Hamilton & West of Scotland Sept 2019
Hamilton
Perthshire U13’s travelled to face a strong test at the hands of Hamilton Bulls. With weather conditions perfect for a great match those in attendance were not disappointed.
The game started at a great pace with Perthshire playing at a high intensity. With some great action early on Perthshire implemented there game plan of intense strong rucking and expansive play off 10. After recycling the ball quickly Perthshire spread the ball wide to the left going through the backs , with outside centre for the day Lloyd looping around the outside and breaking the line at half way , sprinting through and showing Hamilton a clean pair of heels to score Perthshire’s 1st of 3 try’s.
Perth went on to dominate the majority of the first half with what felt like every player getting hands on the ball and either making yards or playing the ball through the hands. (Point of note Perthshire’s scrum was dominant all game with stand out performances by pack leader Jamie and Captain for the day Ben ).
Hamilton lifted their game and put Perthshire under real pressure with Perth resisting time after time after time until eventually Hamilton got the ball wide for the first time to score. Perthshire ended the half in style by moving the ball first to the right then all the way back to the left and then back towards the right, keeping the ball alive with amazing running and offloading but for an impact induced knock on it would have resulted in a stellar try.
Perthshire coaches shuffled the squad at halftime bringing on multiple substitutes, and Perthshire picking the game straight away. Perthshire’s use of expansive play paid off again with another break away try this time by Finn who sprinted 40 meters to score under the posts.
The second half followed a similar pattern until the final ten minutes. After an extended period of successful defence Perthshire turned the ball over through great rucking by Nathan and Ben, winning the ball back 5 metres from our try line.
Hamilton ran in two try’s in quick succession missing there conversions and Perthshire hold on for a tight win.
A very well contested match with a pleasing performance and deserved win. Perthshire journey back with a win feeling but knowing it could’ve been even better.
WoS
Perthshire hosted West of Scotland on Sunday which was always going to be a tough challenge that the boys took head on. Size and speed of both teams seemed to match each other in every respect so this was going to be down to who wanted it the most. The game was to be played over 3 x 20 minute periods, the first 2 going towards the Shogun Conference and the 3rd a development game.
Shire came out strong by sucking in WoS with fast feet, short passing, and strong rucking before shipping the ball out wide across the pitch to exploit the overlaps and finishing the 1st period with a narrow lead. Unlike previous games the Shire then started the second half with a less than commanding performance allowing WOS to mirror their play in the 1st period. Even with a gallant effort and tries from the likes of Max G, Lloyd and Conor The Shire were behind by 1 try at the end of the 2nd period.
With the Conference side of the game decided Shire were now playing for pride and it showed. The depth in the squad meant that Shire could continue to up the pace and pressure they showed in the first half and found their for once again taking the lead 10 minutes into the 3rd period with the team creating and supporting some wonderful tries to take the overall win on the day.
Knowing they needed to keep up the pressure and consistency throughout the game Shire have walked away with a plan to increase their fitness and pitch awareness in support of great displays of skills that will challenge any team in the league on their best day.
