RI Cruden Scotland u17 Ireland Tour

The back end of July once against saw the annual Scotland under 17 tour of Ireland take place, enabling some of the sport’s top young talents to partake in a mix of sporting and cultural experiences to reward and enhance their development. 18 players from 11 clubs were picked, 9 of whom received their 1st call up. Captain was Matthew Sloss, completing the final of his 4 years in the squad and coaching the side were Ronald Ross, Willie MacDonald and Roddy Young.

The squad assembled at Glasgow Airport for the short hop over the Irish sea, landing just as the All-Ireland Football Final was taking place. After settling in at Dublin City University, it was time to soak in the atmosphere in the city, with the streets being teeming with life after Mayo’s historic win, a great experience for the players to be a part of.

The next day begun with a training session on the pitches at DCU, putting the players through their paces before a final assessment of the player’s suitability for the composite rules format. After a quick shower it was back on the bus to pay another visit to the city centre which had a more relaxed atmosphere compared to the celebratory atmosphere of the night before, allowing the squad to see the sights and partake in some shopping.

Up first that night was Dublin, with the team making the trip over to Parnell Park to face off against the Dubs. The Scots would race into an early lead, hitting 4 goals in the first 15 minutes without reply before the home side replied by firing their first point over the bar. The goals would keep on coming, and the visitors went in at the half time break with an 18 point lead after 7 goals and 2 points. Dublin started off the second half with a quick fire point over the bar, and whilst the second half was a closer affair it would end Dublin 2-4 (10) Scotland 9-5 (32), James Coyle hitting 4, Matthew Sloss and Jay MacRae scoring 2 and Seumas Henderson grabbing a goal on his debut. A strong performance all round, it was. Auryn Kerr who was awarded the Man of the Match for his relentless running throughout the whole match which shut down several Dublin attacks. The team headed back to the accommodation in a celebratory mood with unofficial team DJ Hayden “Timmy” Taylor-Ramsay providing the party songs to amp the boys up.

The players were afforded a lie in the next morning, with the day kicking into action with a trip to Croke Park, home of the GAA. A tour of the legendary arena was followed by a look around the museum – which whilst impressive, we personally thought Shinty’s Story – Sgeul na Camanachd was better! With a long gap in the schedule and the sun making a rare appearance, the vibe in the squad was relaxed ahead of the journey to the second match of the trip.

Rounding off the tour was a jaunt over to the Abbotstown National Performance Centre to face off against Meath’s hurlers. The facilities were not the only impressive thing on display that night, as Scotland registered a comprehensive victory on a sun kissed evening. After less than a minute James Coyle had the ball in the back of the net, and the goals continued to come in at a steady pace all evening. A half time rule change meant the visiting hurlers were allowed to handle the ball, and this change allowed for a much more even game which would end with the score being Meath 3-11 (20) Scotland 18-3 (57). The obvious man of the match was James Coyle, who despite being the youngest player on the trip at age 15 bagged 9 goals to take his total tally to 13, but a mention must go to his fellow 15 year old Jay MacRae who chipped in with 9 of his own goals over the two games.

It was a welcome change for coaches, players and parents alike as the Ryanair pricing algorithms threw up a cheaper price for the mid afternoon flight home, which prevented the usual banging on doors for players who had slept through the early wake up call for the 9am flight home. As the team touched down in Scotland’s second city, the mood was positive with all recognising that the trip had been successful on and off the pitch.

Our thanks go to RI Cruden for their generous sponsorship of the trip – swipe to see a gallery of images.