Ellon RFC under-16s are raring to play on Scottish rugby’s biggest stage after reaching the National Youth Cup final.
The cup final will be played at BT Murrayfield on Saturday, where Ellon will come up against Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians (GHA) RFC.
On Ellon’s route to the final, they defeated Stonehaven club Mackie RFC 29-12 in the quarter-finals, before beating Hawick Youth 19-8 in the semi-finals.
Ellon RFC club chair Julie Coutts has encouraged the U16 squad to embrace the experience of playing their final at Scotland’s largest stadium.
She said: “Reaching the final is a huge achievement, and it’s really exciting that the clubs have been invited to play the finals at Murrayfield.
“For our under-16s squad, it’s a culmination of years of hard work so they’re very excited to just go down there and play now.
“They’ve had a couple of tough games to get to the final so the belief is there. The boys and their coaches have work really hard over the last few years.
Ellon U16s are ‘excited more than anything else’
“A lot of these boys have played from Minis and Maxis, when they were five years old, and worked their way up the age groups.
“So, for them to now have the chance to play on a big stage like Murrayfield, they’re excited more than anything else.
“The most important thing for them is to go there and enjoy the experience – soak it all in and enjoy ever single minute of playing in a final at Murrayfield.”
Ellon’s U16 squad will be well supported at Murrayfield, as the club have organised a bus to take fans down to the cup final.
Coutts believes that a strong backing, which the team received in their previous games, will help give the players a boost on the pitch.
She said: “The support is going to be huge. I think the support we had at the semi-final was the biggest crowd we’ve had down at a game in recent years.
“We had a couple hundred people watching the game and it really does give the boys a huge boost, so we’re hoping for the same for the final.
“Seats on the bus have been selling fast and we’ve sold out of Ellon bobble hats – everybody has been getting their last minute merch.”
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