West of Scotland 36 – 24 Perthshire

West recover in second half to deny a Perthshire upset.

Injuries from last weekend and other unavailability made selection a challenge for the 1XV this week. Unfortunately, such was the shortage of players the 2XV match against Rosyth was postponed. Even the regular coaches were unable to make it so Director of Rugby, Graham “Smudge” Smith, was tasked with taking the squad down to Milngavie.

Perthshire kicked off and immediately put West of Scotland under pressure, the ‘Shire defence winning a turnover. The ball was shipped to the right wing before returning back inside to the centre field. A half break then offload put the ball into the hands of Calum Chalmers who got clean through and close to the posts before getting stopped. The forward pack then piled in with short carries, Rhys Darlington millimetres short before Andrew Sanderson used the momentum to squeeze over for a converted try.

Soon after the restart aggressive defence won the turnover again. The penalty was kicked into the 22. Sadly, second row turned centre for the day, Tom Bartlett went over his ankle and that ended his match early. Jack McIntosh came in on the wing allowing Aidan Watson into the centre. West managed to disrupt the ball and cleared their lines.

The home team got a hold of the ball and started to put a few phases together but Adrian Venter had other ideas and stole the ball at ruck time. Perthshire kicked the ball down the other end, Dan Rae won possession and ran into the 22. After a few short plays a crossfield kick went out, Calum MacDonald was beaten to it by West, but the defender was swiftly bundled into touch. Securing the ball ‘Shire quickly opened the assault on the try line. Adrian Venter went close then Andrew Sanderson got quick ball and passed it to stand off Mat Rae who went over. Conversion missed Perthshire led 0-12.

West were rattled and in all sorts of bother. The line-speed and discipline from ‘Shire had them flustered. Simon McGarry pounced on a ball fumbled by West and sprinted from the halfway into the 22 and was just hauled down with 10m to go. Isolated, West went in for the jackal but knocked it on giving ‘Shire a strong attacking platform. The ball delivered from the base of the scrum went out wide but Perthshire then knocked on and West were able to relieve the pressure.

That relief was short lived as Perthshire patiently built up another attack. Straight hard running from Dan Rae & James Mair ate ever deeper into West’s territory. The forwards then took a few short balls, Rhys Darlington burrowing through, pumping his legs to earn extra yards & suck in more panicked defenders. This created space out wide and a beautifully weighted cross field kick sailed into the arms of Jack McIntosh on the right wing where he dotted down for the Eagles’ 3rd try.

This spurred the Burnbrae outfit into action. Perthshire were penalised for crossing and West kicked for the lineout. Clinically, they took it down and created, then exploited, an overlap in the wide channel to open their scoring.

Before the half ended West added a second, Perthshire had eased off a bit and from a scrum the West backs took it to the wing before offloading to an inside runner who’s angle made the gap and got in under the posts for a converted try. The half-time whistle went with Perthshire ahead, 12-17.

It was a breath-taking first half and the message from Smudge to the players was to continue to back each other and believe that they could see it out, score more tries and cause the upset.

West of Scotland had different ideas and with the home crowd becoming impatient they soon won them back. Running back then returning the restart kick, West contested it in the air and, though neither team caught it, the bounce went to the Home side. Some fast hands whisked it out to the wing where it was raced to the corner to level, 17-17.

Perthshire were overkeen to regain the ball and were penalised at the ruck for not rolling away. West kicked into the 22 and winning the lineout pulled in the forwards with a maul then sent it out to the backline who could pick their hole. Crashing over and making the conversion West of Scotland were ahead, 24-17.

Still undeterred, Perthshire continued the hard press and when West dropped the ball Perthshire kicked it though. Giving chase John Kelly hacked it on again and as it bobbled up to the line went to collect. He dived as a West defender went to kick it and took a nasty full boot to the ankle. The referee judged it accidental but stopped play due to the injury. Reset at a scrum under the posts No. 8 James Mair picked from the base and went forwards. As he was held he slipped the ball inside to flanker Calum Chalmers who made it to the line. Adding the conversion the Eagles were back level, 24-24.

Despite the minutes on the clock the pace of the match continued. West of Scotland next to score as Perthshire compounded a few penalties and West took them quickly and stretched the defence with an unconverted try in the corner.

The momentum swung back to the men in Black & White as West were pinned back in their own half by aggressive defence, Shaun Barton & Angus Walker prominent in bringing down the home players . A chance came as Adrian Venter charged down an attempted kick but then ‘Shire knocked on trying to claim the ball. From the scrum West kick went into touch and Perthshire took the lineout was taken quickly. The counterattack was on but ended with the ball passed into touch. Minutes later Aidan Watson ran back a kick, chipped the defence but was knocked of balancing chasing and the momentum swung back to West.

