out the final minute to win the group and qualify for the semi finals of the cup.

The Semi’s saw Biggar face a strong Marr side with many first team regulars who were no doubt going to be stiff opposition. Again Biggar started slow and went down by a converted score early on. This was cancelled out by a fine score from the Doctor who was the rock in midfield all day. But again, Biggar fell behind by another try out wide, leaving the half time score at 12-7 to Marr. The second half saw a replacement being made as the Turncoat suffered a heavy knock to his vulnerable nose for the second time in a month; at this rate it’s going to be broken enough to straighten out! Nevertheless an able replacement in John ‘Can We Spoon?’ Murphy took to the field and the captaincy was handed from Turncoat to The Scandal. Again Biggar came back in the second half with White Cider profiting from a “Hani” turnover and pass to round the defence and score out wide in front of the newly acquired Morgan fans. White Cider then responded to the crowd’s cries for a left footed drop goal and duly converted with arguably the best kick of the day. The winning try for Biggar came once again from that man Hot pants who, through a piece of individual brilliance, took the ball from inside his own 22, stepped three defenders and raced to the corner for without doubt the try of the tournament. Final score 19-12 to Biggar and a place in the final.

Before the Cup final, the final of the plate was played between Edinburgh and the President’s 7 which was won by Edinburgh, who had stormed through the Semi’s as well, a testament to the effort of the Biggar boys to have come from behind to beat such a strong side.

In the final of the cup, however, Biggar faced a very strong Irvine team who again fielded a number of first team regulars, several of which were recognized from the Scottish cup meeting between the two sides last year. Irvine also happened to be the three times reigning champions, possibly a reason for the overwhelming support that Biggar received from the crowd, particularly from the Morgan boys who actually had bets on who would be the first Biggar player to score. But once again Biggar weren’t the first to score as Irvine’s South African scrum half went over in the corner. This was followed by another Irvine score which left the half time score at 12-0, leaving Biggar with a hard second half to come. Another replacement was made at half time with ‘Can we Spoon?’ being replaced by Andrew ‘LEGEND’ Gauld who had been drafted into the squad from Marr to replace the injured Turncoat. Biggar did respond well though to the mountain they had to climb and a mazy cross field run 10 metres out combined with several dummies to Robinson’s Blackcurrant saw the Scandal go through the gap to touch down for his usual try of the season and one which if he hadn’t scored would no doubt have seen his boyishly good looking head ripped clean off by a screaming Robinsons Blackcurrant who would have had an easy run into the corner. This was unconverted. The second half wore on with both teams looking threatening but despite several attempts Biggar just couldn’t break through the strong Irvine defence and when Biggar were awarded a scrum on their own 22 with the call of “Last Play” from the ref saw this reporters head dip. Nevertheless play went on and Hot pants fed into the scrum and ball was shipped wide to The Doctor who drew the tackle and offloaded to LEGEND who then ran in 80 metres to score under the posts and book his place as honorary Biggar member for the rest of his life. This left the conversion needed to take it into extra time and sudden death so it was up to White Cider who had been by far the most accurate kicker of the tournament all day…talk about pressure! Nonetheless he didn’t let his team mates down and stroked it right through the middle.

The teams swapped ends again and sudden death (first to score wins) kicked off. Fatigue was apparent on both sides, shown particularly when Hot Pants (who had a fantastic tournament and would surely have been in contention for player of the tournament if such an award had existed) was through one on one with his opposite number and despite managing to slip through the grasp of the defender he was brought down by the covering defence. A few minutes later though saw excellent turnover ball won on the half way by White Cider who fed “Hani” who drew his man and fed Robinsons Blackcurrant whose speed, which has been under question since breaking his hand, didn’t fail him and to huge roars from the crowd and even louder ones from his team mates, including team mascot Sean ‘Worst Water Boy EVER!’ Beagan (who had been unable to play due to hamstring injury) raced in 50 metres with 7 Irvine players on his tail to score the winning try and to bring the trophy home to Biggar.

So a fantastic day was followed by a fantastic night out on the island with particular thanks going out to the Walker family for providing digs for the boys with a return trip next year to defend the trophy definitely on the books.  

Team:

1-Billy The Scandal
2- Lewis ‘3 Robinsons Blackcurrant for £2! I’m taking some home!’ Mclachlan
3-Mohammed ‘Call me Hani even though that’s not my name’ Darwish
4-Michael ‘Hot pants’ Mckeand
5-Chris ‘White Cider it’s a bargain!’ Mckeand
6-Scott ‘The Doctor’ Watson
7-Ally ‘Arran Turncoat’ Walker ©
8-John ‘Can We Spoon?’ Murphy
9/mascot- Sean ‘Worst Water Boy EVER!’ Beagan
10- Andrew ‘LEGEND’ Gauld

Hawick 7’s, 19th April.

