Victory over Panmure but then Perthshire fall to the better controlled Harris FP

In the only preseason fixture and the first matches since rugby returned from the pandemic lay off, Perthshire welcomed squads from Panmure and Harris FP to the Inch for a 3-way triangular tournament of 40 minute games.

Perthshire 24 – 7 Panmure

First off the hosts took on Panmure, who due to late call offs were fielding a make-shift team. The early exchanges tested each team in the midfield, but handling mistakes and disciplined defence snuffed out any attacking momentum.

The deadlock was broken a few minutes in when Aidan Watson quickly took a penalty, grubbered downfield but the Panmure fullback just won the race to ground the ball. From the drop out some quick passes allowed Ross Goodison to find space outside his man, he stepped and evaded the cover defender to score out wide for an unconverted try.

The next period of the game saw Perthshire making life hard for themselves. Repeated mistakes, knock-ons and offside penalties gave territory & possession to Panmure. With an advantage being played, Panmure’s former Perthshire player, Ethan Snitch gambled on a cross field kick, it landed short of the line but Jarron collected in a dive and slid over to score. Snitch converted to put Panmure ahead 5-7.

Another period of defence for Perthshire followed but then the men in Black & White begun to lift the tempo and their game. Spurred on by new recruit Calum Chalmers’ having a good day winning turnovers at the ruck, Shire got into the Panmure half and were awarded a scrum. Another new player, Andy Sanderson, at scrumhalf darted blind from the scrum and made it deep into the 22 before being stopped, the offload just knocked on, but Perthshire had awoken their attacking instincts.

Panmure could not escape their half such was the intensity of Shire’s resolve. James Mair leading from the front won a penalty which Aidan Watson took quickly. A dart forward then sent through the hands to Luca Bertré who finished the move in the corner to score on his debut for Perthshire. Calum Bruce was short with the conversion.

From the restart James Mair took the ball and a quick play sent it out to Jay Pettie on the wing. Needing no invitation he put on the afterburners and used his dancing feet to flummox 3 defenders over his 60m dash to the line. Calum Bruce added the extras, 17-5.

It wasn’t quite over in the final 3 minutes Perthshire defended the midfield well. A quick turnover and Aidan Watson alive to it chipped ahead; Jay Pettie collected and beautifully out manoeuvred the cover defence for a near carbon copy in scoring his second try. The conversion added, full time and Perthshire had won 24-7.

The next match was a Dundee derby with Harris FP coming out on top 22-0. The team from Elliot Road have built a big squad and were nearly able to field two separate teams, Perthshire knew this would be a tougher test. The message from Head Coach Alan Clark, was to play rugby, keep up the pace and attack whenever possible.

Perthshire 5 – 15 Harris FP

From the off this was a tense affair, both teams somewhat edgy with intensity in defence making it difficult for either to progress. Around the 5 minute mark, Harris came close but the last pass missed the winger and sailed into touch.

James Mair safely took the lineout allowing Perthshire to clear. The pace and aggression continued to rachet up, Kyle MacKinnon making a welcome return to the North Inch using his power to secure a great turnover giving Perthshire their first proper attacking platform.

The lineout went awry, Harris took possession but were going nowhere, stopped time and again by the Black & White wall before them. Changing things up a chip over the top landed with an ugly bounce for Shire; the space it opened allowed Wilson to gather and score unopposed in the corner for an unconverted try.

This roused Perthshire, James Mair broke through and away down the middle of the field. Jay Pettie took in on further down wing. The ball was spun out to the space on the other side but the last pass was too hard and flew straight into touch ending a great phase of play.

A steal in the ensuing lineout and Shire should have pressed the advantage, instead a dropped ball was scooped up by the Harris centre who scorched over 40m before caught and brought down by Pettie who’d used his electric pace to catch his man. Perthshire turned the ball over and relieved the pressure and that was the end of an intense first 20 minutes.

In the final 20, Clarky asked his players to go out and show the attacking form they have and keep the defensive intensity. It didn’t go to plan. Perthshire dropped the restart and were immediately under pressure. The scrum became a weapon for Harris as Shire’s creaked under the weight. A quick ball from the base sent out to the wing, saw Peter Cowen dot down in the corner against his teammates from a few seasons ago. With the conversion missed, Perthshire were 0-10 down with 16 minutes left.

The opportunities came but were missed, the scrum and lineouts were unreliable and Shire were guilty of forcing play & making life hard for themselves. The penalty count started to mount against Shire; and Harris looked more up for the fight.

Mat Rae, playing for the first time as Captain, stood up and led by example, bursting through a couple of times running hard lines and cutting angles. Aidan Watson & Jack McIntosh injected pace into attack with one particular break between them making 50m. The support was lacking or passes missed and these chances would go.

A penalty awarded to Harris resulted in a lineout about 10m from the line. Their forwards created a maul that trundled irrepressibly to the line. The ball came out and a few short phases down the blindside were all that was needed to squeeze over the whitewash.

Still fighting, Perthshire’s short restart was claimed while Harris took their eye off the ball. Mat Rae and Jack McIntosh combined to find some space working into the 22. Awesome rucking support from Tom Colvin & Calum Chalmers provided quick ball, pressure was mounting as Shire pummelled the right side of the pitch. Sensing the opening, Calum Bruce sent a cross field kick to the left, it was beautifully weighted to land in Jay Pettie’s arms for a try as the final act of the match. The missed conversion left it 5-15 in Harris’ favour.

Lessons learned and progress to be made. Perthshire showed resolve in defence and creativity in attack. There’s work to be done, the set piece certainly needs bolstered, but not bad for a first run out in 18 months.

The leagues commence next weekend, beginning an intense run of 13 matches over 15 weeks. The 1s will face Murrayfield Wanderers at their new pitch which is shaping to be a big day for the hosts. The 2s play Bannockburn on the North Inch, a stern test awaits. Matches kick-off at 3pm, supporters welcome to travel on the bus to Murrayfield or head down to cheer on the 2s at home.

Rugby is back!