Hampered by multiple penalties ‘Shire were firmly on the backfoot defending their line. West repeatedly tried the lineout maul but each time were stopped, sometimes illegally sometimes fairly. The visitors perhaps lucky not to see a man sent to the sin bin. Try as they might, Perthshire could not properly break the siege.

Then it looked to have ended. Will Campbell ripped the ball from West hands in a subsequent lineout maul and handed the ball to Calum Chalmers. The flanker tore up the touchline before punting ahead. West just got to it first and were swiftly brought down. Going for the turnover Perthshire were then penalised as the tackler had not rolled quickly enough.

This time West again went to the corner, took the lineout, set the maul and eventually pulled it off. This converted try to put the game beyond doubt with 3 minutes left to play.

Knowing one more try would secure a losing bonus point, on top of the try bonus point already in the bag, Perthshire pushed on one more time. A hard press from the restart kick had West in disarray. Taking advantage Angus Walker intercepted a loose offload and then passed it on to Mat Rae. The attack went forward and ‘Shire lined up to take it on the next phases. However, too many players were eager and all going for the ball got in each other’s way and it was dropped.

The referee blew for fulltime and the Burnbrae crowd heaved a massive sigh of relief. They had not expected such a stern test from Perthshire, the teams being opposite ends of the league table. Despite players out of position and some stepping up from the 2XV each player wearing Black & White put in the best performance they could. Smudge rightly told the players to keep that ethic and work hard over training, to get results in the remaining 2 league matches.

This Saturday Howe of Fife make the short trip from Cupar to the North Inch. All supporters welcome and encouraged to support at the final home match of the season, the Bowling Club will be open from 1:30pm, ahead of the 3pm kick off.

Photographs taken by Ewan MacKessack-Leitch

No April fools, Semi-Finals here we come!!

Perthshire Women 31 – 17 Stornoway

The Perthshire Women’s team played Stornoway on Saturday 1st April. The game kicked off at 2.15pm on the North Inch pitch, the weather being slightly chilly but perfect for a great game of rugby.

Stornoway started off strong putting pressure on Perthshire straight away. The first 10 minutes of the game was all within Perthshire’s half. Strong carries from the Stornoway forwards and great movement of the ball brought some early chances for them, but it was the defensive efforts from key players such as Claire Rae, Suzanne Rennie and Rebecca Bond, that kept Stornoway from scoring. Some brilliant tackling pushed Stornoway back to half way but still with possession they looked very strong. However, Perthshire’s patience paid off when Alex Ward intercepted the ball at pace, running down to within the 22. This spurred on Perthshire, and after a few passes and recycling of the ball, Alex Ward went over for the first try 14 minutes into the game, converting her own kick making the score 7-0.

This didn’t dishearten the visitors though, who again put great pressure on Perthshire in their own half. Knock-on’s from both sides saw the scrums being put to work, both teams putting in great efforts, the growls from the Perthshire squad pushing forward to get the upper hand. After a few scrums from both sides and some static play within the middle of the field, Alex Ward’s fancy footwork managed to find a gap and again Perthshire were running towards the try line. An unfortunate knock on just a couple of metres out meant Stornoway had the ball at the scrum. Strong defensive work again, Perthshire regained possession and Paula Watson’s passing put Alex Ward over for her second. The try successfully converted, score to 14-0 at 28 minutes.

A lovely chip kick from Alex Ward saw Jackie McConville have a nice run on to the ball, but Stornoway’s defensive work and pressure took back possession. Stornoway came back into Perthshire’s half with wave after wave of strong running from their forwards. Perthshire’s ill-discipline allowed for a few penalties to help Stornoway’s momentum, and just before half time the visitors scored in the corner. A good effort by the kicker however it was not converted. Halftime score 14-5 to Perthshire.

The second half saw some replacements from Perthshire including Danni Henderson, who instantly made an impact. A great scrum from Perthshire combined with great passing saw Danni go over to score a try 3 minutes into the second half. A great effort by Alex Ward again, but this time not converted, 19-5 at 43 minutes.

Stornoway came back though, with some great running from their forwards and work from their scrum half, putting pressure on Perthshire for a long time in the 22. Perthshire regained possession a couple of times, but were unable to get out of their half because of good defensive work and solid play from Stornoway. Some interlinking play between wingers and fullback saw a decent second try from Stornoway under the posts. This time the conversion was successful and the score line was close at 19-12.

Stornoway now seeing the possibility of bringing the scores level, had a bit between their teeth and were fighting with everything they had. Again, they kept pressure in the Perthshire 22 for a long time, but Perthshire’s discipline had improved, regaining possession at a crucial time. A clearing kick from Alex Ward chased expertly by Danni Henderson and Katie Whelan put pressure on Stornoway who knocked it on. After another dominate scrum, Paula Watson took the ball from the back of the scrum, with a beautiful pass to the already at pace Alex Ward, her speed and weaving, along with a great support line from Heather Kirkman that kept the defence guessing, meant it was near impossible to stop. Alex Ward scores her hattrick and the conversion is good. Score 26-12.

