Author: inverleith

Bangholm Recreation Centre, 30th September 2023

Inverleith travelled the short distance to Bangholm to play Trinity on the 30th of September. Unfortunately, Inverleith lost a one of our front row prior to the game, and had to request uncontested scrums vs. Trinity. SRU rulings dictate that any team requesting uncontested scrums, may not bring any replacements to the match. Many surrounding the club have questioned what this rule brings, but it is to stop teams turning up with large numbers of backs and back-row forwards, in an attempt to ‘game’ the uncontested scrum laws.

Inverleith started the game in disjointed manner, with four of the fifteen starters late to the pitch, slowing down and confusing match preparations. Despite this, Inverleith did well to play territory and pin back Trinity multiple times. Poor decisions in pod and running choices lead to men taking the ball into contact without support, and getting turned over by Trinity in the contest. Trinity scored two tries in the 15-25 minute window. This is then compounded by Inverleith losing Matt Brydon to injury, and Abu Fofana to a yellow card. As noted above, there were no replacements for Inverleith, and we were reduced to 13 men.

Inverleith reply instantly direct from the kick-off from Trinity’s second try. The kick is perfectly weighted and their player catches the ball, but also takes it into touch. Trinity win the lineout but fail to secure it, and Ahmed pounces on the ball to score in the corner.

The first half continued to be very difficult for Inverleith, as did the first 10 of the second. However, in the second half, Trinity lose a man to a red card for a bad tackle. Their player wraps low, but remains high in body position, lifting the Inver player legs high and tipping him for a head/shoulder landing. Following the red, Inver became much more competitive.

Inver spent the majority of the second half playing territory and holding out Trinity, making sporadic forays into their half. The defensive display shows that the spirit and determination was always there, but we were maybe not ready in the first half due to our poor prep. Inverleith ended the game on 12 men after losing another two to injury.

In all, a game where Inverleith tried their best given the circumstances, and on another day with our front row, the result could’ve been different. Nevertheless, Inverleith need to work on many things in training over the next two weeks in the run up to the game vs. Edinburgh Medics. The game is at home on the 14th October, and we hope to see as many supporters as possible for a great day of rugby.

Inverleith Park, 23rd September 2023

Inverleith fell to defeat to a strong, well drilled Northern team, who retain the BB Quaich in the clash colloquially dubbed ‘El Botanico’. Unfortunately, Inverleith were without their regular coaching team and there is no in-depth match report.

From the game, however, it is known that Inverleith struggled to contain their forwards who set-up good field position for their backs to play some nice running rugby; a gameplan we should really be used to seeing from Northern these days. Despite this, it gives good food for thought in coming weeks, with more forward-driven teams on the way. One huge positive to take from the game is the debut appearance of Tom Walton, who was unanimously chosen by the coaching team as Inverleith’s player of the match.

Inverleith continue to drive recruitment, especially in the forwards, to try and bring experience, size and strength into the pack. This season recruitment has continued at a steady pace, with multiple debutantes attending training and matches. The committee are striving to continue this and build this Inverleith squad back up to the heights of the 2018/19 title-winning side.

Player of the match: Tom Walton

Try scorers: Tom Borrill

Conversions: 0

Penalties: 0

1. Daniel Cameron
2. Sean Finlay
3. Connor Harrison
4. Jacob Leader
5. Seb Jablonski
6. Niall McGrath
7. Sergio Jiminez Gonzalez
8. Matt Brydon
9. Joel Copeland
10. Jamie Roberts
11. Abu Fofana
12. Ash Thomson
13. Tom Walton (Debut)
14. Matt Anderson
15. Tom Borrill
16. Thomas Littleworth
17. Reuben Martyn
18. Simon Matthews

Arboretum Road, 16th September 2023

Inverleith took on Earlston at Arboretum Road in the third fixture of the season. News had just broke that Liberton had withdrawn from the league, meaning our previous fixture would no longer provide us points, which was expected after speaking with their senior members at the game. Earlston had started the season flying, after victories against Medics and Lismore. Earlston had travelled strong, with a full squad and bench, a good sight for East 3 rugby considering their smaller squads from the year prior.

