CAN STIRLING DO THE DOUBLE?
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Stirling County are aiming to lift the RBS Youth League Cup for the tenth time at Murrayfield on Sunday.
And while their under-18s team compete for that distinctive sculpted trophy, their under-16s have also made it through to the concluding stage of the RBS under-16 Youth League Cup, setting up a possible double for the Bridgehaugh brigade. Standing in their way and equally determined to wrest the silverware are Selkirk Youth Club – who last won the cup in 2003 – in the under-18 event and Glasgow Hawks at under-16 level.


Jack Urquhart (Stirling County) and Josh Welsh (Selkirk Youth Club)
The captains of both teams in the under-18 final played in the same game last season, when Stirling emerged triumphant.
Josh Welsh, the Selkirk Youth Club centre and captain, landed a match winning penalty in their semi-final win against Boroughmuir last weekend to book their place in the Murrayfield final anew.
He said: “Last year’s final was really fast. We weren’t really used to it (the pace) and Stirling were a lot more physical than us.
“At the start of this season we weren’t really tipped to do anything as we had a really young squad but we’ve won the Border semi-junior league, a couple of sevens tournaments and we’ve got to the cup final.”
Josh works with his dad in the family forestry contracting firm, so could well prepare for Sunday’s 4.15pm final by doing some tree removal this week.
His Stirling counterpart, 17-year-old stand-off Jack Urquhart, has happy memories of last year’s final. “It was a close game and Selkirk played the whole game but we managed to run away with it towards the end of the second-half.”
Jack, a pupil at Dollar Academy, explained that continuity in the league had been difficult for Stirling this season as other teams had not always fulfilled fixtures but stressed that the close-knit group of players – many had played together since first year at secondary school – were determined to retain the cup and ensure the trophy returned to Bridgehaugh for the fourth time in the last five years.
In the under-16s Stirling are hoping to go one better than last season when a 17-all draw in the final meant they shared the spoils with Ayr.

Andrew Davidson (Glasgow Hawks) and Matt Duncan (Stirling County)
Their captain, Matt Duncan, said: “We’ve had a really good season and are in a good position to win the league. I joined the club last year from Clackmannanshire Colts and a lot of the boys have been playing together since primary school.
“I think Sunday will be a close game but we’ll approach it just like we did our semi-final against Gala Red Triangle.”
His Hawks opposite number, Andrew Davidson, is a pupil at Kelvinside Academy and has been playing for Hawks since he joined their mini section.
“We’ve had a good season and are undefeated for two years so we’re really looking forward to the final.”
The under-16 final kicks-off at 2.30pm.
Earlier the RBS under-16 and under-18 Youth League Bowl Finals between Boroughmuir and GHA and Perthshire Colts and Peebles Colts respectively will kick-off at 1pm.
Colin Thomson, Scottish Rugby's Head of Community Rugby, said: "Congratulations to all the teams at both under-16 and under-18 level who will be competing in the RBS Youth League Cup and RBS Youth League Bowl finals at Murrayfield on Sunday.
"For many of the youngsters this will represent the pinnacle of their rugby careers to date. Good luck to everyone on Sunday."
Toni Blackhurst, Senior Sponsorship Manager at RBS, said: “As passionate supporters of the RBS Youth Leagues and development of youth rugby in Scotland we are looking forward to the RBS Youth Cup Finals Day at Murrayfield.
"We want to make sure that communities across Scotland have the chance to engage with rugby at a youth level and we are urging fans to get to Murrayfield to support the eight clubs that will be playing.”

This article was originally posted on 25-Apr-2012, 14:25 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 25-Apr-2012, 14:32.