Our S1 boys started S1 SoR largely under the stewardship of Stewart Barnett (or Barney, as he is affectionately known). The team have been working very hard in training and this was demonstrated with an excellent victory over Jordanhill in their first competitive fixture. The S1 boys are a mixture of existing Cambuslang players and a number of players who are completely new to the game. The new boys played with confidence and enthusiasm, ably guided by their more experienced teammates. There were some exceptional performances on the day from many of the boys with Findlay Mackinnon just notching MOTM ahead of Freddie Forrest and Oliver Herriot. The values of rugby were very much on display throughout the game as 4 of our boys volunteered to play for Jordanhill who were short of players. Throughout the 3 thirds, 12 Stonelaw boys represented Jordanhill, giving not an inch against their own Stonelaw peers. In fact, a couple of them went as far as scoring a try for our opponents. Well done boys, a fantastic display of respect throughout!

Since the Jordanhill game our boys have beaten St Pauls and narrowly lost to a combined East Kilbride team of Calderglen, Duncanrig and St Andrews & St Brides. This was a very competitive game of rugby with our pupils essentially playing against a club rugby team, the boys gave a brilliant account of themselves losing narrowly by 2 tries. There was many notable performances with special mention going to Nathan Stefani who scored a wonderful try. Findlay Mackinnon was also on the scoresheet with 2 tries.

Finally, our S2 boys who have been working under the guidance of David Boan and Craig Barnett, look forward to their first full 15-a-side match away to St Paul’s on Thursday 11 November. There are several young people who currently play club rugby at Cambuslang and a number of pupils who are completely new to rugby. They are showing a fantastic attitude in training, and we are really excited by their potential. We recently had a new pupil come for a trial session and I was extremely impressed by the attitude of our existing players, many themselves fairly new to rugby, who took the time to work completely unprompted with the new pupil to help him develop his skill set and integrate quickly into the group. The boys have also had their first taste of competitive rugby when they competed against Shawlands Academy, St Paul’s Secondary and St Thomas Aquinas High School at Cartha Rugby Club. The boys played extremely well, winning, drawing and losing a game apiece. The boys developed in confidence throughout and some of our debutants were very impressive, in particular Shaun Maitland, who, as the smallest player on the pitch, showed no fear tackling bigger stronger opponents.

The S3 boys have been coached by Jim McGhee. Like James, Jim oversees several of the players development as U15 coach at Cambuslang. Jim has worked with our pupils since the very start of S1 and has shown incredible commitment to developing the physical and mental attributes of our pupils. Jim has worked tirelessly to improve the ability of players who were new to the game and give them the attributes required to play alongside some of their more experienced teammates. This could not have been any more evident in our recent encounter with Jordanhill School which we very narrowly lost 38-32, with completed conversions being the only difference between the two schools. The pupils were exceptional on the day, with many of our less experienced players showing just how much they have developed under Jim’s guidance. Perhaps the biggest compliment of the day came from the Jordanhill Director of Rugby Ryan Howie, who commented, “our pupils would not look at all out of place in the league set up which Jordanhill currently play in”. This really is a fantastic endorsement of just how much progress has been made. Special mentions from the match go to Fionn McGhee who scored a hattrick and Saviour Imade who continuously put his body on the line for his team. These two pupils were voted MOTM by their peers. I would also like to personally thank all the pupils for their fantastic attitude throughout. The day highlighted to me why the SoR is so important in the lives of these young people. Unfortunately, this was Fionn and Jim’s last game as the family embark on pastures new. I would like to personally thank Jim for all the hard work and commitment he has given to rugby at Stonelaw. Since Jim’s departure we have been very fortunate that Craig Barnett has become very actively involved with our Under 15’s role. Craig has been leading our coaching sessions and is looking forward to our next match a return fixture v Jordanhill on Thursday 16^th December.