LOCH Lomond Minis travelled to Cumbernauld for their final away festival of the season last weekend.

There was a good turnout of P1-3 players who made the journey to Cumbernauld on a cold and windy day.

Their first match was against Waysiders Drumpellier. This was a close run match, which saw Lomond came away from with a 6-5 win.

Next up were the hosts Cumbernauld, both teams were evenly matched and some great play was on show from both teams. Lomond were unlucky to lose by only one try as Cumbernauld won this tie 4-3.

A Falkirk team of only P3 players were next for the Lomond side. They played under a set of rules where after six touches the ball is turned over to the other team.

Lomond’s younger players took time to adapt to this and Falkirk had them on the back foot.

Lomond worked together well, but were no match in the end for Falkirk. Recovering quickly, Lomond went on to play Bannockburn which saw a return to form, with some good passes and great runs, ending in a 5-4 victory for Loch Lomond.

Lomond’s P4/5 players played a mixed team to fit in with the festival’s age bandings. There was a big squad of players present and the players were rotated to ensure everyone who had travelled got a game.The club had to ask to enter two teams due to the strength in depth at this age but it wasn’t possible.

The team got off to a strong start with good wins against Waysiders and Bannockburn. A close game with Cumbernauld followed, with Lomond trailing at half-time, but coming back strongly in the second half, losing by one try.

Their final games were against Falkirk, and it was tough for the Lomond team tackling their bigger players. This allowed them to score several times and secure victory in both games.

The P7 team played five matches, in a round-robin competition. First up was Waysiders, and as usual, this Lomond team struggled to find their form in their opening match.

Waysiders took advantage of Lomond’s poor passing and tackling to win 2-1.

There was a quick turnaround between games, so Lomond had to get their act together quickly as next up were hosts Cumbernauld.

This game saw Lomond returning to winning ways, with the strong tackling and quick offloads expected form them now, they were rewarded with a 3-2 win.

In their third game against Bannockburn, Lomond played superbly, running in five tries, to Bannockburn’s one.

The next game was against Falkirk, a well organised team, who Lomond always struggle to contain. Having watched their previous games, Lomond had identified their key players, and tactically played the better game.

They put Falkirk under pressure throughout, forcing them to make mistakes. Every Lomond player put in 100 per cent effort, special mention to Sean for his try saving tackle on one of their fastest players, which gave the whole team a tremendous boost.

The final score was 4-2 to Lomond, and the Falkirk coach congratulated the Lomond players on the way they played the game.

Finally Lomond faced Glasgow East. Lomond were in full flow by now, and comfortably secured their fourth successive victory, making them the overall winners in this age group.

Training continues for the minis on Sunday, June 7, 12-1pm, and Monday, June 8 6-7pm, in preparation for the Loch Lomond Mini Festival on Sunday, June 14 at the Dillichip Playing Fields. Everyone is welcome to come along to enjoy this family day out, and support the local rugby club.

Check website or Facebook for details. The Blue Skies team train on Wednesdays from 7-8pm. All players should make an effort to attend this week, before the first match on Sunday.