The game started well for both squads, with neither able to capitalise on early pressure. Possession changed hands a few times in the opening 5 minutes, with penalties and scrums splitting up any open play. Inverleith managed to get into the Earlston 22 and put on pressure, but an isolated runner was held up by Earlston and the result was a penalty, allowing them to clear their lines.

Earlston opened the scoring with a great piece of play showing the understanding their backs and forwards have of each others game. The forwards set up the play on one side of the field, before utilising their pacey backs to open up an overlap on the other side. They score in the corner to open their account for the day. Earlston score twice more to make it 21-0 after some questionable decision-making from Inverleith in midfield.

Inverleith managed to pull back some gameplan discipline at this point, scoring twice from close-in via Seb, converting one try. At this point it was 21-12 and the game was well and truly on. Inverleith were in Earlston’s 22 and making good rolling ground. Inverleith make it to Earlston’s 5, but the attack breaks apart. The game changes at this point, with Inverleith losing their momentum.

From here, Earlston scored three more tries, converting two, to add another 19 points. During this period, Inverleith were forced to make a number of changes that put players into positions where they lacked familiarity. The result was a fragmented defensive line, headless attack, and an inability to hold possession. This gives us food for thought to take into training in the coming week to prepare for the rest of the season.

Player of the match: Seb Jablonski

Try scorers: Seb Jablonski x 2

Conversions: Joel Copeland x 1

Penalties: 0

1. Connor Harrison
2. Sean Findlay
3. Ahmed Mohamed
4. Seb Jablonski (Try x 2)
5. Stu McCullough
6. Sergio Jiminez Gonzalez (Debut)
7. Niall McGrath (Debut)
8. Donal McCarthy
9. Dan Jones
10. Joel Copeland
11. Abu Fofana
12. Paul McCaskey
13. Jamie Roberts
14. Matt Anderson
15. Ian Doyle
16. Ryan Duncan
17. Mark Fahy
18. Reuben Martyn (Debut)
19. Andy Lawrence
20. Daniel Cameron
21. Jacob Leader (Debut)
22. Ryan Scougall

Double Hedges, 9th September 2023

Inverleith travelled to Double Hedges last Saturday with the hopes of continuing their winning start to the season. Unfortunately, Liberton had struggled to raise a team with multiple call-offs overnight. In the spirit of rugby, Inverleith and Liberton were keen to ensure a game was played and came to the agreement that Inverleith would share players to even the teams to make a competitive game happen.

A massive thanks to Connor Harrison, Thomas Littleworth, Simon Matthews, and Tom Borrill, who all played for Liberton.

Continue reading “Inverleith 64 – 12 Liberton”

Arboretum Road, 2nd September 2023

Saturday 2nd September marked the first competitive game in the calendar for Inverleith RFC. Supporters and players alike were blessed with a warm day full of sunshine; perfect conditions for running rugby and a beer. Inverleith have spent preseason working on our game plan, drawing on lessons from previous seasons, and there was excitement and nervousness in the air in the run up to kick-off, with the everyone eager to get started.

Inverleith received the kick-off to get things underway, and immediately applied all of their hard work in pre-season to apply strong pressure on Gala through the first 8 mins. The Inverleith boys were camped in the Gala 22m, waiting for the moment to strike. An Inver knock-on gave Gala the ball back, and Gala started their first drive of the game, making good ground to get to the half-way line. Good Inver line speed and pressure forced a Gala knock on, but Inver gave the ball straight back following a knock on of their own after the scrum. The scrum restart lead to a high tackle on Gala, which they kicked into Inver’s 22m.

Continue reading “Inverleith 17 – 12 Gala YM”