There was a table topping clash in the West U16 league on Sunday as previously unbeaten EK travelled to take on league leaders Hamilton. Free scoring Hamilton had scored over 60 points in each of their previous league fixtures, so EK had prepared hard on their defence.
School holidays and injuries meant that EK were not quite at full strength , but we confident the depth of squad would enable them to compete against their much bigger opponents.
Conditions were atrocious in the build up to ko, with heavy rain and strong winds the order of the day.
The first half was dominated by Hamilton who had the strong wind at their back, but tenacious defence kept the score to 17-0 at half time. The forwards refused to allow themselves to be bullied by massive opponents, and the feeling at half time was that EK were well in the game.
Unfortunately, EK did not manage the conditions to their maximum advantage in the second half, too often getting involved in a wrestling match with stronger boys. Hamilton scored first in the second half , but EK immediately responded with a well worked back row move ending with a try from Ross Steven, converted by Ethan Aitken. The next passage of play was always going to be key to the outcome. A chip and a fortuitous bounce went Hamiltons way , stretching their lead to 29-7. EK finished strongly and were camped on the Hamilton line.
Only a try from Niall Hynes, converted by Ethan Aitken was the return for all that effort, resulting in a final score of 29-14.
It was a very entertaining game despite the conditions and the EK boys will hopefully learned a lot in defeat. The return fixture later in the season should be a belter.