Perthshire President’s XV 68 – 5 The Army in Scotland

The North Inch has witnessed many a historic occasion over the centuries and one such occasion was 150 years ago in 1869 when a fledgling Perthshire Rugby Club played their very first match against the Scots Greys.    The military theme was continued on the 19^th April 1969 when a strong Perthshire team defeated the Black Watch in the centenary game by 21 points to 20 before several thousand spectators and last Friday evening, Perthshire supported by a few of their former stars took on the might of the Army in Scotland to commemorate their 150^th anniversary.

Both teams were piped onto the pitch surrounded by flag waving members of the Perthshire mini section and when they lined up to be presented to the crowd it was a very emotional and poignant moment for all attending.   Perthshire were captained by James Fleming who played for every age group in the club before progressing as a professional player to the Scotland 7’s team and although the nucleus of the squad was the current 1^st Xv they were augmented by former players, Ross Angus, Garry Coull, Rory Carmichael, James McCaig, Jack Steele, Matt Smith, Tony McGuiness and Erlend Oag.   All the former players taking part were moved by the occasion as they recalled playing together and pulling on the famous black and white jerseys for the first time as mini rugby players some 25 years ago.

The Shire team were inspired and charged up for this special occasion and dominated the game from start to finish.   The forwards had their work cut out containing the powerful Army eight but every time the ball was fed out to the backs the Army had no answer to the pace and power of Shire’s play.  Duncan Clow who somehow found himself out on the wing had the honour of grabbing the first try of the game when Tony McGuiness sent him flying up the wing.  More tries followed as Rory Carmichael fresh from his season with Heriots grabbed the 2^nd and Mat Rae completed the hat trick in the opening 15 minutes.  Jack Steele now playing for Boroughmuir converted 2 of the tries.

Some powerful forward play by the Army left Shire’s forwards reeling as they pounded their way over the line for their try but Callum Croughan, Ryan Miller and Mat Rae again all went over to give Shire a 41 – 5 lead at half time.   Shire’s young front row were superb as they countered the attacking scrums of the Army and if these boys stick together next season they can look forward to some momentous occasions in the Shire jerseys.

Shire’s backs really opened up in the 2^nd half and because they were being provided by a plentiful supply of the ball from the hard working forwards, Ryan Miller and Jack Steele scored two superb tries to put an end to any hopes of an Army revival.    Erlend Oag made his entry to the game in the final quarter despite having been on night duty the previous evening in his role as a Doctor and he certainly brought back memories of the days when he Fleming, Saunders etc lit up the North Inch with scintillating tries.    During his short spell on the pitch Erlend managed to run in three electrifying tries to seal an epic 68 -5 victory.

It was a fitting end to 150 years of history and was witnessed by several club members such as the inimitable Gordon Cluckie and Bob Bruce who were part of the team who played in the centenary match 50 years ago.     We hope that many of the mini players, who played such a crucial role on the day, were left with memories which will stay with them and tie them to the club which introduced them to the wonderful game of rugby..