Shire on wrong end of 69 point thriller but much improved performance

Howe of Fife 39 – Perthshire 30

This was a hugely improved performance from Perthshire which beared no resemblance to the lacklustre performance of the previous week. There was an air of positivity about the team who had built up a fairly comfortable lead in the first half only to see it wilt in the 2nd half mainly due to injuries to two key backs. Callum Bruce and Jay Pettie were forced off and with no out and out replacement backs, Shire had to reshuffle with prop Kieran Ramsay moving to centre and Shaun Barton moving from back row to the wing.
Jonny Armitt kicked Shire into an early lead with a penalty after great work by the forwards and their magnificent work rate kept Howe pinned in their own 22 for long periods. The scrum was very solid and James Mair and Macca were securing good lineout ball. The Eagles continued to dominate and were attacking strongly when a Jonny Armitt kick was charged down gifting a try to Howe against the run of play.

Shire attacked down the right, Mair secured the lineout and Kieran Ramsay tucked in at the back of the maul as Shire’s pack steam rollered over the line for Ramsay to score a well deserved try. Armitt converted. Howe came back into the game with some good pick up and drives and they scored their 2nd try after hard work from their forwards. Undeterred by this Shire picked up the pace again and a wonderful break by highly promising centre Murray Ormiston gave Shire the lead when he outpaced the entire Howe defence to score. Armitt added the 2 points and just before half time he kicked a penalty following an Alcorn break to give the Perth boys a 10 – 18 lead.
An injury to Callum Bruce saw Shaun Barton move to the wing and within 5 minutes of the 2nd half Jay Pettie was also off having to be replaced at centre by prop Kieran Ramsay and all of a sudden Shire were deprived of two of their most effective forwards and influential backs. Barton had been causing chaos running all over the field tackling and harrying Howe and good as he and Ramsay are they are more effective forwards than backs. Howe were given a boost by this and upped their game accordingly scoring 4 tries in 15 minutes without reply to deal a hammer blow to Perthshire’s chances. Perthshire were stung into action again though and began a heroic fightback as players settled into their new roles and replacements Stevie Gray, Blair Twaddell and Adrian Venter all made their mark.  The intensity increased and finally Shaun Barton collected the ball and sped up the wing and over for Shire’s 3rd try.

All the pressure was on Howe now as Shire mounted attack after attack but a kick ahead and some poor tackling allowed Howe to score in the corner to seal the game. Perthshire went all out for the bonus point 4th try and received their consolation when Armitt scored and converted.
The signs are there that Shire are on the way back and a healthy and vociferous number of supporters turned up to cheer the team on. Berwick are next up on the North Inch and hopefully Shire’s injury list will improve and if the team show the same fighting spirit and get their defence organised then more wins should be on the horizon.