Tries Galore but Luck Goes West’s Way

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Perthshire 32 – 38 West of Scotland

Last minute defeat for ‘Shire in an 11 try match

Always a close encounter, Perthshire welcomed West of Scotland to the North Inch. Conditions were near perfect for rugby, no wind, no rain and mild temperature. A reasonable crowd gathered and were not to be disappointed with the excitement played out over 80 minutes in front of them.

Perthshire received the kick-off and immediately struck up field. Simple plays tested the West defence who were up to the task. Then West got a bit too enthusiastic at ruck time conceding a penalty. Without hesitation Aidan Watson played with the advantage to chip a cross-field kick left which was beautifully gathered by Jay Pettie who used his pace to beat the cover defence over 30m and dotted down the opening try which Calum Bruce duly converted.

Next up Perthshire managed to clear their lines but West were undeterred. After a few phases in the forwards they managed to find some space in midfield and slick offloads allowed them to respond with an unconverted score.

This galvanised Perthshire who dominated in the forwards. Club Captain Macka, back in the 1s for the first time, was stealing lineout ball and the solid front 3 of Kyle MacKinnon, Ryan Moon and Ewen MacDonald were bossing the scrums all over the park. West had no reply and were pushed back into their half, a penalty kick went to the corner. The following lineout maul was clean and steamrollered over with Kyle MacKinnon at the back taking the try, Calum Bruce again adding the extras.

The remainder of the first half continued to see Perthshire dominate upfront. James Mair, Angus Walker and Calum Chalmers putting in fine performances securing rucks and winning turnovers. In the backline, centres Mat Rae & Calum Bruce would punch deep holes in the West defence and Aidan Watson was alive to any half chance. It was somewhat against the run of play that West, exploiting a mismatch on the wing, pulled an uncovered try back to give a half time score of 14-10.

West came out firing in the second half. Desperate defence and last gasp turnovers, especially from Angus Walker, saved Perthshire a good few times. One such turnover around halfway saw the ball passed back to the right where Ross Goodison, now playing centre, spotted a small gap and burst through. In the try of the match he proceeded to smash though 3 further tacklers over a 60m run to score – what a try, the crowd cheered that immensely!

This was a short reprieve as the penalty count mounted against the men in Black & White. Given ample opportunities West found spaces when ‘Shire were guilty of concentration lapses, squeezing in tight to the scrum in a fine set piece attack for a try under the posts.

Worse was to follow, ‘Shire play a fast defence and Jonny Armitt was unlucky not to get an intercept knocking on; unfortunately moments later Jay Pettie was equally unlucky but this time the referee judged it a deliberate knock-on and dished out a yellow card.

Down to 14 men, the Eagles tried to keep it tight and wear down the clock. It was hard going, Ewen MacDonald and James Mair making more than their fair share of carries. All of a sudden a gap opened up and Aidan Watson used his sharp mind and sharp pace to scream up the pitch. He covered 70m but was denied just short. The ‘Shire support got there quickly and the ball was worked to Angus Walker who surged over for the unconverted try.

West kicked the restart deep and Perthshire were stuck in their 22, escape was made difficult by the speed of West’s defence. Multiple forward phases made little ground and the ball then went out to the backs, under enormous pressure the kick went awry allowing West cheap possession in the 22 and with an in-built overlap they exploited within 2 phases to score and bring it level 24-24.

Perthshire hit back into the West half and won a penalty about 40m out. Calum Bruce elected to kick and struck it well to regain the lead. Jay Pettie, having had time to reflect on what he’d done, returned as the team were restored to 15.

It was not too long before Jay made amends. On the counter attack Shaun Barton on the right wing ran up the touchline into the 22m and looked certain to emulate Ross Goodison’s earlier try until the cover defence bundled him out. West took the lineout quickly but it was read by the ‘Shire back row who immediately pounced on the hapless recipient who dropped the ball. Seized quickly the pack surged on and nearly made the line. Assessing the field, scrumhalf Andrew Sanderson sent the ball to Calum Chalmers who then passed long to the left wing where Jay Pettie was ready to dive over and give Perthshire an 8 point lead with 8 minutes left on the clock.

