ARDROSSAN Accies minis and Micros travelled to East Kilbride RFC for an enjoyable away trip on Sunday 17th September. 
With warm, dry weather and firm pitch underfoot the stage was set for fast, wide rugby. With Cambuslang RFC joining the proceedings there were plenty of matches for the players and parents to enjoy.
The Accies Micros formed into two squads with Accies Black undertaking three matches in all, winning two and losing one narrowly. Much to their coaches delight the youngsters grasped the concept of running onto their passes at pace, speeding up the game and constantly putting the defence on the backfoot. Accies Blue played two matches, winning and losing one whilst allowing a number of new players from as young as four years old to dazzle on the field. Overall, the stars of the day were the jinking, darting Aaron Campbell and the tireless Nathan Guffie, with both lads excelling on the pitch.
P4 faced their toughest opposition of the season against the well drilled, skilful East Kilbride and less subtle, physical Cambuslang. Ultimately both games ended in defeat for the Ardrossan players, but the valiant efforts of chop-tackling Grace Hogarth and try scoring prowess of Harry Dickson typified the spirit of the squad. Both players were duly awarded their star of the day honours.
P5 continued as they left off last week with a stunning display of fast, attacking rugby. With big Joshua Bleakely drawing in the defence like iron filings to a magnet yet still managing to offload out of the tackle, the Accies generated try after try, winning both their matches on the day. Calum Monaghan had another stellar performance with his elusive running and masterful defence. He was awarded star of the day along with happy newcomer Aaron Davie, whose enthusiasm for the game shone all morning.
P6 played three gruelling matches with a small squad, throwing very ounce of strength and determination into their game. Match 1 was victorious for the Accies thanks to star of the day Calum Davis’ powerful surges through the opposition en route to the try line. Match 2 was a far more physical affair with the larger Cambuslang players running hard at the Accies defence. Despite some valiant tackling from star Ronnie Robertson the Ardrossan players went down by a couple of tries. They entered the fray for their final match on weary legs but left nothing in the tanks as they duelled with East Kilbride for a second time. Captain and star of the day Lily Alexander-Beukelman led her troops gallantly but ultimately lost the final match.
P7 also faced some fast, physical opposition, taking on East Kilbride in two back to back matches. The Accies defended heroically throughout both games and were happy to counterattack from anywhere on the park. With neat offloading out of the tackles and sharp handling they managed keep within reach of EK, but ultimately lost both matches. Stars of the day were the swash-buckling Daniel Christie and the tenacious Lochay Forbes, neither of whom were willing to give any less than 100% all day long.
* Around 40% of the Accies include children from the Largs, Fairlie and West Kilbride area. For more details about training evenings and how to join, see our Sports Compendium round-up.