After a successful weekend on Arran the week before, Biggar travelled to Hawick for their second tournament of the sevens season. A somewhat changed team saw Alan Warnock and Douglas Notman join Lewis Mclachlan in the scrum whilst Davy Reive and Sam Muir combined with Michael and Chris Mckeand to form the back line, whilst Hani Darwish dropped to the bench where he was joined by Connor Lavery and Derek Brown.

Biggar’s first tie was against current premier one champion’s Boroughmuir. Odds of 12-1 for Biggar to win showed just how people were expecting the encounter to go. However, quite possibly due to hosting their own tournament the next day, it became apparent that Boroughmuir had not fielded their strongest side. Nonetheless, Biggar played very good sevens and through tries from M. Mckeand (2), C. Mckeand, Muir, and Reive of which three were converted a final score of 31-0 was a very much fair reflection of the game.

Biggar’s second tie was against the Kooga Wailers (Newcastle Academy). Newcastle, having won the tournament for the past three years, were no doubt one of the hot favourites to win the tournament. Despite this though, Biggar started in the best possible way and through tries from C. Mckeand and Reive (converted) went 14-0 up, much to the surprise and joy of the crowd. However, a try from Newcastle just before half time put a dampener on things and left the half time score at 14-5. Another try (converted) from Newcastle brought things even closer but with some brilliant defence, particularly from Muir, Biggar thought they had done enough. However, after a rather dubious decision saw the Newcastle defender not penalised for what some may have called holding on five metres from his own try line saw ball recycled and spun wide and despite a good chase and attempted tap tackle which saw the Newcastle player stumble from M. Mckeand, he remained on his feet and scored under the sticks.

Some well deserved praise must be given to the boys after two very good performances, something which the boys hoped to repeat the next day at the Meggetland Sevens.

Meggetland 7’s, 20th April.

After a good performance the previous day at Hawick, Biggar were hoping to do well at Meggetland. Again a few changes had been made to the team with Connor Lavery replacing Sam Muir to join Davy Reive and Michael and Chris Mckeand in the backline whilst a morning call off from Alan Warnock meant Billy Scanlon and Lewis Mclachlan were joined by Derek Brown in the scrum. This meant an extra man was needed to join Ally Walker and Hani Darwish on the bench so an early morning call saw a welcome return to Biggar colours by Wikus Van Staden.

Having reached the semi finals the year before, Biggar went in as a seeded team which meant they were confident when drawn against Forrester in the first round. A good start from Biggar saw M. Mckeand score two almost identical tries under the posts which were both converted. However, complacency began to sink in and Forrester came back into the game with two tries of their own leaving the half time score at 14-12. Biggar woke up a bit though in the second half and scored an extra two tries through Lavery and C. Mckeand leaving the final score 26-12.

Biggar’s quarter final was against Meggetland; almost a carbon copy of the team they had faced at Hawick. Again Biggar started well as they had the previous day and scored twice with tries from the Mckeand brothers, both converted. However, Biggar’s happiness was to be short lived as a stamp from Davy Reive was deemed by the referee as too near the head and saw the said player receive a red card which ruled him out for the rest of the tournament. Shortly afterwards, Meggetland made use of the extra man and scored a try of their own, making the half time score 14-7. The second half though saw the remaining Biggar six play some of their best defensive sevens so far and with further tries from Mclachlan and C. Mckeand brought the score to 24-7. Meggetland did score another try but this was somewhat of a consolation score and left the final score at 24-14 to Biggar and a place in the semi-finals.

In the semi final, Biggar met the full strength of the hosts. With the absence of Reive, Scanlon was moved to scrum half whilst Van Staden was brought into the scrum. From the offset it was clear why Meggetland were one of the favourites to win the tournament; their all round superior pace and fitness saw them go into the second half 19-0 up. This was added to soon after by a further score but Biggar did respond through a good run from C. Mckeand (by this time now perhaps recovered from his 21st the night before!) who rounded his man from the half way and beat the covering defence to score in the corner. However, two further scores from Meggetland brought the score to 36-5. Biggar  never gave up throughout the whole match and had the last laugh with a somewhat unorthodox for sevens rumble over by Van Staden to make the final score 36-10 to Meggetland, who also went on to win the final with a very good and well deserved 19-5 victory over hot favourites and defending champions Edinburgh Rugby.

