Junior squads struggle

Glasgow Hawks proved too strong for East Kilbride Rugby Club’s junior sides at the weekend as they recorded a string of victories.

The Under-16’s played far better than the scoreline of 52-14 would suggest, though. A Cameron MacMillan try converted by Fraser Jackson saw EK trail only 12-7 at the half but the city side upped their game in the second forty, running in five tries to a sole Jackson breakaway effort.

The Under-14’s were similarly under the cosh. Solid tackling from Adam Ross and Jamie McCallum helped keep Hawks out for a while but the pressure began to build and they ran in tries with some regularity.

A strong run from Ryan Moghrabbi brought EK’s first half try, Peter Home adding a second late on, but unfortunately Hawks kept the scoreboard ticking in between.

The Under-13’s got closer than their elder brethren but still could not sneak over the line, Hawks winning 9-4 to complete the sweep. One positive was a glorious try through full-back Mark Neilson, converted by Ri Murphy.

Finally, the younger of the primary groups had more success than did the secondary teams with the P4’s particularly impressive as they faced different opposition.

Strathaven were first up and struggled with EK’s physicality and organisation. Captain Ailia Aziz showed the way to the try line and was followed in quick succession by Jaiden Grimley, Jack Reddick, Zach McQueen, Finlay McKinnon and Scott Brown.

The second contest was against Waysiders combined P4/5 team. The Airdrie side posed problems early on but EK eventually ran out 8-5 winners, with Scott Barron, Stephen Orr, Callum Russell and Archie McCaig getting the bulk of the tries.