Depleted Perthshire on Wrong End of Eightsome Reel

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Hillhead Jordanhill 50 – 8 Perthshire

With 19 players declaring themselves unavailable because of injury or other reasons, it was a severely depleted Shire group who travelled through to Hillhead on Saturday conceding eight tries in a one sided match.  2XV team manager Dave Lewis was one of the men who volunteered to fill the gaps along with the highly promising youngster Louis Woods from Glenalmond College, who had his first taste of senior rugby and let’s hope this experience has not put him off making further appearances for the Eagles.

Perthshire were by far the most impressive side in the first 20 minutes. The scrum was in control and the forwards were supplying good ball for the backs to run and could have gone ahead early on but Jonny Armitt slightly overcooked his kick ahead and Hills scrambled back to win the race for the touchdown.

Rab Pittendriegh managed a huge clearance kick from his line which took Shire deep into the Hillhead 22 and following a quickly taken penalty they should have scored but a knock on let the home team off the hook. Shire kept up the attacking play and the ball was spread wide for Jay Pettie to race through the defence to give his team a well deserved lead.

Unfortunately, that was the end of the game as far as Shire were concerned and it was one way traffic after that. Ollie Bain, had to leave the field injured and with only Dave Lewis and young Louis as replacements, Shire had to shuffle their pack around. Straight from the kick off following Jay’s try, Hillhead’s Rory Harte at stand off ran through most of the Shire defence to score a brilliant individual try. Good defending halted Hillhead’s next attack but a loose clearance kick landed straight into the arms of Hillhead’s Twaddle who is the last person you want to give the ball to. His weaving run had Shire defenders strewn all over the park and try number 2 was scored.

Shire’s scrum was being shunted backwards at every scrum and it is fairly clear that there is a huge lack of fitness in the team as players were slow to reach the breakdowns. Paul McLean and Sammy Obure pulled off a couple of try saving tackles as sheer determination and pride made them race back to cover tackle. Young Kieran Ramsay who is a prop was selected in the back row but due to the call offs he had to move to centre and his versatility was further tested as he even had to throw the ball in at the lineout. Kieran’s tackling can only be described as offensive defence and he can certainly hold his head high after his display.

Hillhead took full advantage of Shire’s clearances not finding touch and this coupled with their dominance in most aspects of the game allowed them to score a further 6 unanswered tries as Shire suffered another hefty defeat. Full marks to all the boys who made the effort to fulfil this fixture and help the team out, but if Shire have any hope at all of avoiding the looming relegation this season then everyone involved in the club needs to pull together and help the 1XV, who are the shop window of the club, to win their remaining games.

There is a break this weekend for 1XV as we are not involved in the cup and the next fixture is at Murrayfield on 1st February. However, the 2XV are playing at home to Grangemouth 2XV on Saturday. 2pm kick-off on the North Inch, all supporters welcome.

Bonus point victory boost for the boys

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Perthshire 36 – 14 Carrick

This bottom of the league clash was played in terrible conditions but an early morning pitch inspection by Fin Hay allowed the game to go ahead although the conditions underfoot were very slippery which ruled out the possibility of a fast paced running game of rugby. Carrick, who are enduring a torrid season, could only muster 14 players for the trip to Perth although they did persuade their ex President to enter the fray in the 2nd half and full credit to them, they certainly did not give Perthshire an easy 80 minutes.

Perthshire attacked the game from the kick off and took full advantage of Carrick’s early disorganisation. Jonny Armitt, in the unaccustomed role of stand off, sped over in the opening minute and then converted his own try to give Shire a 7 – 0 lead. Knowing that Carrick were a man short and lacking cover at full back, the Perth boys kicked and chased to good effect and Ross Goodison and Aidan Watson raced to claim a touch down after Goodison hacked through and the young centre was first to claim the try. Pete Saunders was next on the score sheet as Shire increased the pace of the game and he outsprinted the cover to score out wide. This was followed a minute later when Aidan Watson grabbed his try following another kick and chase and his pace was too much for the covering defence. Barely 15 minutes had gone and Perthshire had scored 22 points and looked totally in command.

However, Carrick began to plug the holes in their defence and during the last quarter of the 1st half they regrouped and made Shire work very hard. Perthshire welcomed back the vastly experienced Duncan Clow and Paddy Coupar in the forwards and Pete Saunders in the backs and these three certainly added a bit of steel and composure to Shire’s play. Coupled with the return of Blair Twaddell, Kieran Ramsay, Ross Goodison and Aidan Watson and the imminent return of Ryan Miller and Ross Angus not to mention Dan Bowater, Perthshire have reason to be optimistic in their fight for survival this season.

Rab Pittendreigh completed Shire’s scoring in the 1st half as another kick and chase resulted in a try but with Paddy Coupar being yellow carded and both teams having 14 men, Carrick took full advantage and scored on half time. Carrick looked a changed team in the 2nd half and competed strongly for every ball and were first to score with a Currie try. The game became bogged down in the mud and as both teams were now at full strength neither could obtain a clear advantage. Shire’s front row of Twaddell, Ramsay and MacDonald were solid in the scrum and prominent in the loose but Carrick actually bombarded the Shire line for long periods but couldn’t break through the resolute defence. Paddy Coupar settled the game when he scored for Shire and the home side were happy with their bonus point win although an injury to Mat Rae did take some of the gloss of the victory.

With the long lay off and so many games being postponed at the weekend, this competitive match will have done Shire no harm whatsoever and it was just what was needed to help players get back to the fitness levels they need to be at for the run of games ahead of them. The returning players, many of whom were playing the first game this season, will no doubt be feeling the pain just now but will feel the benefit in the coming weeks. Hillhead Jordanhill are next up and this will be a difficult game but if the players continue to improve their fitness and attitude then they have nothing to fear.

The 2XV also returned to action after a 7 week lay off due to postponements and the Christmas break. They fell short on a keenly contested fixture against Montrose. See the match report here.

Perthshire Rugby Burns Night

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Happy New Year! Perthshire Rugby’s famous Burns’ Night returns this year on Saturday 1st February. This is a whole club social event and everyone (members, players, supporters from all sections) is welcome to attend the Bank Bar, South Methven Street for an evening of speeches, recitals and entertainment. Specially selected members & players from across the rugby club membership have volunteered to help celebrate the Bard’s work in true Perthshire style.

Details:
Arrive in The Bank Bar 7pm for 7:30pm start (free parking outside)
Traditional 3 course meal:
 – Sweet potato & roasted bell pepper soup served with crusty bread.
 – Haggis, neaps & tatties, with green peppercorn sauce (or vegetarian haggis with rosemary potatoes, seasonal veg and red wine sauce).
 – Cranachan: Drambuie cream Scottish raspberry’s, toasted oats, raspberry coulis.
Speeches, recitals, piping and music from a selection of Perthshire Rugby’s finest members.
Dress code: smart/casual with a touch of tartan.

Tickets are £20 which includes the meal, whisky for toasting (Robert Burns Single Malt kindly donated by Isle of Arran Distillery), discount at the bar, all the entertainment and entry to the Nightclub. Sales are open now via the web shop or from Club Captain Ewan “Macker” MacKessack-Leitch in person or e-mail: clubcaptain@perthshire-rfc.co.uk. Any questions or special requirements please e-mail. See you there!