History makers Ben Morriss and Ross Birnie have created memories to last a lifetime after being part of the Scottish men’s rugby sevens team which won gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.
Gordonians duo Morriss, who started his career at Deeside in Banchory before joining the GoGos, and Birnie, were part of the 13 strong squad for the Games earlier this month.
The duo have returned home having made history by becoming the first rugby team in Scotland to win gold at Commonwealth or youth level.
Morriss said: “I’m really honoured to be part of a history making team, I can’t really put it into words how proud I am of all the boys in the squad for the effort we’ve put in over the past few weeks.”
Rollercoaster route to the final for young Scots
Scotland beat Canada 22-14 and Jamaica 52-0 before suffering their only defeat of the tournament with a 32-5 loss to Fiji.
However, a stunning 19-17 win against South Africa left the Scots needing to beat hosts Trinidad and Tobago to reach the final.
Birnie scored two tries with Morriss also touching down in a 43-5 win to set-up a rematch with Fiji in the final.
A try from Morriss in the final helped keep Scotland level at 10-10 at the break and with the teams still tied at 20-20 extra-time was needed to find a winner.
With a first try wins format it was Birnie who got the all-important score for Craig Dods’ side as he finished off a flowing team move to ensure Scotland were crowned Commonwealth Youth Games champions.
Birnie said: “It was an honour to be selected to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Youth games in Tobago.
“It was a great experience meeting people from different countries.
“We had some tough games in testing conditions, and we were really pleased to make the final.
“The final was a tense game right to the end but I was really pleased to score the winning try in extra time which meant the team won the gold medal.
“It was an honour to be part of the history making team.”
Joy for head coach Dods
Head coach Dods was thrilled for his players, not just for winning gold but also for the manner in which the secured victory after digging deep in the 42C heat to claim victory in extra-time.
Dods said: “I couldn’t be more proud of the way we stuck in. We talked about pack mentality all week and everyone in that circle believed in what we could do.
“To beat South Africa in the group stage with the last play and then in extra time against Fiji in the final – what a way to win and what memories these guys are going to have for the rest of their lives.”
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