Dunfermline U16 v Kirkcaldy

Report by Jim Thomson

It was back to league business for Dunfermline who played host to Kirkcaldy in the Caledonian U 16 League Division 1. Kirkcaldy came with a big pack that challenged Dunfermline from the very start. Dunfermline kicked off and immediately gave away a scrum for coming in from the side. Kirkcaldy made the most of their size advantage and won the scrum easily and gave the impression that the smaller Dunfermline pack were in for a torrid afternoon. Dunfermline learned early on that if they were to get anything from the game, it would be by moving the ball. This tactic paid off when Darroch McKeague ran in between the posts for his second try in as many weeks. An easy conversion for Connor Simpkins gave Dunfermline a 7-0 nil lead after 5 minutes. As expected from Kirkcaldy, they went on the attack from the re-start and it was only some excellent defending from Dunfermline that kept the sheet clean. It was during this period that Dunfermline started to believe that the size difference in the packs was irrelevant and began to dominate on their put in. The Kirkcaldy pack was not to retain the same dominance that they enjoyed in the first ten minutes. Kirkcaldy kept Dunfermline in their own half and justly deserved their unconverted try in the 18th minute. From their line out on the Dunfermline 5 metre line the Kirkcaldy pack drove on for a pushover try. The angle was to acute however, for the conversion attempt. In the 24th minute Kirkcaldy undid their good work by giving away a penalty in front of their posts on their 22. Kicks from this position are food and drink to Connor Simpkins who dutifully slotted the ball between the uprights. This ended the scoring for the first half with Dunfermline leading 10-5.
Dunfermline kicked off the 2nd half, and the ball was returned with interest by Kirkcaldy who ran the ball in for a try in the corner in the 36th minute. Again the angle was too acute for the kicker who was unable to convert, but this levelled the score at 10-10. From the kick off, Angus Thomson chased and pounced on a fumble by Kirkcaldy but was caught just outside the Kirkcaldy line. Dunfermline had players in support, and the ball was quickly moved out to the wing, where Toby Gayfor dived over the line to score. Connor Simpkins converted from a tricky angle to give Dunfermline a 17-10 lead. Shortly after this Thomson was hurt in a tackle and was replaced by Cammy Dunn who had just gone off for a rest, or so he thought. Kirkcaldy were determined to level the score again and put Dunfermline under a spell of prolonged pressure, but, as it was in the first half, some excellent defending prevented the visitors from breaching the line. It was Dunfermline who went further ahead in the in the 56th minute when Connor Simpkins split the Kirkcaldy defence to score Dunfermline’s 3rd try which he also converted, 22-10 Dunfermline. Kirkcaldy continued to display a “never say die” attitude and took the game to Dunfermline once again, but in the 56th minute Dunfermline scored again. This try had Simpkins written all over it as Ross Clark fed the ball out to Connor Simpkins from the base of a ruck in the middle of the pitch, who then ran across to the wing and off loaded to Macaulay Simpkins. Macaulay’s blistering pace took him through the Kirkcaldy defence to score between the posts for another easy conversion for his brother. 29-10 Dunfermline. Back again came Kirkcaldy, and their persistence was rewarded in the 68th minute with an unconverted try to give a final score of 29-15 Dunfermline.
This was a thrilling match to watch as it was real end to end stuff, but the score could have been a lot closer had Kirkcaldy not made some basic handling errors. Dunfermline were excellent in defence and after a shaky start, the Pack matched Kirkcaldy in the scrum, and even dominated at times. A more pleasing aspect of the forward’s play was their performance in the loose which was greatly improved as they rarely lost the ball when they took it in. When the backs moved the ball at pace, it was a joy to watch as they showed some slick handling and were able to get the ball out quickly to the wings. This was a keenly fought match, but despite the bragging rights being up for grabs, there were very few penalties given away by either side. Next week Dunfermline visit Perthshire, and given the Perthshire’s comprehensive win at their last meeting, Dunfermline will have to be at the top of their game to come away with the points.