News from the Scottish Schools Championship

 

Group A – 1st: Reggie H (MCS);  2nd: Monty D (Fettes); 3rd: Freddie J (EA); 4th: Ben L (Fettes)

Group B – 1st: Jock L (EA); 2nd Chris T (Fettes); 3rd: Archie B (Loretto); 4th: Jamie D (EA)

Group C – 1st: Archie F (Fettes); 2nd: Tom J (EA); 3rd James R (MCS); 4th: Max R (EA)

Group D – 1st: Weems H (EA); 2nd: Geordie M (Fettes); 3rd Oscar Z (EA); 4th: Nazar B (Loretto)

 

McKeown Plate Competition

Quarter-finals: Freddie J (EA) bt Jamie D (EA) 11-6; James R (MCS) bt Nazar B (Loretto) 11-2; Archie B (Loretto) bt Ben L (Loretto) 11-5; Max R bt Oscar Z (EA) 11-6

Semi-finals: James R (MCS) bt Freddie J (EA) 11-6; Max R (EA) bt Archie B (Loretto) 11-3

Final: Max R (EA) bt James R (MCS) 15-13

 

Quarter-finals: Reggie H (MCS) bt Chris T (Fettes) 15-11; Geordie M (Fettes) bt Archie F (Fettes) 15-10; Jock L (EA) bt Monty D (Fettes) 15-11; Weems H (EA) bt Tom J (EA) 15-13

Semi-finals: Reggie H (MCS) bt Geordie M (Fettes) 15-13; Jock L (EA) bt Weems H (EA) 15-13

Final: Jock L (EA) bt Reggie H (MCS) 11-4, 11-4

 

 

Richie Murby reports: 16 players from four schools donned the gloves for this, the 8th instalment of the Boyd Cup. The draw felt wide open this year, and so it proved – every quarter-final was won by 5 points or fewer, and both semi-finals were won and lost by only two points. This degree of parity made for an unpredictable and highly entertaining day of fives. 

 

With Merchiston’s top player Lucas F out with an injury sustained on the eve of the tournament, it was left to Reggie H and James R to fly the flag for their school. James, the youngest player at the tournament and a balanced striker of the ball, did well to reach the Plate final – but he was pipped by EA’s creative left-hander, Max R.

 

Meanwhile Reggie, having sailed through the groups with his high-octane hitting and sharp retrieval, had to fight resolutely to fend off two Fettes opponents in succession; first, the vastly improved Chris T played his best-ever fives to run Reggie close; then in the semi-final Geordie found an escalator of his own, constructing rallies superbly and bringing himself back from 5-12 down to almost take the match. But Reggie held firm and managed to break the 13-13 deadlock to win by two points.

 

His opponent in the final, EA’s Jock L, had come through the groups relatively smoothly, and faced his first stern test against Monty D in the quarter-finals. Monty’s big right hand, zany angles and measured inside-out drives down the line caused problems, but Jock was canny enough to make the necessary adjustments.

 

In the semi-final Jock was run close by fellow EA player Weems, who hit plenty of low, hard fizzers into the corners, but at times undid some of that great work with unforced errors against a slightly more consistent opponent.

 

Jock’s dominant hand, his left, was now swollen and his fingers bruised, but if it was bothering him, it didn’t show in the final. He was able to get on top of Reggie’s serve, and he played intelligent, patient but aggressive fives against the excellent defending of his opponent, who began to tire under the pressure. He competed valiantly but Jock was too steady to let his lead in either game slip – and he was able to close out the match 11-4, 11-4, to claim the trophy and become the EA’s first Boyd Cup champion.