Schools rugby: Loretto rack up points to sink Glasgow High

LORETTO bounced back from defeat to Merchiston to record a 66-17 win over Glasgow High School in the first round of the Brewin Dolphin under-18 competition.

Merchiston progressed all too easily against a Buckhaven High School side, the match - stopped when the scoreline reached 50-0 - again illustrating that the revamped cup format needs more considered thinking.

Madras achieved a double success with first-round victories at both under-18 and under-16 levels. At first XV level the school enjoyed a 31-6 win over Hawick High School, and the under-16s had an even more convincing away win by 50-0 against Lomond/Helensburgh, with an outstanding display at stand-off from Callum Willison.

Another high-scoring side in the first round of the cup was North Berwick High School who had a 50-10 win over Jordanhill School that included three tries from No 8 Andy Henry.

A cup mis-match certainly was not the case when St Aloysius College lost 9-7 to Dollar.

In a tough week for the Clackmananshire school, Dollar could not challenge the strength of Merchiston on Saturday, losing 28-0, 18 points coming from Scotland Under-17 stand-off Sam Hidalgo-Clyne. In further non-cup action over the weekend, George Watson's College maintained their winning run with a 31-8 win over Heriot's, with tries from prop Max Johnston (2) and centres Ramsay Young (2) and Jack Broadley. Adam Wright scored for Heriot's.

Also unbeaten are Edinburgh Academy, who had a 55-3 win over a struggling Dundee High School, centre Chris Dean scoring three tries and scrum-half Alex Glashan four.