Schools rugby: Hard work pays off for Carrick with place in final

CARRICK Academy reached a national final for the first time last week, beating Linlithgow Academy in the penultimate round of the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Schools under-18 Plate competition.

The South Ayrshire school will face the winners of the delayed semi-final between Earlston High School and Madras College, postponed from last week.

When that game will be played is uncertain, however due to half-term holidays.

“We’re on half-term until Thursday of this week which is when Madras start their break, so both schools have asked for the final to be put back,” said Malcolm Changleng, the Earlston High School coach.

Carrick is one of the state schools in Scotland that really pushes rugby and ensures that its teams have regular Saturday fixtures throughout the season, which makes their place in the final well deserved.

“I’m so proud of the boys. It’s not just our first rugby final but our first in any sport,” said modern studies teacher and head of faculty Gordon Brown, the driving force behind rugby at the school.

Carrick opened the scoring against Linlithgow with try after three minutes from wing Blair Cooper and then a second touchdown just before the break by hooker Blair Jardine. The conversion by Connor Wyllie gave the visitors a 12-10 interval advantage. In the second half a second try from Cooper completed the scoring to give Carrick a 17-10 win.

In addition to Brown’s input, the school has appointed two SRU SVQ apprentices, now in their second year, who do most of the coaching.

Carrick’s fixture list has also been crucial to their rugby success, matches against the likes of St Aloysius College, Loretto, St Columba’s, Glasgow Academy and Marr College testament to their competitive ability.

More telling is Carrick’s playing record, which last term, showed ten wins from 12 games. Moreover, Carrick runs school teams at all age levels and has a big take-up for rugby amongst both boys and girls.

The Plate semi-final last week was a rare outing in what has been a period of non-rugby for schools as winter weather and half-term holidays ruled out games.

Edinburgh Academy’s traditional spring term Saturday of cross-country championship running also means that rugby takes a back seat for them this coming weekend.

Merchiston, meanwhile, took the chance to play a match outwith Scotland, their trip to Northern Ireland yielding a 28-0 win over Royal Belfast Academical Institute in what was a development XV fixture.