Revitalised Caithness subdue depleted 1XV.
Caithness 29 – 20 Perthshire
Saturday was a must win for Perthshire playing against fellow strugglers Caithness. The Thurso men had been facing a tough time but a new coaching team came in this week which heralded the return of ex-players and rejuvenation of the club. It was going to be a tough match.
Perthshire were also hit with bad luck before the match: injuries & availability for the long journey North meant only 17 players travelled, a number of whom were just back from or carrying an injury. It was to be compounded in the warm-up when Captain Ryan Miller dislocated his finger, but with no replacement backs he was forced to play 80 minutes without the full use of his left hand.
Facing into the wind and uphill for the first half, Perthshire kicked off and immediately put Caithness under pressure. There was strong defence stopping the Greens from making any headway. The line-speed and commitment were on point, Caithness were going nowhere; and then trying to round they dropped a pass out wide. Sammy Isac scooped it up, turned on the pace and ran 50m to score under the posts. Calum Bruce added the extras.
Perthshire claimed the restart but under resourced the ruck allowing Caithness to counter and win possession. Big tackles were made but the Thurso men slowly worked into the 22. A penalty for offside gave Caithness a kick to the corner where they claimed the lineout. Keeping it tight over about 8 phases Caithness managed to squeeze over for a hard worked converted try to level the scores.
Next it was Perthshire who built the attack. Working into the Caithness 22 ‘Shire kept it tight and were inching towards the line. The defence held and discipline was good from Caithness who were rewarded when Perthshire knocked on at the back of a ruck. The ball was cleared from the scrum.
Set piece has been a strong suit of Perthshire this season. However, the scrums were a lottery all day. Blair Twaddell, Ali Nisbet & Ewen MacDonald had the measure of the opposite front row but were not rewarded with the decisions from the referee. Lineouts were creaking for both teams effecting steals and overthrows at crucial times this would hurt Perthshire.
Caithness struck next. Similar to their first try, it was a case of slowly smashing tight through the forwards. The Perthshire line held out for the long siege: repelling attacking scrums, chop tackles bringing down the big men and when they got over the ball was held up. From the next scrum, the ‘Shire pack got the nudge and pushed it back. Caithness then again kept it tight and eventually were awarded with the score, to the consternation of the men in Black & White who believed they’d held it up again. The kick was good to make it 14-7.
Aggrieved Perthshire hit straight back. Under pressure in their own half, Caithness dropped the ball and Perthshire were in possession in the 22. A couple of tight phases were all that was needed before Ewen MacDonald picked from a ruck and burst through; tackled just short he stretched to touch down over the line. With the conversion from Calum Bruce it was all square at 14 apiece.
The rest of the half saw Perthshire with good plays but their mistakes and weakening lineout cost them territory and possession. It was a major blow when Blair Twaddell was forced off with an ankle injury, however, replacement Ryan Moon slotted in well and scrum dominance continued. With halftime beckoning Perthshire stole a lineout from Caithness and looked to clear. A miscommunication in the backs caused a hesitation then the pass was read by the Green’s centre who intercepted to score under the posts.
Halftime Caithness 21 – 14 Perthshire. A tactical change brought Ross Angus into the back row for Ewan MacKessack-Leitch but otherwise Head Coach Alan Clark told his team to keep up the work rate and the points would follow, especially now with the wind and slope in his team’s favour.
From the off it didn’t go to script. Perthshire surrendered possession and Caithness again slowly built the phases. Dan & Mat Rae put in many big hits and the Thurso men never got any change through the centres so kept it tight. They squeezed over out wide; the referee dismissive to appeals for holding on; Angus Walker & Ross Angus both getting over the ball but not rewarded for their efforts.
Caithness missed the conversion but now had a decent lead 26 – 14 and would spend the remaining 35 minutes defending it. Try as they might Perthshire weren’t playing rugby in the right places. Most of the second half, maybe 80-90%, was played in the ‘Shire half. The two times they escaped Caithness conceded penalties which Calum Bruce kicked over. It was all set for a close finish 26 – 20.
The score remained tight right until the final few minutes. Poor kicks, weak kick chase, floundering lineouts, forward passes, unlucky calls from the referee; nothing was going Perthshire’s way and they never got on to the front foot. Caithness to their credit kept it simple, holding Perthshire back and forcing them to play out.
With about 6 minutes left the Green’s won a penalty on front of the posts and took the points to go a score clear. Perthshire emptied the tank in the final minutes and tempers started to fray, but there was no repeat of last year’s heroic win at the death. It ended Caithness 29 – 20 Perthshire.
This marks the halfway point in the league. Perthshire have only 1 win to their name and sit firmly in the relegation zone, though do have 2 games in hand. There are no dominant teams and Perthshire have shown capability in all their matches. Bad luck has played its part but Perthshire need to continue training hard and must improve especially in the second 40 minutes and exiting safely their own half. The results can come and need to soon.
A similar story affected the 2XV. Away against a strong Waid Academy FP in a very wet Anstruther the match started with Perthshire on the front foot. Playing some good attacking rugby, however, they were guilty of not turning pressure into points. This was a match where the first try would be crucial and so it proved when Waid scored on the counter. Perthshire had over committed in attack and knocked on which Waid gladly picked up and sprinted to score. This pretty much set the scene for the match with men in Black & White always in the game, but just lacking in execution when reaching the Waid 22. Whereas Waid were the opposite and scored on most visits to the Perthshire 22.
The final score Waid Academy 53 – 0 Perthshire 2XV suggests a one-sided match. However, for the 2s there were a lot of positives: good attacking and tackling in awful weather. This game just got away from the 2s who were then always chasing and pushing maybe 1 pass too much. Spirits are high in 2s camp and they are starting to move into a series of games which will define the season.
With only this game played in Caledonia Midlands League 3 this week, due to lack of numbers in the other games, the fact that Perthshire 2s can field 21 players is a credit to the Club in getting players playing rugby.
Next up is another long trip for the 1s away to Greenock Wanderers who only narrowly won at the North Inch in the season opener. For the 2s it’s a home fixture against Bannockburn. Both matches kick-off at 2pm, all supporters are welcome to travel to Greenock or come to the North Inch for the 2XV match.
The pattern repeated. Perthshire made a good attack but undid their work with unforced errors. Ardrossan would counter but the ‘Shire defence held firm and they too would lose control of the ball. Ardrossan were dominant in the scrum and the lineouts were becoming a lottery whenever Perthshire had the throw.
