‘Shire Hold Tight to Survive Thurso Rollercoaster

Last gasp “King” Clow penalty seals dramatic win

Caithness 23-25 Perthshire

“I’ll never forget that match,” Mark Coupar summed up what was an exhilarating, frustrating and heart-stopping performance from Perthshire with more twists & turns than the A9 north. The result should secure National 3 rugby for the team next season.

It was bright sunny day with strong gusting winds that greeted Perthshire after the over 5 hour bus drive north to Thurso. The men in black & white showed no sign of the journey and started the game with precision and tempo. Early attacks saw Perthshire held out and a pass judged forward by the referee denied a score. It didn’t take too long for the pressure to tell and after a few phases in the 22 Peter Saunders ran hard on to the ball and forced his way over with the Caithness defenders helpless in their efforts to stop him. Calum Bruce added the extras.

Soon afterwards with the scrums & lineouts on top form Perthshire were back in the Caithness half and Ryan Miller exploited an empty blindside to sneak round a ruck unopposed and sprinted down the wing to score in the corner. The conversion was missed but after 20 minutes Perthshire were up 0-12.

Ball retention was excellent and Caithness rarely had possession especially with props Alisdair Nisbet & Ewen MacDonald taking no prisoners at scrum time and Callum Croughan hitting his mark with James Mair & Ewan MacKessack-Leitch dominating the lineouts and stealing a few. About the half hour mark Perthshire won a penalty in front of the posts and Calum Bruce put it over to give a commanding 0-15 lead.

In the last 10 minutes of the half Perthshire were guilty of easing off. The Caithness scrum was rejigged to good effect and after a series of needless penalties Caithness worked up to the ‘Shire try line and from an ensuing scrum pushed over allowing Hamish Coghill to score an unconverted try.

Perthshire had only themselves to blame with more ill-discipline leading to penalties forcing them back to their own half. Some good defensive play was undone with Perthshire guilty of being offside and Caithness took the 3 points through the boot of Anderson.

Half time Caithness 8-15 Perthshire. In the second half Perthshire would have the wind and sun in their favour, the instructions from the sideline was to play the ball down and deep into Caithness’ half.

Perthshire took the restart well and quickly worked up field. Some quick phases provided an overlap on the right wing but the ball was fumbled and Caithness reacted quickest, Coghill picked up and ran near 60m to score in the corner for his second try of the match. The conversion attempt fell short.

This revived Perthshire who started playing to their game plan. The Rae brothers as always finding space and making inroads, while Duncan Clow & Blair Twaddell were battering holes in the defence. Clever work at the breakdown by Dan Bowater was winning turnovers and keeping the Caithness defence honest. Down in their 22 Caithness attempted to clear their lines and kicked the ball upfield. It was taken by Scott Alcorn who returned the kick and gave chase. The Caithness defence were napping and Alcorn couldn’t believe his luck when he caught it unopposed and was allowed to walk in under the posts for a fantastic solo try. With the conversion, Perthshire were back in control 13-22.

The last quarter has been an unhappy time for Perthshire this season, throwing away leads against Murrayfield, Carrick and conceding soft scores in other matches. It seemed to be happening again. Weak tackles allowed the Caithness scrum half to run deep into the 22. From the ensuing phases Macleod barged over but the gusting wind took conversion attempt wide. Minutes later mistakes & penalties again put Perthshire on the backfoot. Desperate defence on the try line was holding firm, but after countless attacks prop Gray just touched the ball on the whitewash. The conversion struck the post. With less than 3 minutes to play Perth were now behind 23-22.

It was cruel but the next few minutes were unbelievable. Ryan Miller sent the restart straight into touch giving Caithness a scrum. Perthshire’s defence was firing and soon managed to win the ball in open play and a penalty. Ryan Miller this time missed touch allowing Caithness the possession to see the game out. Big moments in big games need players to stand up. Everyone in black & white did. Dan Bowater again at the ruck dislodged the ball from Caithness and Perthshire were in possession. Over-enthusiasm at the next ruck saw Caithness go off their feet and Perthshire had a penalty with 30 seconds left.

Goal kicker Calum Bruce was off the field so second row Duncan Clow instead lined up the shot at goal. It wasn’t easy and the wind wouldn’t help matters. The posts at Thurso were formerly at Murrayfield and the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Gavin Hastings, Chris Paterson have scored crucial points kicking through them. Unphased Clow coolly struck the ball, it went high and over, the linesmen raising their flags as the referee blew for fulltime.

Perthshire had done it! King Clow at the very last second rescued victory, 23-25.

The importance of the win cannot be overstated as Orkney, against the odds, beat league winners Gordonians. The 4 points won will secure Perthshire above the relegation zone. Next week is the final match of the season as West of Scotland are hosted on the North Inch. All supporters are encouraged to come and cheer the boys as they look to end the season on a high. Kick-off is 3pm.