Caley and Borders sides cruise to Fosroc Finals

The Caledonia and Borders & East Lothian academy sides booked their place at this Sunday’s Fosroc Academy Finals in Galashiels in impressive fashion at Broadwood Stadium yesterday.

Caledonia U18 and the Borders & East Lothian U16 have charted an unbeaten course to this weekend’s finals (11 August), while their respective U16 and U18 sides did so with just one defeat at the hands of the opponent they’ll face once again in the finals.

The Borderers, however, were made to work hard for their part in the big finale.

Their U18 side were first out on to the field and trailed 14-12 at half-time, going toe-to-toe with their Glasgow & the West hosts until sharing the spoils at the final whistle to progress on the grounds of points difference over the course of the campaign (38-38).

Their U16 side were made to work even harder by their Glaswegian hosts, and faced a 19-0 deficit at the interval, however they showed great resolve to battle back in the second-half with 29 unanswered points to progress to Sunday’s main event in Galashiels (19-29).

Next up was the corresponding pair of Caledonia v Edinburgh encounters, with Caley winning both match-ups.

First up were the U18 side who built on a 14-7 lead at the turn to win 26-7 at the end of proceedings.

Their impressive U16 side then booked their place in the final after a strong second-half saw them go from an all-square break (7-7) to 31-21 victors at the final whistle, bringing an end to a fantastic showcase of Fosroc Academy rugby.

Fosroc Academy Finals Day, Galashiels

This weekend’s Fosroc Academy Finals Day will be played across two pitches, with Glasgow & the West Academy facing Edinburgh in both the U18 and U16 3^rd / 4^th placed play-off, which open the event on the day’s rugby on the Fairydean 3G (from 12 noon).

A Junior 1872 Cup fixture will then see the best of the four academies combine as Edinburgh Rugby face Glasgow Warriors at U20 level on the main pitch (kick-off 2pm), before the main U18 and U16 finals gets underway between Caledonia and Borders & East Lothian at 4pm and 6pm respectively.

Admission is free to this weekend’s finals day.

Match-day teamsheets

Sunday 11 August: Fosroc Academy Finals Day, Galashiels

U18 3rd v 4th Play-Off – Glasgow & The West v Edinburgh; Fairydean 3G (kick-off 12 noon) U16 3rd v 4th Play-Off– Edinburgh v Glasgow & The West; Fairydean 3G (kick-off 1.45pm)
U20 1872 Cup – Edinburgh Rugby v Glasgow Warriors; Netherdale main pitch (kick-off 2pm)
U18 Final – Caledonia v The Borders & East Lothian; Netherdale main pitch (kick-off 4pm)
U16 Final – The Borders & East Lothian v Caledonia; Netherdale main pitch (kick-off 6pm)

Academy fixtures and results

Rd1: King’s Park, Aberdeen
(U16) Caledonia 40-0 Glasgow & the West
(U18) Caledonia 72-12 Glasgow & the West
(U20) Caledonia 52-7 Glasgow & the West

Gala Fairydean 3G, Galashiels
(U16) Borders & East Lothian 24-5 Edinburgh
(U18) Borders & East Lothian 33-17 Edinburgh
(U20) Borders & East Lothian 21-0 Edinburgh

Rd2: Meggetland, Edinburgh
(U18) Edinburgh 0-26 Glasgow & the West
(U16 Edinburgh 29-0 Glasgow & the West
(U18) Caledonia 50-12 Borders & East Lothian
(U16) Caledonia 7-49 Borders & East Lothian

Rd3: Sunday 4 August, Cumbernauld
(U18) Glasgow & the West 38-38 Borders & East Lothian
(U16) Glasgow & the West 19-28 Borders & East Lothian
(U18) Edinburgh 7-26 Caledonia
(U16) Edinburgh 21-31 Caledonia