Published: Thursday, 17th April, 2008 09:20
Scarlets’ sevens heaven at Pennypit
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•LOCAL RIVALS: Ross High’s Paul Davis tries to grab hold of Preston Lodge’s John Armstrong in the Tranent men's first round victory
Haddington won the Preston Lodge Sevens Trophy at the Pennypit on Saturday, after narrowly defeating Premiership Two Musselburgh 33-31 in an all-East Lothian final.
Former Preston Lodge and current Scotland and Edinburgh prop forward, Allan Jacobsen, was on hand to present the trophy and medals to the jubilant winners.
The pick of the first round ties was between the hosts and local rivals Ross High.
The Tranent men came out on top by 34-17 to set up a quarter-final tie against holders Edinburgh University, who also made it through safely with a comfortable victory over the President’s Seven. Ross High proved to be too good for the students and booked their place in the semi-finals with a 24-12 win.
Edinburgh Northern had the dubious distinction of being beaten by both finalists in the first round after they were reinstated in the draw as lucky losers.
Musselburgh, one of the finalists to beat Northern, then went on to defeat Boroughmuir in a close match to set up an intriguing derby in the semi-finals against Ross High.
The good support play shown by Ross High in the early rounds, deserted them as they tired in the semi final and it was Musselburgh who turned on the style to coast to victory by 33-0.
The second semi featured the entertaining Rodent Barbarians who had comfortable victories over North Berwick in the first round and then Murrayfield Wanderers in the quarter final.
Even in the early stages of the competition, their opponents Haddington looked to be the team to beat, as they eased through their quarter-final by scoring six tries against Dunbar who had previously beaten Lismore in an exciting first round tie.
The match turned out to be the tie of the tournament at that stage and included the two best tries – one each from the Rodent Baa-Baas and Haddington.
Both teams were committed to fast, open rugby and this ensured that the crowd were on the edge of their seats right to the end. Haddington went on to grab a narrow victory by 14-7.
At half-time, the final looked to be a one-sided affair as Musselburgh had struggled to win much quality possession and Haddington, with Calum Mack running the show, had taken a big lead despite losing an early try.
The tables turned in the second half as Musselburgh gained the upper hand and gradually chipped away to reduce the deficit. Andy Grodzynski was instrumental in creating many of the openings and he was rewarded for his efforts by being named Player of the Tournament by the glamorous Preston Lodge Ladies who were sponsoring the event.
Both teams ended up scoring five tries each. The final kick of the game was a Musselburgh conversion that would have tied the scores. But, it drifted just wide.
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