The U16s welcomed Deeside to Alloway Place on Sunday in a National 2 Youth League fixture. The conditions were certainly not conducive to expansive rugby with torrential rain of almost biblical proportions falling all afternoon, but both sides dug deep and found a way to battle through the weather.

It was the home side that started the brightest and got off to a blistering start. After forcing a knock on from the very first kick off, the home pack won the scrum, and Ethan scampered over the line under the posts from the resultant set piece to put the hosts in front, with Euan adding the extras.

Despite the deteriorating conditions, Dundee sought to take control of the game and, by the midpoint of the first half, had added another three scores to their tally, first through Euan and then through Aidan and Lucas, with the first two being converted by Euan.

The rain had really began to take a firm hold of the game, with both teams struggling at times to maintain any control or pressure, resulting in a seemingly endless series of scrums as a result of handling errors. Dundee were reduced to 14 shortly before the interval when Maxwell was shown a yellow card and, to their credit, the visitors took full advantage and grabbed the final try of the first half, capitalising on a Dundee error to drive over and score, and end the half 26-7.

The second half started much like the first ended, with neither side really seizing control because of the conditions. Dundee controlled the possession and territory for large spells, while the visitors used their big forwards to good effect to try and gain momentum without really troubling the Dundee try line. Undoubtedly, the conditions were affecting both sides' ability to play.

Dundee did eventually get themselves another try through a well worked move that was finished off by Rory M, powering over the line with defenders hanging off him as we've been accustomed to seeing. Shortly afterwards, Jamie broke a tackle on the fringes and strode in under the posts untouched to extend the home sides lead and effectively put the game beyond reach for the visitors.

Coinciding with a brief reprieve in the relentless rain, the hosts found another gear and began to move the ball about with real confidence. Buoyed by the recent scores, and, perhaps to the loudest cheer of the day, Patrick finished off a fantastic sweeping move to score his first try for the club, converted by Euan.

Shortly after, Archie A finished off another fine move to break a tackle and go over for another well deserved try, again converted by Euan, to round off the afternoon.

Final score: Dundee 52-7 Deeside

POTM: Archie A

"This was a real gritty performance from the lads. Perhaps not one for the scrap book, as the conditions were truly awful and made it a really difficult and frustrating afternoon for large spells. I suspect not an enjoyable game to play in for the most part!

I was really happy with our defensive performance today. We challenged the lads to take what we had worked on in training into the game, and I thought they tackled well, our line speed was good, and we were overall pretty dominant across the line. The conditions were bad, but we forced a number of errors because of our defensive efforts and that was really pleasing.

It was perhaps not our most clinical attacking display or most controlled performance, but you really cannot overstate how bad the rain was. As with every performance, we'll reflect on this one and continue to develop and get better. Job done this weekend, and now we move on to Moray in the last 16 of the National Youth Cup next weekend."

Graeme Craig, Head Coach.