These remaining minutes were frantic. Both teams had expended their energy and there were tired bodies all round. West were mostly held for the next 4 minutes but made a break attacking into the Perthshire half. The scramble was good and ‘Shire looked to have won the turnover only for the referee to decide a supporting player came in the side and awarded West a penalty. With the wind in their sails West took a short penalty and going nowhere in the tight carries threw the ball wide finding the space to score and taking an excellent conversion made it a 1 point game, 32-31.

Only 2½ minutes left for Perthshire to hold the win. The restart was sent deep, West were going to have to win the match from their own 22. Tackle after tackle, ruck after ruck they made no distance. Into the final minute and they got their break. A flowing and offloading attack took them all the way across the line. The conversion was made and the final whistle blew. Elation for West and devastation for Perthshire.

This is the third time on the North Inch that West scored in the final play to seal the match. The bounce when it mattered didn’t go the Eagles’ way, but this was an improved performance. West now sit 2nd in the league table and Perthshire were ahead for 79 minutes. The next 2 matches against Strathmore (away on 23rd October) and Greenock (home on 30th October) will be critical for Perthshire to climb up the table. Supporters today made a difference and will do so again to lift the players in Black & White at these upcoming matches.

Unfortunately, with 31 players in the Senior squad unavailable this weekend, there were insufficient numbers and the 2XV match was called off.

Photos taken by Peter Wilkinson.

Invitation to the Perthshire Christmas Party

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11th December 6:30pm for 7pm at the Station Hotel, Perth.

All members and supporters are invited to join the Perthshire Rugby Christmas Party on 11th December. A 3 course meal, DJ, dancefloor, raffle and maybe a game or two – come and join the fun!

Tickets at £38 per head, can be obtained via the Club webshop (individual or a table of 8). Alternatively, they can be bought in cash given to the Club Captain Ewan MacKessack-Leitch. Closing date for ticket sales is Thursday 2nd December. The dress code is formal black tie attire.

The menu for the evening is below and you will be asked to pre-order your choices (please advise of any dietary requirements):

Starter
• Ham hock pickled carrots and wholegrain mustard terrine
• Salt cod fritters served with pil-pil sauce
• Emmental and caramelized onion quiche
Main
• Duck leg confit served with fondant potatoes, sweet pot puree and red berries jam
• Smoked salmon and sea food risotto
• Beetroot and goat cheese tortellini served with green pea velouté
Dessert
• Ruby chocolate fondant served with vanilla ice cream
• Spiced apple tart served with maple walnut ice cream
• Blackberry and yoghurt panna cotta served with chocolate mouse

That Saturday there are 2 homes fixtures for the Seniors the 1XV v Berwick and the 2XV v Montrose, why not make a day of it? Watch the matches, join the fun in the Bowling Club afterwards and then celebrate Christmas in style at the Station Hotel.

The Station Hotel are offering a special rates for rooms on a bed & breakfast basis for us that night:
 • Single room £60 per room per night
 • Double/twin room £75 per room per night
 • Book by e-mail events@perthstationhotel.co.uk quoting HLAC-071021.
Station Hotel accommodation is closed for 3 months so rooms cannot be booked.

Notice of Positive COVID-19 Case at Perthshire Rugby 8th October 2021

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Notice of Positive COVID-19 Case at Perthshire Rugby 8th October 2021

Earlier today the Club was informed of a positive lateral flow test result for COVID-19 amongst the Senior squad who trained this week. As the changing rooms were used it is possible that team members were exposed indoors where transmission risk is higher than outside during the training session.

The PCR result is not expected until Saturday morning at the earliest which is too late to wait and make a decision on fixtures. Upon liaison with the Senior Section coaches, Club Committee and SRU it was decided to postpone both Senior fixtures this weekend: the 1XV away to Hillhead Jordanhill and the 2XV at home to Grangemouth 2XV. This was not a decision made lightly but we must do what is sensible and practical.

Should the PCR report back a positive result then we shall assist NHS Test & Protect with any contact tracing or other enquiries they may have.