So a good weekend of sevens saw Biggar turning heads and firmly establishing themselves as a serious sevens side this year, something which they will want to build on next weekend when they have another two tournaments; Stirling on Saturday and Peebles on Sunday. A good crowd of Biggar support would no doubt be appreciated by the players. 

Stirling 7’s - April 26th.

On Saturday, Biggar travelled up to Stirling to participate in their sevens tournament. Their opening game saw them face the host side which they knew very well was going to be a hard tie. This proved to be the case as the boys didn’t play up to the standards they had set the previous week at Hawick and Boroughmuir and went down heavily by 38-12 with scores coming from Sam Muir and Lewis McLachlan and a conversion from Chris Mckeand.

This defeat meant Biggar were entered into the plate competition where they faced Aberdeen who had been narrowly defeated 19-12 in their first round game against Edinburgh Rugby - so again Biggar knew they faced stiff opposition. This didn’t bother them though and with the Stirling game behind them, played great sevens in the first half to score three unanswered tries (from Alan Warnock, Conor Lavery and Sam Muir). Aberdeen got back into the tie early in the second half with a converted try of their own but Biggar sealed the win with another score from Muir. Aberdeen did respond though with two late tries but this proved to be too little too late and Biggar emerged 26-19 victors and progressed to the semi-finals.

In the semi’s Biggar faced a very physical Falkirk team. Again Biggar started off the better of the two and scored two first half tries from C. Mckeand and Lavery with Mckeand converting one. Falkirk did reply in the second half with an unconverted try of their own but with some brilliant defence and hard work Biggar managed to keep Falkirk at bay and close out the game. Final score 12-5 and a place in the final.

The final saw Biggar play Boroughmuir for the fourth time in three tournaments. A final also of which was surrounded with controversy over a couple of player transfers which saw Boroughmuir field a Falkirk and a Munster player (who later collected the player of the tournament award).

It was evident that Boroughmuir had not sent their full strength squad but despite this it was Boroughmuir who started off the better with two tries and one conversion. Biggar responded quickly though and a try from Michael Mckeand saw them go into half time trailing 12-7. Boroughmuir again had the better start in the second half and scored again. However, Biggar responded instantly from the kick off and McLachlan caught the kick and scored for Biggar. Boroughmuir extended their lead with another try to make the score 24-12 but again Biggar were soon to respond with a try from C. Mckeand to make the score 24-19 to Boroughmuir. The remaining few minutes saw Biggar camped in their own 22 but a break from Sam Muir gave hope to Biggar but it was not to be as the scrum half was chased down by Boroughmuir’s new signing from Munster and the final whistle blew to end a frustrating game for Biggar.

Team: A. Warnock, L. Mclachlan, D. Brown, C. Lavery, S. Muir, M. Mckeand, C. Mckeand, H. Darwish, A. Walker.
 
Peebles 7’s - April 27th.

Following on from their successes over the previous weeks, Biggar were determined to do well at the Peebles Sevens on Sunday, a tournament at which success for Biggar has been lacking over the past few years. Biggar were drawn against Haddington in the first round, a team which, from experience over the Division 2 season this year, Biggar knew only too well would be strong. It was Haddington who were quickest off the mark and within moments from kick off were 7-0 up. Biggar did respond though with an interception try from Chris Mckeand but went behind when Haddington scored again. Biggar were last to score in the first half when an offload from Michael Mckeand saw Iain Renwick run under the posts to score in his first sevens game of the year. Half time 12-12.

The second half saw Biggar really open up and play and in a half which never saw Haddington look like scoring Biggar ran in three more tries. Lewis McLachlan took the first right from kick off by taking advantage of a lapse in the Haddington concentration to take the ball on the full and score. The second came from a run down the wing from M. Mckeand to step his man and score under the posts and the last saw C. Mckeand receive another offload out the tackle from his brother to touch down. Final score 31-12.

The quarter finals saw Biggar play Melrose. Biggar were first off the mark in this encounter when a break from Sam Muir who, with a choice of no less than four supporting players, chose to pop back inside to Renwick who ran in under the sticks. Biggar further added to their score when quick, neat hands saw McLachlan calmly touch down for a converted try. Biggar finished off the first half the way they started with a third when scrappy ball was pounced upon and ball was shipped to the waiting M. Mckeand on the touchline to score in the corner. Half time 19-0. The second half saw Biggar play much like they had in the first bar from two slip up’s which saw Melrose touch down twice. However, a try from C. Mckeand and a good step and dart through the gap from Muir to score under the posts saw Biggar seal the win by 31-10.

