18 January 2015 | Old Scouts U16s v Peterborough U16s (EM Cup Q/F)

... knew they had to be as equally clinical with their game plan if they wanted to progress into the next round of the cup.

Scouts were on the score sheet after just 2 minutes, as James Lovell smashed his way over from close range. Holliday added the extras and the nerves were soon settled. With Scouts having all the territory for the following 15 minutes, handling errors as well as tough Peterborough defence kept Scouts on the back foot. On 22 minutes, their efforts were rewarded with a try from Kurtis Dorks after Holliday went blind and put the flying winger into space, Barry added the extras. It was at this point that Scouts upped the tempo and drove into the heart of Peterborough with some superb rugby, deft handling and forwards pressure, bringing 3 quick tries to push the game out of sight by half time, all courtesy of Sam Buckley, George Rankin and Tom Holliday.

With the score at 31 pints to nil at the break, Scouts made wholesale changes allowing valuable game time to the whole squad. Second half tries from Jay Mainprize and Christian Barry, with Barry converting his own allowed Scouts to finish 43 points to nil and progress into the semi-final. Although the result may have suggested an easy victory, every point was hard fought and huge credit to Peterborough who did not give up throughout. The overall structure for Scouts was somewhat disjointed, however with maximum changes being made at regular intervals the 15 on the pitch did not have sufficient time to settle down. Superb defence from Scouts in all areas gave them a satisfying clean sheet.

Result: Old Scouts 43 – 0 Peterborough
Tries : Lovell, Dorks, Buckley, Rankin, Holliday, Mainprize, Barry
Cons : Holliday 2, Barry 2