Young Pirates steal champions’ crown
The East Kilbride Pirates under-17 side followed their under-19 team-mates in winning the Scottish Divisional title for the first time last week.
In July the under-19s went undefeated on their way to claiming their age group crown, as well as a place at the national semi-finals in Manchester.
And now the under-17s have won their title and automatic qualification for the Britbowl finals, which will take place on September 3 in Sheffield.
They beat current British champions Highland Wildcats to get there, ending their run of five successive Scottish title wins.
The under-17s started out on the road to victory by cruising past Edinburgh Wolves 47-6.
Hamilton Buccaneers were next up for EK and again the victory was comfortable, as they prevailed 48-6.
The final match saw Highland Wildcats having to win by a significant margin to deprive the young Pirates of their place in the finals.
And the Inverness side got off to the best possible start, scoring a touchdown and then adding a safety for an early 8-0 lead.
EK came straight back and Declan Kelly’s second pick-six of the day, followed by a 2PAT pass from Scott McKigen to Jack Cochrane levelled the scores.
Defences were on top for the remainder of the first half but the Pirates edged ahead just before the interval thanks to a rushing TD from Kelly.
A breakout run by Callum ConnollyTennock on the first play after the restart and a two-point run by the same player gave the home side some breathing space at 22-8.
A further eight points were added when McKigen passed to Fraser McDonald for a TD and also a two-point conversion.
Despite their best efforts, Wildcats could only add another safety to their total, allowing East Kilbride to take the win and the title.
Pirates chair Amanda McDonald said: “The club is hugely proud of the success of both of our East Kilbride youth and junior teams, both taking the Scottish champions title at their age group.
“We set up the youth team up back in 2010 and since then they’ve been growing stronger every year.
“Highland Wildcats have been so successful at this level so to have finally overtaken them is amazing and a testament to the hard work of the players and coaches, led by head coach Jim Dorman.
“Under the leadership of head coach Matthew Davies our juniors have also really taken off this year, building on the already strong foundation of their previous two seasons.
“They emerged unbeaten in Scotland and it’s been a real pleasure to watch them grow and develop.”
• On Sunday the senior Pirates ended their season with a 57-14 win over Sheffield Predators.