The Glenturret Whisky Crieff 7s
Strong start to the 7s season for the Men’s Squad.
Perthshire made the short journey west along the A85 to local club Crieff with two squads of players hopeful to get off to a good start in the 7s season in preparation for our own tournament in 2 weeks.
Perthshire A were drawn into what would turn into a tough group of Morrisons FPs and Alloa.
Perthshire B were drawn into another very competitive group with Hydro and Crieff A.
Perthshire A were first to head onto the pitch wearing the traditional Perthshire colours to play Morrisons FPs who had already beaten Alloa. The message from coach Matt Stevens was to get a good fast start. That’s exactly what ‘Shire A did, scoring two quick tries in the first half to take a 14-0 lead. This set the tone for the rest of the fixture with the final score ending 45-10 with ‘Shire showing some great 7s skills, but with still room for improvement.
Perthshire B were next onto the pitch, donning the alternative strip of red & black. They played a well drilled Crieff A side who were clearly well prepared for their home tournament. The home side the winners but with ‘Shire showing some promising signs when they had the ball.
In to the second round and it was still all to play for for both teams. Perthshire B faced Hydro. Its was a very open, end to end, high scoring game with plenty of flare and some monster hits from big hitters Shaun Barton and Kieran Ramsay. The result was shared in a 24-24 draw.
Perthshire A next faced Alloa in what turned into a fiery, physical match. Alloa started the brighter of the two teams with two well taken tries from offloads. Perthshire rallied to get one back before halftime to get themselves back into the game. Unfortunately poor discipline and ball retention cost ‘Shire A and they went down 25-10 to the Clackmannanshire side.
Both the Perthshire teams were in the hand of points difference: ‘Shire B managed to scrape into the Plate semis with a better points difference than Hydro who had lost heavily to Crieff A. Kirkcaldy awaited them in the next round.
Meanwhile, ‘Shire A had secured themselves a spot in a Cup semi thanks to their impressive win in the first match against Morrisons. They were to face Morrisons Futures in their semi final match.
Kirkcaldy had clearly put some good preparation into their 7s season, moving the ball well, avoiding contact where possible and striking with speed and accuracy when opportunities came their way. ‘Shire B definitely did not embarrass themselves, with some flowing moves of their own but eventually they just ran out of energy to contain the Kirkcaldy attack.
Hopes of silverware now rested on the ‘Shire A team. The message at the start of the game from Matt Stevens was the same: fast start and look after the ball. The team did exactly what was demanded of them with two quick tries to take a 2 score lead. Morrisons Futures though came back with typical youngster energy. In the end though, hypnotising moves from Rory Bayne and tries from Tom Colvin & Rabson Chipakupaku were enough to see the Shire side through to the final, winning by 2 points.
‘Shire A were all out on their feet. Injuries had started to creep into the squad and legs were beginning to get heavy and stiff. Sensing this, experienced coach Matt Stevens rallied the troops. “Everyone always gains that extra bit of energy for a final,” he told the squad as they took on much needed food and water.
The message from co-captains John Kelly and AJ Guthrie was simple: enjoy the moment, play our rugby and keep the ball. Gordonians were undoubtedly going to be a tough challenge, but nothing we couldn’t overcome if we played to our full potential.
Gordonians were well prepared. ‘Shire matched them for the opening stages with defence holding strong. Then, one offload and Gordonians were away. Advantage GoGos. The match flowed as momentum pendulumed between the teams. Trading scores and putting on a show for the large crowd who had gathered for the main final of the day. When the ref blew for full time Perthsire had been beaten 25-35, but smiles were still across the faces of all in the squad.
A massive thank you to all involved in organising the event in Crieff. Also a big thanks must go to coaches for the day Matt Stevens, Graham Smith and Graham Binnie.
Perthshire travel to Cupar for the Howe 7s this weekend as they continue to prepare for Perthshire 7s on May the 11th during the Perth Beer Festival.