The semi-finals saw Biggar face possibly one of the most successful sevens teams in Scotland, Watsonians. Having practically walked through the previous two rounds Biggar knew they had nothing to lose against the Edinburgh side and went all out. Despite some very hard work and good defence though Biggar could only manage one score to Watsonians three. This score coming near the end of the match when Ally Walker rounded his man on the wing and sprinted in 40 metres to score. Final score 21-5 to Watsonians who went on to beat Peebles in the final 42-17.

So again another weekend of sevens of which the Biggar team can hold their heads high. Next Saturday (3rd May) Biggar will be playing at the Walkerburn sevens, a tournament which will no doubt see the Biggar boys with their eye on some silverware so again support would no doubt be appreciated from the players.

WINNERS!!!! Walkerburn 7’s, 3rd May.

Biggar continued their sevens season on Saturday with a trip down to Walkerburn. Over the past two years Biggar have competed well at this particular tournament reaching the semi-final stages on both occasions but after such good performances over the past few weeks, Biggar were going down with a definite eye on the silverware.

Biggar fielded much the same team as they did at Peebles with only one change; Billy Scanlon returning to join Lewis McLachlan and Alan Warnock in the scrum. Iain Renwick, Sam Muir, Michael McKeand and Chris McKeand making up the back line whilst Conor Lavery, Ally Walker and Derek Brown made up the bench.

Biggar kicked off their first tie against Edinburgh Accies in front of a large Biggar support. Scoring was opened quite soon for Biggar with a try from C. McKeand. This was followed by another two scores from Biggar before half time from Scanlon and Muir and a conversion by C. McKeand to take the half time score 17-0.  This the boys knew could have been more if they had played to the standards they had set in previous tournaments.

The second half saw a much improved Biggar performance and a further three tries scored this time from Warnock, Renwick and M. McKeand with two more conversions from C. McKeand to make the final score 36-0.

Biggar then had a bit of time to relax and watch a few games before their next game. One game in particular was Duns against the Presidents seven, a seven which saw three Biggar players play, Scott Watson, Hani Darwish and Callum Moorhouse. But despite good performances from all three, particularly Darwish, who seemed to act as the playmaker of the team, they were defeated 24-0.

Biggar’s second game was against possibly the favourites and the reigning champions, Hawick. Having been put out by Hawick last year, Biggar were keen to get revenge and started off exactly the right way with two tries from Scanlon and Muir. However, Biggar took their foot off the pedal for a few minutes and let Hawick back into the tie with two tries of their own to go into half time at 12-12.

The second half saw Hawick start the better with a try to make the score 17-12. However, Biggar heads stayed up and they were back into the game with a try from Renwick but this wasn’t converted and so the score remained level at 17-17. Straight from the kick off though M. McKeand gathered loose ball and made a scything run through the Hawick defence to score under the posts and seal the victory for Biggar. Final score 24-17.

Biggar were to meet yet another strong team in the semi-finals in the form of local rivals Peebles. Peebles were no doubt up for the encounter and played with a very high level of physicality. This suited Biggar as it meant they could use their skills and speed to a much higher effect. Once again, Biggar started off well with a try from M. McKeand in the corner, followed by one from brother Chris to go12-0 ahead.

Peebles responded with an unconverted try but Biggar finished off the half the way they started with a second for C. McKeand. Half-time 19-5. The second half saw Biggar add to their tally with a try from Warnock. Biggar were then forced into a substitution when M. McKeand got on the wrong end of a wild forearm ‘tackle’ which saw him replaced by Lavery. Biggar finished off their opponents with a final try from C. McKeand to round off his hat trick and to make the final score 31-5 and a place in the final.

Biggar met Selkirk in the final and despite believing they deserved to win as they had by far the hardest run in to this stage, they also knew they would have to work even harder to win the trophy.

After some deliberation M. McKeand ruled himself fit to play and the same starting team lined up. Happily there were no signs of the knock he received against Peebles and indeed it was M. McKeand who opened the scoring for Biggar with a try. This was soon followed by a try from Warnock. Not to be outdone Selkirk came back with two scores of their own and went into half time just two points adrift at 14-12.

