Tuesday, 01 March 2011
Glasgow U18s stall in first Selection Fixture
Glasgow U18s played Edinburgh U18s in the first U18 National Selection Fixture of the year at New Anniesland on Sunday.  Edinburgh started strongly and Hidalgo-Clyne & Danny Owenson controlled both possession and territory well through the first half with some slick kicking and midfield passing.  It was Edinburgh back row that controlled the breakdown and the early ball carrying with both Chris Dean and Rhys Davies gaining yards through Glasgow tackles.  Glasgow struggled to escape from their own half and both pressure from the boot of Hidalgo-Clyne and unforced errors led to Edinburgh in utter control for the majority of the first half.  2 tries by Rhys Davies, with powerful surges around the scrum and breakdowns, and 3 kicks from Owenson saw Edinburgh streak ahead to a 18-0 lead with 25 minutes gone.   For the last 10 minutes of the half Edinburgh pressurized Glasgow, but good scramble defence and some wayward Edinburgh kicking left the scoreline untouched.
Half time – Glasgow 0 – 18 Edinburgh
A series of changes from both sides at half time slightly disrupted the flow of the fixture, but Glasgow started the stronger with their big forwards starting to ball carry.  Michael Vernell and Jonny Gray made some inroads to Edinburgh in the narrow channels but Edinburgh held firm in the middle and out wide. As the half progressed and Glasgow started to produce some go forward ball, the back line started to make half breaks, but some poor offloading and ball presentation led to the continuity breaking down.   With over three quarters of the match gone things seemed to peter out, but a line break by Callum Templeton kicked started a Glasgow resurgence and soon Cammy McCall crossed over the Edinburgh line after a series of phases – correctly however the try was disallowed for obstruction and Edinburgh cleared their lines.   Concerted effort from Glasgow threatned to break down the Edinburgh defence, but it wasn’t unitl the 67tth minute that the ball was moved wide from 4th phase and Burns Singh danced over in the corner.
Full time – Glasgow 5 – 18 Edinburgh
Next Glasgow U18 Fixture – Sunday 6th March v Borders (1pm KO)

This article was posted on 1-Mar-2011, 13:34 by Hugh Barrow.