As is standard procedure the Club’s polices and risk assessment will be reviewed to see if there is a way of reducing the chance of a repeat in the future. I am thankful to all members of Perthshire Rugby and the wider community for their support and understanding. COVID-19 is not yet away and precautions must be taken, even if it means a frustrating postponement of matches when we had started to build a bit of momentum in the squad.

No other sections of the Club are affected so Mini, Midi and Women’s rugby at Perthshire continue as planned.

Ewan MacKessack-Leitch
Club Captain and COVID-19 Safety Co-ordinator
Perthshire Rugby

Try, Try and Try Again, Eagles’ Lesson for Ardrossan

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Perthshire 36 – 25 Ardrossan Academicals

Ramsay hattrick helps ‘Shire in second half fightback

The emotions of the Perthshire supporters swung from utter despair to sheer delight as the Eagles overturned a 12-22 deficit at half time into a 36 point try fest at the end. Shire were 5 points down within 2 minutes as Ardrossan’s strong runners forced a penalty and then ran in for an unconverted try. The weather conditions were atrocious and the swirling wind and driving rain made handling and kicking very difficult. Perthshire tried to keep the game tight and were rewarded after 10 minutes when Matt Jenns finished off several phases of play to batter over the line.

Ardrossan made several surging breaks from the back of the scrum and although the Perthshire defence was generally strong it eventually caved in and Ardrossan took full advantage to score two tries in quick succession. Perthshire looked rattled and they started to fall off tackles and concede penalties allowing Ardrossan to dominate this spell of play; although they managed to win a penalty which was kicked into touch and the forwards took the ball magnificently from the lineout. A well-controlled maul charged over the line and Kieran Ramsay claimed the touchdown to bring Shire right back into the game.

However, Shire’s penalty count was destroying their attempt to maintain any sort of control over the game and when they conceded their tenth penalty of the half, Ardrossan took it quickly and with a two man overlap they cantered in for another 7 points on the stroke of half time. Shire suffered a further blow when Ewen MacDonald, who was a huge influence in the scrum as well as carrying the ball, had to retire injured.

Another blow early in the 2nd half saw centre James Armstrong carried off and Mat Rae had to move to centre from the wing but whatever Alan Clark said to the boys at half time certainly had the desired effect. The forwards kept hold of the ball in the tricky conditions and every single one of them played their part in driving into and beyond the Ardrossan defence. They drove up to the Ardrossan line but a certain try was lost after they were penalised yet again but when they regained possession, Scott Alcorn was sent clear and 99 times out of a 100, he could be relied on to outpace his opposite number but on this occasion he was caught and tackled.

Shire didn’t give up though and after another series of pick and drives from the forwards that man Ramsay did it again as he dived under the posts. Shire were on fire now and although there might not have been any frills about their game plan it was very effective. After another series of forward drives, Aidan Watson elected to spread the ball wide and this time Jay Pettie’s strong running resulted in a try right at the corner flag and he did a good job to stay in play despite being tackled on the line.

Ardrossan hit back with a penalty to regain the lead after a high tackle but once again the Eagles’ forwards took control and although all eight forwards plus centre Mat Rae were involved it was Kieran Ramsay who delivered the killer try and with Calum Bruce’s conversion, Shire were back in the lead.

Dan Rae in his first match back since injury crowned a typical tenacious display with his try to seal Shire’s first victory of the season. All of Perthshire’s forwards deserve special mention for their efforts and if this can be repeated then we should look forward to many more victories.

This match will have done wonders for confidence in the 1XV, but the players will realise that conceding a penalty every 4 minutes on average in the first half was instrumental in their slow start. Next up is an away trip to the undefeated Hillhead Jordanhill which promises to be a real humdinger of a game. All supporters are most welcome to travel on the team bus which will leave the Clubhouse at 12:30pm.

The 2XV suffered a Deflating Defeat at Dundee, but Dave Lewis’ men will take inspiration from the 1s at training this week to put right the wrongs ahead of facing Grangemouth 2XV on the North Inch this Saturday 3pm, all supporters not going to Glasgow welcome to cheer on the 2s.

Photos taken by Peter Wilkinson