HELENSBURGH and Lomond’s under-16s lost 50-8 away to Merchiston Castle in the second round of the National Schools Cup on Tuesday - though the scoreline hugely flattered the Edinburgh side.

L&H led 3-0 after 15 minutes against a rattled Merchiston side who were rattled, dropping the ball and kicking away possession against a visiting team who steamrollered their hosts, out-rucked them and hit them ferociously hard in the tackle.

A breakaway try for the home side, though, saw them take control of the game and open up a 24-3 lead at the break.

H&L continued where they’d left off in the second half, showing more hunger and passion than their opponents, but Merchiston aren’t one of the best teams in Scotland without good reason, and as the game went on, fatigue set in among the visitors and Merchiston were able to run in four more quick scores.

Not to be outdone, a fine defensive set from H&L saw them drag themselves from phase to phase along the length of the field to have the final say with a true team try.

Coach Ian Smith said: “All 20 players gave everything they had and then more; if it moved, it was tackled; if it went on the ground, it was rucked.

“Merchiston were expecting a 'roll over' from the west and left the more unhappy of both teams despite winning. I’m very proud of what the squad achieved today.”

Meanwhile, Lomond and Helensburgh’s second XV fell to a 34-31 defeat at home to their Dalziel counterparts on Saturday – but like their younger counterparts, the L&H side could take great pride in their efforts against a much more experienced team.

The L&H side started at a much quicker pace, putting Dalziel under severe pressure, which led to the home team being awarded a penalty in front of the posts. The team chose to kick for touch instead of kicking the penalty, but good Dalziel defence kept the home team from scoring.

A turnover in a ruck led to Dalziel taking the lead with a well worked try and conversion after 17 minutes, but from the restart L&H collected their own kick-off, and good running by Ross Proctor and the forwards led to hooker Craig Norrie scoring in the 25th minute, Tom Unsworth’s conversion levelling the scores.

Some slack play from the restart saw Dalziel run in their second try, but L&H took the lead on 35 minutes when Unsworth converted Faibo Giarchi’s try after some strong runs from both the backs and forwards, with Proctor and King playing important roles in the build-up.

However, it was Dalziel who took a narrow lead into the interval when they converted a penalty in front of the posts – and the visitors roared out of the blocks in the third quarter, adding further tries in the 47th and 57th minutes, with one conversion earning them a 27-14 advantage.

But the L&H squad is a resilient bunch, and they hit back strongly to add a third try of their own, with the backs and forwards alike showing some great lines before winger Aidan Harvie was tackled just short of the line; L&H won the ball back from the resulting line-out, with Tyler Gregson barging over.

T-Jay Lambert missed the conversion, but L&H reduced the gap further five minutes later with a great run and unconverted score from Alex McAulay.

And L&H looked like they might pull off a memorable win when they added their fifth try of the afternoon, winning turnover ball from some strong defence before the ball was passed through the backs to captain Dougie King; he drew the defence before passing to T-Jay, who ran in from the 22-metre line, McAulay converting to put the hosts in front by four points.

Sadly, though, L&H were undone by some slack play from the restart that allowed Dalziel’s winger to run in for a converted try and a 34-31 advantage that the visitors were able to hold on to for the final few minutes.

Manager Ian MacQuire said: “The Lomond-Helensburgh players should be proud of their efforts. They could have won the game against a more experienced team.

“L&H scored five tries for the second league game in a row, and with a tighter defence and better game management will wins games in this league.”

Squad: Iain Norrie, Craig Norrie, Martin Jamieson, Colin Rettie, Darcey Bourton, Ross Proctor, Joseph Liptrot, Fabio Giarchi, Craig Nimmo, Tom Unsworth, Shay Mallon, Dougie King (captain), Thomas Shaw, Dan Hicks, Ben Wain (vice-captain), Tom Carruthers, Stephen Dennison, Tyler Gregson, Marc Couzans, T-Jay Lambert, Alex McAulay, Aidan Harvie.

This Saturday, September 28, L&H’s second XV travel to Fort Matilda to face their Greenock Wanderers counterparts with a 2pm kick-off.

Elsewhere, the L&H first XV slipped to a disappointing 31-14 defeat away to Waysiders Drumpellier on Saturday; they will look to bounce back when they take on Uddingston at Ardencaple this Saturday. Kick-off is at 3pm.

Finally this week, L&H’s under-18s were beaten 40-5 at home to Lenzie Academy on Saturday; while the result wasn’t what the hosts were hoping for, they showed some real intensity in the second half and a lot of quality rugby was on display too.

This Saturday, the club’s youth teams, at U14, U15, U16 and U18 level, are due to travel to Ayrshire to take on Cumnock.