Depleted Perthshire Struggle to Gain Form
Hillhead Jordanhill 59 – 15 Perthshire
Sparks from Perthshire but injuries and unavailability hamper efforts.
A depleted Perthshire headed to Hughenden to play against high flying Hillhead Jordanhill. A strong home support were there to witness what became a one-sided affair on the scoreline.
First half tries from John Kelly and James Mair gave Perthshire a chance to at least take a try bonus point once it became clear Hillhead’s lead was too great to claw back. There was hope this may come after Aedan Milne went over, but the injuries to Bruce Campbell and Mat Rae and took their toll and the final 10 minutes were played with 14 men.
It was a tough day on the pitch, but heart was shown with strong performances from Dan Rae in defence and Arran Sheach named Man-of-the-Match for the Eagles.
As with the previous match at Howe of Fife, scoring 3 tries gains no reward for Perthshire. Bonus points will be critical come the end of the season when the league is restructured. To take nothing from those 2 matches may hurt Perthshire at that time. That’s for the future, with a break this weekend the squad can regroup and rehabilitate the injuries ahead of an exciting clash with Murrayfield Wanderers on Saturday 26th November on the North Inch. The teams will once again contest the Adam Pattinson Memorial Cup and a large crowd is expected to be down to support the Eagles. All welcome to come and support, kick off is 2pm.
There are still spaces at the Friends of Perthshire Lunch being held at the Mexican Restaurant from 11:30am, for more information see here: www.perthshire-rfc.co.uk/friends-of-perthshire-lunch
Tight All the “Waid” to the End
Perthshire 2XV 17 – 24 Waid Academy FP
Fifers steal the win in the final play.
With injuries and unavailability affecting both senior squads Coach Dave Lewis had a difficult job constantly juggling and rearranging the 2s for the Waid match; but he put together a viable team ready for the challenge. The teams were level in the table and this was a great opportunity to seize some momentum with half the matches now completed before the league splits.
It started with Waid on the front foot. For the first 20 minutes Perthshire defended and defended some more. At times soft tackles allowed Waid deep into Perthshire territory then some great defence, especially from Hector Inglis & Shaun Barton, would win a turnover and clear the lines. Inevitably it would revert to defence as in possession ‘Shire were readily lost the ball. Waid were persistent and determined in their attacks, and impatient breakdown penalties also hampered Perthshire’s ability to advance beyond the halfway line.
Eventually Perthshire got a break. Some aggressive defence pushed the Waid attackers into their own half and further pressure won an attacking scrum on the 22. From this position, the ball was sent along the hands drawing in the defenders and creating the space for Liam Flavell to dive over in the corner for an unconverted try. Despite 25 minute of defending, with their first real attack Perthshire were up 5-0.
The rest of the first half returned to the original pattern. Solid defence was undone by a few holes readily exploited by the Waid fly-half & back rows. James Armstrong chased back the large second row and wrestled him onto his back to hold up a certain try over the line. Sadly, this effort went to waste as from the following goal-line dropout Waid ran it back seemingly untouched by a Perthshire defender to take the lead with a converted try.
Penalties were racking up and the referee’s patience wearing thin as he took issue with the volume and amount of “advice” players from both teams were giving him. Having brilliantly won a turnover James Armstrong took a quick tap and was brought down by defenders who had not retreated the required 10m. Complaining & appealing to the referee won no favours, instead the penalty was reversed and James was shown a yellow card. Waid, who were having a good time up front, opted for a scrum and soft tackles allowed the Fifers to extend the lead with a converted try as half time arrived, 5-14.
A frustrating first half, the team had the ability to overcome the opponents but were not connecting. Dave Lewis encouraged his players to stick to their structure and take opportunities when they arise.
The second half kicked off at a blistering pace. After taking a boot to the face in a tackle, centre Shaun Barton briefly went off then returned to the field at No. 8 as a rejigging of the scrum was necessary with other injuries. This added some much more dynamism off the base, scrumhalf Jonny Armitt linking well and creating fast attacking ball.
Not long after, Cammie Rennie received the ball and surged forward as tacklers fell off him, charging 30m to take possession in to the 22. An offload to Jonny Armitt and he took it all the way to the line. Nearly but not close enough, the ball was knocked on in the next phase. However, Waid were judged offside and taking the penalty tap quickly, Andy Jack barrelled forward, stopped just short he stretched his arm out and pushed the ball into the base of the post to score. Jonny Armitt added the extras and it was a 2 point game, 12-14. In a further boost Perthshire were restored to 15 as James Armstrong’s time in the sin bin was over.
The momentum slowly swung back to Waid. Taking a lineout 5m out they set a maul but were stopped illegally. Opting for the scrum they controlled the ball holding the forwards in. With the defence stretched Mikey Evans saved the day winning a great turnover to kill off the move.
‘Shire were then guilty of getting too excited in attack. A good chip & chase seemed to be on but a needless obstruction gifted Waid a penalty which they aimed at goal, slotting it over to extend their lead, 12-17.
The game reverted to the pattern of the first half, ‘Shire forced to defend and mistakes preventing any meaningful attack or relief of pressure. Yet more injuries occurred and the squad was reshuffled further with Graham “Smudge” Smith coming off the bench to lend his considerable rugby brain & experience to the proceedings.
With yet another scrum in their own half ‘Shire through James Armstrong created something out of nothing. Taking the ball standing still at fly half, he picked off his opposite man then beelined for the touchline. Keeping just in field and out-running the cover defence, he dived over in the corner to level the match, 17-17. Jonny Armitt came close but couldn’t add the extras.
The final 20 was an edgy affair. Neither team had the upper hand, lineouts were unreliable, Andy Jack using his stature to steal a few against the throw but ‘Shire could not hit their mark either. More runs by James Armstrong, Reece Brown and Shaun Barton came to nought as the pack tired and failed to secure rucks.
Waid were using all they had to break the deadlock, and remained determinedly camped in the ‘Shire 22. Defence was desperate and winning a penalty Waid opted to go for goal but missed. The final play was near. Jackaling for a turnover ‘Shire broke the siege and stormed through into the Waid half, only again the pack could not keep up and the play ended.
Tired bodies were obvious and now ‘Shire were too slow and without the urgency needed. Quick penalties in succession had the men in Black & White backpedalling while Waid flooded the space behind and went in under the posts. Converted as the referee blew for full time, the Anstruther team took the victory, 17-24.
This was a tough defeat to swallow. With 2 evenly matched teams it could have gone either way. The slow start and scrappy ending were the undoing of ‘Shire. The middle was good and plenty to build on. A thanks to Reece Brown for coming in to the team and also to Cameron Archibald & Arran Rex borrowed from Panmure; hopefully they’ll come back to play in Perthshire colours soon.
Photos taken by Peter Wilkinson.