Biggar were once again first out of the starting blocks, however, with a try from Renwick to extend their lead. A try from Muir put Biggar into a much more comfortable position to make the score 24-12 but an unconverted try from Selkirk made the final 2 minutes very tense as the Border side chased the try which would have taken the game into extra time. In their desperation to score, mistakes were inevitable and a misplaced pass in the centre from Selkirk saw M. McKeand pick up cleanly and run in from 60 metres under the posts to secure the victory and bring home the silverware for Biggar. Final score 31-17 and some payback for the disappointment for the XV-a-side defeat for the promotion game in March.

So once again a very good performance from the Biggar lads but this time the squad has something tangible to show for it. Congratulations to all but particularly to Sam Muir who also picked up the Player of the Tournament award.

This Saturday Biggar travel to Cartha QP in Glasgow to participate in the annual Glasgow sevens.

Glasgow City Sevens - 10th May, 2008.

Glasgow City Sevens, the final tournament of the year; and much deserved silverware was won, albeit the Plate rather than the Cup. The confidence has been growing in this squad over the last month, probably from being in the fortunate position of consistently fielding a settled 7 for the 7 tournaments they had been invited to. The work rate of Alan Warnock and Lewis McLachlan in the forwards, the direction that Sam Muir gave in the playmaker’s position and the speed that Michael and Christopher McKeand offered out wide gave this team most of the ingredients with which to offer an extremely competitive 7. The full squad however was the final ingredient. Derek Brown (probably near 30) played in all but one tournament and his hard work and solid defence gave a platform for the other 6 on the field to work off. Conor Lavery (19) was deployed mainly in the forwards but his handling skills and his HUGE side-step meant that on the occasions he was required in the backs he was not out of place. Billy Scanlan (21) offered his rugby services whenever his 4th year exam commitments made it possible and when he was available his experience and work-rate was a more than welcome addition. Alasdair Walker (20) was committed to all but one tournament but (often harshly) got little game time, his highlights surely being a well deserved long range try against Watsonians in the semi-final at Peebles and winning his home 7s tournament on Arran. Another bonus was the inclusion of the talented Iain Renwick (17) who was given another taste of the physicality that senior rugby will offer him next year. He managed 3 tournaments and with 2 winner’s medals made quite a return. Mohammed Hani Darwish (18) regularly took a seat on the bench and was unleashed only when no pity was being taken on the opposition - his interception skills spread fear into anyone making a pass!! Another to play a few tournaments was David Reive (younger than he looks), if any more were to be said it could compromise his SRU hearing…. Michael McKeand (19) was rubbish, although on occasion managed to put himself in the right place at the right time and score a few crucial tries, in this reporter’s eyes pure luck. Although his attacking prowess and work rate meant he finished with a deserved fair haul of tries. Lewis McLachlan worked hard and proved again to be a very good 7s player, his tackling, skills and the pace he brought onto the ball proving extremely valuable. Another mention must go to Alan Warnock (24) who again this 7s season has proven himself to be amongst the top 7s players in the amateur game in this country. With the combination of his never say die attitude and natural rugby ability he set an exemplary standard for everybody to follow. Finally Sam Muir (young at heart) added the spark which the team has needed, his step and go often creating space for the finishers in the team to benefit from. He was a great addition to the team.

And so to the final tournament of the season for the Billy-Goats!! After a successful weekend at Walkerburn the previous week, the squad departed for Cartha Queens Park, the hosts of the Glasgow City Sevens. A welcome return to Bob Aitken (26?) into the fold alongside Muffler (Not sure of his full name, origins or age…). Having been drawn against the Newport-Gwent Dragons in the first round of the cup competition hopes were not high of a victory and unfortunately proved to be right, losing out 47-5. The consolation scored by Conor, however, was the best try of the tie. Ball was retained, spread touchline to touchline and kept out of contact for a full minute before space was made for Conor to squeeze in the corner. Newport (the eventual cup winners) were just sharper around the contact area and made turnovers count. As it was, the team was entered into the plate and were up against Edinburgh Accies.

Quarter Final: Having seen many different Accies teams over the circuit this year Biggar had no idea what to expect. The team Accies fielded didn’t even resemble the one defeated so easily at Walkerburn the previous week and included a couple of Fijian army boys who, true to stereotype, threw in few dangerous tackles. Notably a forearm to Alan’s head and a late tackle on Sam; luckily both were unaffected. Unfortunately for Alan though in the 2nd half he received the hospital pass of a lifetime from Michael and was tackled from two directions, with one of the tacklers making a clean connection with his unmentionables. A bag of ice and a substitute was needed. The game was won 19-5 with 2 scores from Christopher McKeand and 1 for poor Alan.

