East Lothian schools well represented in the National Shield and National Plate competitions at U16 and U18 age groups.
Dunbar U18’s and U16’s recently competed in the National Shield U16 and U18 competitions respectively. Dunbar U18’s beat a strong Earlston HS team to make the last four but then lost to Kelvinside Academy in a hard fought semi final away at Kelvinside. The final score was 34-12 after Kelvinside made a fast start to the game but Dunbar came back strongly in the second have to make a game of it. Preston lodge u18’s had come within a few seconds of also making the U18 shield semis but were pipped by a last minute score in losing 38-35 to a strong High School of Glasgow team.
In the National U16 Shield competition, Dunbar lost narrowly in a very close game to Earlston at Hallhill. The scores were locked at 0-0 for most of the game in some treacherous playing conditions. Earlston managed to turn the ball over at a Dunbar ruck and break up the short side to score. Although Dunbar were camped on Earlston’s line for the last few minutes, they never managed to cross the line for a score.
Knox Academy made the National Plate semi finals for u16 and u18 where the U16’s lost 50-42 to a Combined Counties team while the U18’s also lost narrowly to Carrick Academy in the U18 Plate semi, 39-27. Although none of our East Lothian teams managed to make it all the way to the finals at Murrayfield, there have been some very encouraging displays and extra fixtures that have given many of our East Lothian players great experience of competitive, high pressure fixtures. Well done to Knox Academy and Dunbar Grammar for performing so well. Hopefully next season, they can make it one step further to Murrayfield Finals Day.
