Stewartry Sharks’ primary sevens took part in a mini tournament with Dumfries Saints and the touring Dalziel Dragons at Park Farm on Sunday.
The Sharks kicked off against Dumfries, who were immediately on the front foot and building phases of possession, using their well-drilled rucking game to recycle the ball and spread it to their fast players on the wing.
The pressure paid off with the opening try, which seemed to spur Stewartry into action, with strong runs from Matthew, Zander and Annie taking the game to Dumfries despite the strong home defence. Eventually, the ball was swung away from the breakdown area to find bit of space for Alex to use his gas to streak through a gap and get across for the leveller.
Galvanised by the score, Stewartry raised their physical game, tackling hard and forcing a turnover from Dumfries in the next phase of play and again advancing up the pitch with excellent off loading and keeping the ball alive, with Annie in particular running great support lines to keep moving forward. Once again it was Alex who benefitted from the hard yards made by Ciaran, Lily and Zander, finding a gap out wide and crossing to take the lead.
The game went back and fourth, Dumfries only levelling at the end of the match with the draw a fair result.
Next up were new opponent Dalziel Dragons, who immediately went on the offensive. Good tackling from Sam, Olivia, Lily and Cameron allowed counter-rucking and good hands and mazy running allowed tries to come from Rory, Annie, Alex and Alfie.
Dalziel attacked strongly, scoring a couple of tries, but the Stewartry defensive effort was excellent and they kept the pacey wingers well marked with some ferocious tackles coming in.
The match ended with a scoreline which flattered Stewartry, but was very even throughout.
Stewartry’s third game was also against Dalziel, who were starting to flag in their third successive game. The Sharks, after some words of wisdom from guest coach Ieuan, stepped up their defensive efforts, and working as a team were able to harry and disrupt the opposition.
However, Dalziel did not give up and fought back, attacking down the right and only just being forced out, just short of the line. From the resulting line out, Murray launched a howitzer clearing kick downfield and the team set off in wild pursuit, with Charlie making up a huge amount of ground to win the race for the bouncing ball and diving like Duhan to score a spectacular coast-to-coast effort.
With the team working together defensively, more tries followed, with Ciaran zipping up the left wing and stepping neatly inside the cover defence to score, and Olivia getting on the end of a series of passes and scoring in the right corner. Charlie got on the scoreboard again, with a neat interception. Dalziel were not to be left scoreless though, and their positivity was rewarded with a scorcher of a try from their left winger.
Stewartry’s final game was against Dumfries and both sides started with real intent. The Dumfries power runners were being scythed down by Stewartry defenders, enabling good breakdown work to turn over possession and go on the offensive. Dumfries repelled the Stewartry attacks, despite Matthew, Alex, Zander and Lily all going close.
Dumfries broke the deadlock, crossing the whitewash to go one up. The brutal physical contest continued for the rest of the match, but Stewartry found the leveller with Lily using her strength and determination to break tackles and dive over.
A wonderful morning of rugby, with all the players supporting each other as a team and really enjoying their day. A special mention also to Charlie of Newton Stewart who joined the “All Blacks” for the day and fitted in seamlessly. Thanks to the great referee from Dalziel and to Dumfries for hosting the event.
