Over the last season we’ve had a lot of fun in the S2 rugby team. We managed to increase our squad by getting old players back using a lot of persuasion from across the team. Our numbers are still quite low but we have a good squad and we all work well together.

Through the season we have progressed as a team, with hard work at training and playing to our strengths on the pitch. Working and rucking as a team has been the main route to winning games for us. Our team spirit has also helped us whether it be on the pitch or in the cafeteria after a game.

For the Knox S2’s we often come up against opposition that make us look like dwarves.
At the start of a game when we are facing off against a 6 foot giant we may be thinking we are going to get flattened but when they start running at you at 2 miles per hour it is not that scary. The problem with having a small team is we can't really plough through their defence as easily as we’d like to, but one of our strong points is thinking quickly and finding a solution. We play to our strengths as a team to break down the opposition. We have had mixed results over the season, but the games we really enjoyed are the well fought victories!

I would just like to say thanks to some people on behalf of the team especially the coaches for coping with us for the last two years - Tom, Phil, Calum and Jamie. We really appreciate the time and effort they put into coaching us, we know it’s not always straightforward! We wouldn’t be the team we are without them so thank you coaches.

Another big thank you to all the parents and those helping with the catering. It’s always great to have lots of food to come into after a match.

I know we are all looking forward to getting back to training as soon as possible, hopefully it won’t be too long - be kind to us coaches!

It's been great being captain for S2 especially because of the boys I get to play alongside. I have loved every moment on the field and am proud to play as part of this team.

Best regards,
Blair

Notes from the Coaches: S2 Rugby Round Up Season 2019 /20

Ahead of getting into the more interesting bits I’d firstly like to thank all the boys, Tom Salkeld, and the parents for all their efforts over the year. Without the boys we’d all have a huge void on a Saturday morning – I know we all love getting up to be at Knox for 8am on a Saturday!

Tom has the pleasure of coaching our children twice a week and I’m sure he enjoys every moment of it – especially training in the rain. And finally the parents, without your help and contributions we’d not have the School of Rugby at Knox. Our hospitality is by far some of the best on offer and that’s thanks to the parents preparing food and helping out on the day.

Moving into the second year of Knox is a great thing – you’re no longer the wee boys in the school and finally, some new S1 boys have arrived to use for tackling and target practice! Our boys have adapted well to all the changes both on and off the park. On the pitch more freedom is given and the boys get to experience lineouts and contested scrums. We have come up against some teams that have dwarfed us in size but we have always competed to the best of our collective ability.

Over the season our results have been mixed. Games have lost to better teams which have shown our boys the skills and teamwork that’s required to bring on the whole team. It’s pleasing to see the boys working both individually and collectively to raise the team. Often our rucking has let us down in the past but over the season we have improved, becoming competitive at the breakdown and stealing opposition ball. It’s also good to see the boys being more comfortable in the contact situation. Now rather than avoiding contact the boys are now far more confident in this area. The decision making on the field has immensely improved with the boys taking responsibility rather than looking to be coached through the game. This has allowed the team to secure some victories with quick decisions and playing to our strengths.

Without doubt it’s never good to see one of your own going off injured in a game. And special mention must go to Andrew Larkman who damaged his arm playing against Dunbar. As a new recruit to rugby in S1, Andrew has great talent and speed which has caused problems for our opposition throughout the past few seasons. We look forward to having Andrew back with us next season. We remain a small squad and it was great to welcome some old players back whilst disappointingly we lost some players over the season which is a great shame and we’d love to see them back in S3.

Looking across the season it’s nice to reflect on the games where the boy’s pulled together and won the game collectively. One such game was our trip to play Dalkeith. Having not played them before they were, what we had become accustomed to - big and well disciplined. The game was very evenly matched and if memory serves me correctly we tied the game in the final minute. The referee allowed the restart with Dalkeith looking to score a final winning try. To our credit we won the ball off them in contact, before a lofted passed reached Ben Austin who ran in the winning try to secure the victory. A very happy and proud set of coaches on the day. One other game to mention was the trip across the border to play Berwick. Having only 9 players available we turned up and put in a huge performance. On a hugely muddy pitch we won the game 7 tries to 5 with all the boys running their hearts out for the cause.

Over the season our ability has not gone unnoticed by others. On the return leg to play Ross High we kicked off the game against their S2 team. At half time they brought on a few S3 players to wear us down. To our credit we dug in for the second half and ran out eventual winners showing huge resolve and determination. As circumstances changed our season was drawn to an early close with our last game an away trip to Preston Lodge to play both PL and Lasswade. The game against PL was close, with our tacklers having a busy day. In the end PL edged the win from memory. Our game against Lasswade was a great result with us winning by an Adam MacDonald conversion. At S1 level Lasswade had convincingly beaten us so it was great to see the development of our boys to fully compete with them and edge the win.