Rugby 

We welcomed Mackie FP RFC and Howe of Fife Rugby to Countesswells on Saturday to play a variety of matches and triangular tournaments. There were good wins for S3A against the visitors in their tournament, with a high work rate leading to RGC having the majority of possession. The boys exploited the space out wide very effectively. S1A won their match against Howe convincingly with lots of tries finished by wingers and good defence in the second half to secure the win. A win also for P7 against Howe with the boys demonstrating very good handling and support as well as excellent width, line speed and ruck turnovers. Both sides focussed on attack in the P6 match with RGC coming out as winners with some excellent rugby on display. There were losses for U16, S2A, S2B and S1B against strong and physical opposition. The 1st XV match against Howe was cancelled. 

Girls’ Hockey

Congratulations to S1 hockey who won the North District Tournament against Cults and St Margaret’s on Saturday morning after a series of nail biting games. They won against Cults in their first game then St Margaret’s won against Cults in the next match. The last game between RGC and St Margaret’s was therefore the decider. At half time the score was sitting at 0-0 but the RGC girls upped the pace in the 2nd half and with carefully considered passing options and excellent defending, managed to score the winning goal. Well done to all the girls on their performances.

It was great to see the 1st XI girls back out playing together after exam leave and although a bit rusty, they played some excellent passing combinations and came out as comfortable winners. Eilidh was Player of the Match.

S2A came up against a strong St Margaret’s side but with good teamwork as well as dominating possession and territory, the girls secured the win. We had a few more opportunities to score so will need to work on converting these into goals as well as doing more at short and long corners. 
 
The P6/7 mixed team played an excellent match against St Margaret’s, finishing with a draw. The girls continued their development of attacking hockey, playing at a fantastic tempo and speed. They did everything that was asked of them so can take a lot of positives forward from this match into the next one.
 
S3A lost their game to St Margaret’s. They were a goal down at half time but had a better second half with Miss Howie happy with their work rate. 

Boys’ Hockey

The 1st XI were very rusty after exam leave going into their match against Gordonstoun on Thursday afternoon but the game but showed glimpses of some good, well structured hockey. Poor execution in the middle of the first half cost us and some defensive errors were capitalised upon by the visiting team. The second half was much improved. We are looking forward to working on our consistency now exams are finished.
 
The U14s played well on Thursday afternoon to win their match against Aberdeen Grammar.

Netball

Congratulations to the 1st VII who won against Berwickshire High School in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup. This was an away fixture involving an 8 hour round trip but the team put this behind them to play and perform very well, implementing a lot of what was practiced in training this week onto the court. Player of the Match was Ella whose shooting accuracy and movement were outstanding, throwing lots of crowd pleasing long bombs. Next up is the quarter final against Perth Academy.
 
S2 also played the next round of their Scottish Cup during the week with an away match to Stewarton Academy in Kilmarnock. Stewarton were a very tight, physical side who play as a team for both club and school netball so this was a tough fixture for RGC. Our players thought carefully about their passing options and how to lose their defender to create space. Miss Stephen was very proud as everyone played their socks off and took all her feedback on board. All the girls took to the court and at times managed to pull the score back to within a two goal difference. Jai was Player of the Match; she moved from GS to GA and made excellent drives in centre court and in the circle.
 
RGC finished as runners up in the S1 ASSNA tournament on Wednesday in a nail biting final against Mintlaw who clinched the win 7-4. The girls progressed through the rounds undefeated in their matches against Cults, Harlaw, Westhill and Portlethen, then Ellon in semi finals. Well done to everyone who took part in an event which brought together teams from all over the North East.
 
S3 played their quarter final in the bronze section of the Scottish Cup against Gordonstoun on Monday afternoon. The opposition were strong and quick to intercept a weak pass however our girls kept their composure and dug deep to retain or regain possession. Player of the Match went to Sophie F for the support she consistently gave to the attackers, ensuring they could move the ball around the defenders and into the shooters. Furthermore, she created space off the ball so that either she or her teammates could move into an attacking position to bring the ball up court.

Athletics

Seven of our S3-S5 pupils travelled to the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on Wednesday and Thursday to take part in the Scottish Schools Athletics Indoor Track and Field Competition. Day 1 of the event saw Kene and Zack run PBs in the 200m and 1500m respectively.  Raymond jumped a PB of 1.60m in the high jump on Day 2, narrowly losing out on 1.65m to finish tied 4th place overall. Morven made it into the semi finals of the 60m sprint just missing out on a place in the final. Well done to all our athletes who took part.

Cross Country

The S4 Cross Country Championships were held during Games time on Thursday. Well done to everyone who ran the course and to the pupils who finished in the top 3 positions. All results can be viewed on SOCS. 

Team of the Week 

Congratulations to our 1st VII girls who qualified for the last 8 of the Gold section of the Scottish Cup with an away win in Berwickshire on Friday.