We were treated to a beautiful sunny morning at Countesswells on Saturday, continuing the run of spectacular, colourful skies seen over Aberdeen in the last few days. The conditions were ideal for our players (if not a bit chilly for our spectators). 

Rugby

We welcomed the High School of Dundee to the rugby pitches to play against S1, S2 and S3, with our S4s and Primary teams heading south to play in Dundee.  

P6A had a strong first half against a well organised Dundee team, demonstrating direct running and some excellent individual scores. Our structure began to fall apart defensively in the second half and a few poor decisions let Dundee back into the game to win by a narrow margin. P6B also showed that they could play a direct running game but still lacked the confidence to move the ball wide. There were some excellent standout defensive efforts from individuals, but tackle confidence collectively was lacking. Despite this the boys worked hard, had fun and came a close second best to Dundee.

P7 picked up where they left off from last term. Both teams showed some flair in attack but a lack of confidence to tackle and organise a defensive line. There was a win for the Reds and a loss for the Stripes with coach Mr Horne identifying many positives upon which to build.

There were two great games for the S1s with the A Team showing how much they have improved by trading tries with Dundee right the way to the last 10 minutes of the match. Dundee then broke away with a couple of well worked tries to win the game. Better tackling and communication throughout with a few tweaks will be needed for the return fixture. S1B started slowly during the first half but warmed up to the game in the second half with three tries in a row. During the last seconds of the game and behind by just two points, the B team’s hopes of snatching the win were dashed by a knock on in goal. The boys are already looking forward to the return game. S1A and S1B numbers meant that 40 boys had time on the pitch which is a fantastic turnout.

S3A played well against a good Dundee side. RGC managed to control the play well and varied the attack to keep Dundee on their toes. Defensively, we managed to make the majority of our tackles, but our structure was a bit loose. Players were still a bit rusty from the holidays but Mr Beattie was delighted with the win and encouraged to see a definite improvement from last week.

The S4 boys were disappointed to lose their first match of the season on Saturday to a determined Dundee High side. They had some spells of fantastic rugby but unfortunately made a lot of mistakes which Dundee fed off from well to score tries. The boys responded well in the second half trailing by 17 points and pulled it back to a five point difference. In the post match chat the players reflected well and they agreed that they started poorly and let Dundee get too far in front; for the first time this season we were defensively inconsistent and our handling wasn’t as good as it should have been. This honest reflection was a real positive. Other positives were how they didn’t lie down and accept a loss but came back well and that there was plenty of ambition in attack.

Hockey

Both the U14 and U15 boys teams travelled down to Glenalmond on Saturday morning, sadly the 2nd XI game was cancelled. The U15 boys came into the game looking for some revenge after a cup loss to the opposition earlier in the year. After conceding an early goal, the boys began to play and looked like the more dominant team in a fairly end to end half. Starting the second half the boys played out with great tempo and allowed for opportunities to score the equaliser. With this pressure and some rash tackles from Glenalmond, the boys won a penalty flick which Nilav C slotted past the keeper sending him the wrong way. The continued pressure from the RGC boys unfortunately didn't lead to any more goals but they looked like the dominant side that controlled the game until the final whistle. The final score was a draw. A great showing from the boys playing a style of hockey that the coaching staff were very pleased with and it was great preparation for the upcoming Scottish Plate quarter final match.

The U14 Development XI faced a strong Glenalmond side in their match. Unfortunately despite much recent improvement on the training pitch, the boys struggled against a much bigger and more experienced home side. In the first half a very strong defensive effort was required and after conceding a couple of early goals it was always going to be an uphill struggle. David W had a great deal to cope with in his first outing in goal, but both Charlie P and Peter F tried to help out and nullify the strong attack when possible. In the second half RGC enjoyed more possession, with Finlay R  and Alex B showing some good individual touches. Hopefully the confidence built up has not been eroded, this was a difficult match against a physical team who had played together for several years. The boys deserve much praise for persevering and were rewarded with a late consolation goal.

Internal matches took place on the hockey pitches at Countesswells. There was a win for the mixed team of Senior girls against S3 and a goalless draw for S2 vs S1. Up on the sand pitch, the Primary 5-7 boys enjoyed a round robin tournament against the P6 and P7 girls teams.

Click here for a full breakdown of Saturday’s results.