The Strathendrick U13 boys set off on their first bus trip to an away game, travelling to Howe of Fife. The boys were excited and ready to play, and with a glorious morning, dry ground and an excellent pitch surface, everything was set for a great morning of rugby.

Bell Baxter/Howe arrived with only 12 players, so both teams agreed to play 12-a-side.

Strathendrick started strongly with some excellent attacking play and running moves. We were quickly rewarded when Iann Small crossed the line for our first try, converted by Archie MacKinnon.

It wasn’t long before we were over the line again, with Dougal Olivarius making a strong run through the defence. Archie stepped up once more to add the conversion.

Strathendrick were soon on the attack again, with Hamish Maxwell striding through the Howe defence and running in our third try of the morning. Archie converted again, taking the score to 21–0.

Dougal then found his way through the defence once more to score Strathendrick’s fourth try. Once again converted by Archie, showing his calm head and kicking skills.

Iann Small then produced one of his signature interceptions and looked set to score, but despite nearly making it to the line and producing an excellent offload, the Howe defence managed to prevent the try.

In the final moments of the first half, some lovely passing allowed Rory Beaton to make it over the line for what looked like try number five. Unfortunately, it was disallowed and brought back for an earlier infringement.

The half-time whistle went with Strathendrick leading 28–0.

The Second Half

After the break, Howe were determined to fight their way back into the game and came out strongly.

The Strathendrick boys responded with some fantastic defensive work, putting in tackle after tackle and refusing to give Howe an easy route through.

The first ten minutes of the second half saw no scores, with Strathendrick working incredibly hard to defend their lead. Eventually, Howe managed to break through and get their first try of the day.

The game became increasingly physical, with both teams battling hard. Howe managed a push through for a second try.

In the final minutes Strathendrick continued to push forward and were extremely unlucky not to score a fifth try in the closing seconds as they forced the Howe defence back once again.

Final Score:
Howe of Fife 14 – 28 Strathendrick

An excellent win away from home against a strong Howe side. The boys showed fantastic attacking rugby in the first half and tremendous determination and defensive effort in the second.

A huge thank you to all the travelling support for coming along and cheering the boys on.

And, of course, the rugby wasn’t the only highlight of the day — the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves and certainly made the most of their first team bus trip, with plenty of antics along the way!

Another win for the U13 boys — well done, Strathendrick!