Semi final: Glasgow Hawks provided the team to beat to get into the final. The Hawks team were huge and had one exceptionally quick player but Biggar have pace from 1 to 7 (apart from Conor, did I mention the STEP) and as such were not worried. Biggar played their best 7s in this tie easily beating Premier 1 opposition by 33-12. It showed that you can be as big as you like but it counts for nothing if you can’t move the ball around and take your chances when they come. Scores from Christopher, Michael, Sam and 2 from Iain made light work of the Hawks team.

The Final: The final was to be played against an unknown entity in the form of Perthshire. They had looked impressive in their quarter final win, and more so in their semi final against West of Scotland so it was obvious from the outset that they were not to be taken lightly. So it proved as they opened up a 15 – 0 lead with just 3 minutes gone. The Biggar team then got into the swing of things and managed to gain one fortuitous try from Christopher from a kick through, his hand just reaching the ball over the line before the defending Perthshire player for the score. Half time 15-5.

A straight talking half time speech had the desired effect and Biggar were the first to score through El Capitano Sam. His conversion narrowly missing… I mean narrowly coming off the ground in front of the posts. With 2 minutes to go, however, Perthshire - against the run of play - scored making it 20-10 with barely any time left. This team, however, all season has never given up and have complete faith in each other to go down fighting and it was with this attitude that they got the required next score. Play going up field and spread wide to Christopher who touched down ON the line. Protests from the Perthshire boys were not listened to as the linesman had a clear view and advised the referee to award the score. Conversion narrowly missed from out wide. 20-15. The referee indicated 30 seconds from the restart until full-time so it was essential to get possession back. Unfortunately the restart couldn’t be reclaimed. The Perthshire scrum half only had to put the ball into touch but his decision to kick long proving costly. Sam collected on his own 10 metre line and made his way infield, after beating 2 men he then passed to Michael who had 25 metres to run in via the sweeper and covering defender but “the boy done good!” and managed to scamper over the line. The conversion was needed to win outright but a decision to allow the youngest member of the team to deal with the pressure didn’t pay off. Extra time.

Extra time: The rules were 5 minutes each way until someone scored. Golden goal style. Perthshire won the toss and chose the way they wanted to attack allowing Sam to to receive the kick off, thereby gaining possession of the ball. Perthshire kicked off, the ball being well taken and passed back. Biggar retained the ball for numerous phases before Sam made a break. He made it to the half way where the sweeper was covering him, he had Conor on his right and Christopher on his left after a coin toss in his head he passed/flung the ball to Christopher who ran in for the match winning score, reminiscent of the score he managed against Cartha on league duty during the season, and so the plate was won.

It was great to have the continued support from the touchline. It really gives the players a boost with the support they provide. Special mentions must go to team photographers Simone McKeand (was 25 when she had me.. does that make 48 , 46, 44, 42??) and Nigel Pacey (a ripe old age). A big thank you to everyone that came down to Walkerburn and ‘Good Luck’ to the under 20 team competing to retain the title at Hamilton Under 20’s on Sunday the 18th. See you at the club Dinner 17th May!!

Chris.

Hamilton U20 7’s - Hamilton, 18th May, 2008.

Biggar under 20 7's team again took part in the Lanarkshire 7's tournament hosted at Hamilton RFC on Sunday 18th May. As defending champions Biggar faced some stiff competition for the trophy this year with teams from
Hamilton, Auchencruive, Howe Of Fife, Glasgow Hawks, Kilmarnock.

Biggar were in an initial pool consisting of Hamilton, Auchencruive and Kilmarnock. After a win by 1 point against Hamilton Biggar faced Auchencruive who were just a little too strong and defeated Biggar by a couple of scores. With Auchencruive winning their final match, Biggar were unfortunately only going to make the plate final if they defeated Kilmarnock. They managed to do so quite comfortably to set up a Plate final against Glasgow Hawks with Howe of Fife and Auchencruive in the final.

Glasgow Hawks provided some stiff competition against a youthful Biggar squad but the experience, commitment and pace of the Biggar squad proved too much for Hawks with Biggar winning the plate by 24-12.

This is the final competition of this years season and congratulations to Michael Mckeand. Alsadair Walker, Lewis McLachlan. Iain Renwick, Connor Lavery, Andrew Goodall, Hani Darwish, Nash Darwish, David McArthur and Nick Ryan and team coaches Scott Watson and Chris Mckeand for adding some more silverware to the trophy cabinet.