THE DOLLAR ACADEMY 1st XV rugby side reached the final of the Scottish Schools U18 Cup with an excellent away win against Merchiston; Dollar won 10-3 after a very intense match.

The final will be played at Murrayfield on the evening of Wednesday 2 December 2015.

The large number of Dollar supporters were made very welcome by their hosts and both teams were piped onto the pitch. Despite the heavy rain of the past week, the surface held up well and both sides played some excellent rugby.

The key to Dollar's success was their outstanding defence and, after the match, former British Lion Alan Tait described Dollar's defending as the best he had ever seen in schoolboy rugby.

For most of the game Merchiston played superbly, keeping the ball in hand and continually trying to stretch, or punch through, the Dollar defence. Dollar kept excellent shape, rarely managing to turn the ball over at the breakdown but giving away very few penalties and regularly forcing handling errors through the pressure they created. Dollar could perhaps have used the ball better in attack in the first half, twice chipping the ball straight to the full-back, and certainly the line-out failed to function as effectively as might have been hoped, but Merchiston never came close to scoring and a 0-0 half-time score line looked promising for Dollar in the circumstances.

In the early part of the second half, Merchiston again dominated possession and there were a few worrying minutes when it looked as if their superb continuity, and the ensuing almost endless tackling by Dollar, might ultimately wear out the tiring defensive ranks. Following a rare piece of extended Dollar possession, however, a Merchiston player was caught offside and Ben McIlwraith (FV) kicked a brilliant long-distance penalty. The ball left his foot like a laser, scarcely deviating in the strong wind, and sailed between the posts. It transformed the game. Dollar grew in confidence, redoubled their tackling efforts and began to use the ball more effectively when in possession. Harry Warr (FVI) chose to take a quick tap penalty following a spell of Dollar attacking pressure, and some good handling produced an excellent try for Grant Hughes (FV), who spotted an opening and accelerated through the gap. McIlwraith converted to give Dollar a convincing and well-earned 10-0 lead with fifteen minutes to go.

Merchiston gave everything during the closing stages, but in truth Dollar never looked like conceding a try. Merchiston did manage to kick a penalty, but Dollar ran down the clock fairly confidently in the circumstances, not looking at all unnerved by the occasion. Having checked the remaining playing time with the referee, Harry Warr was able to boot the ball into touch to close out the match. It had truly been a team effort. The large crowd had seen a superb game, very well refereed and played in an excellent spirit. As always, the Merchiston boys and staff showed dignity in defeat and wished the Dollar team the best of luck in the final. This was school sport at its best.