Highland win first-ever Bill McLaren Trophy
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A LATE try ensured a squad of under-17 players from Highland were the first name on the inaugural Bill McLaren Memorial Trophy.
Jordan Thomson was the match winner for the city club, going over for a converted against French side Bals to ensure the silverware would be returning north from the Scottish Capital.
Highland made the trip to Lasswade with a squad consisting of players still eligible from the under-18 squad and a good number of under-16s as well.
In their opening three matches, Highland’s pack simply proved too strong for the opposition, while the backs produced some slick, running rugby.
They opened with a 34-0 win over Forrester, before following it up with 31-7 and 39-0 triumphs at the expense of Lasswade and Duns respectively.
Bals, from Toulouse, were Highland’s final opponents and they found themselves trailing 7-5 after Hamish Hepburn’s unconverted try had kickstarted the scoring.
Highland, however, responded and would go in at the break leading 10-7 courtesy of a James Murray try that again was not converted.
In the second half, Bals went back in front 14-10 and this remained the score until the final few minutes when Thomson evaded several challenges to give Highland a memorable 17-14 victory.
Meanwhile, Highland’s under-15s lost out in the Cup at the Caledonia Finals Day, which took place at Canal Park on Sunday.
Taking on the Dundee Eagles, Highland battled hard, but their opponents proved just too strong, running out 34-15 winners.
In the Bowl, Ross Sutherland were involved in another very close affair with Ellon, but this time they lost out with Ellon winning 8-5. The most one-sided match of the day was in the Plate as Howe of Fife thumped Caithness 71-0.
The under-16 finals produced some tight matches with Perthshire and Moray drawing 7-7 in the Shield, so they share the trophy. In the Bowl, Ross Sutherland overcame Ellon 10-0.
At under-18 level, the Cup was won by Perthshire, who defeated Gordonstoun 17-10, the Shield went to Deeside after they beat Aberdeen Wanderers 24-10, while in the Bowl Moray overwhelmed Aberdeen Grammar 34-5.