With 12 minutes to go, tired bodies on both sides but both teams very much still in the game. A few knock-ons again saw the game slow just slightly. Perthshire seemed to get a spark all of a sudden, as their forwards took crash ball after crash ball breaking the gain line over and over again. Strong carries from Sarah Blackwood, Becky Hunter and Fiona Gordon seem to put Perthshire on the front foot once again. This play brought defensive effort from Stornoway to a central position on the field, seeing this the backs shouted for the ball and got it wide, breaking up the field for some fast running. Alex Ward went over for her 4th try of the day under the posts. Stornoway put on a lot of pressure and noise as she attempted to score the conversion, which put her off just enough. Score 31-12.

The visitors had a fantastic game and finished it off with a try at very last minute. Some great passing to the wide channels, scoring in the corner. Final score Perthshire 31-17 Stornoway.

Perthshire Women are now through to the National Bowl Semi-finals to be played on 23rd April, having won 2 out of their 3 bowl matches. A fantastic team effort lead by amazing co-captains Heather McKenzie and Alex Ward, along with coach/player Iona Coutts.

Photos taken by Dave Morgan Pix (dmpix.net)

Murrayfield Wanderers 38 – 69 Perthshire

Perthshire secure Adam Pattinson Memorial Cup with emphatic scoreline.

The next day Scotland and Ireland would contest the Centenary Quaich and likely decide the Triple Crown. However, on Saturday it was Perthshire who were the visitors to play Murrayfield Wanderers in the shadow of the stadium. The Adam Pattinson Memorial Cup the prize for the winner.

It was a fast and loose game from the start. After kicking off, aggressive defence forced a Murrayfield mistake and ‘Shire won the scrum. As was a theme for the whole day Perthshire out-scrummed their opponents to win a penalty. The lineout was also solid but the ball dropped in the backline and Perthshire were booted back.

Soon a strong run by Dan Rae regained the forward momentum and series of carries for the forwards had Wanderers rolling backwards. Ewen MacDonald was nearly at the line but offloaded to James Mair who danced through 3 tacklers to ground the ball. Jonny Armitt slotting the conversion to give a 0-7 lead.

Murrayfield immediately took the initiative and barnstorming run from their No. 8 ate up the pitch until Aidan Watson slowed, then brought him down. Matt Stevens was next over and won a penalty to allow the Eagles to clear.

Minutes later from a lineout the maul set and heaved 15m forward until stopped illegally. Utilising the advantage, AJ Guthrie sent a cross-field kick to James Armstrong on the touchline; held by the winger he produced an out-the-back offload to Jonny Armitt who cantered under the posts to make his conversion a formality.

The tempo increased as Perthshire tried to press their advantage, Rory Bayne instrumental in bringing the speed of attack. Offloads and quick rucks were making progress but ‘Shire were guilty of forcing it. Dan Rae was denied a try as the referee called him back for a scrum in the 22. With a large undefended blindside, scrumhalf Lewis Murrie picked from the base and sprinted to line, just caught he managed to present the ball pack for the onrushing James Mair to scoop up and dive over for his second try. Jonny Armitt again adding the extras from a tough angle, 0-21.

Composure and discipline then went out the window for Perthshire and Murrayfield were let back into the game. A needless penalty gifted the home team possession and they took it quickly, while Perthshire had their heads in the clouds, to score in the corner. This was backed up by a second when soft shoulders allowed a break in the centre, defence scrambled but the ball went out to the winger to run in under the posts, 12-21.

Murrayfield were forced into early changes with some injuries and the remainder of the half was quite scrappy. Discipline tightened up but passes and offloads from both teams were too loose and getting dropped or intercepted.

Despite a clear advantage in the scrum Perthshire felt they were not getting the penalties they deserved as the Wanderers front row went into reserve, stood up and/or splintered under pressure from Ewen MacDonald and Rhys Darlington. On one occasion ‘Shire looked to the referee for a penalty as the ball squirted out the side, Murrayfield reacted quickest ran into the 22, and scored soon after to make it 19-21.

This type of play continued until Aidan Watson hit a sweet 50:22. A surging carry off the back by Matt Stevens, fed an even bigger carry by Rhys Darlington who had half the team hanging off him until he was hauled down just short. James Mair, as he had done twice already, took the ball the final inches across the line for his hattrick which Jonny Armitt duly converted.

Half-time, 19-28.

The second half started just as frantically. Matt Stevens caught the kick and slipped the ball to James Armstrong who sprinted 50m until snared by the fullback. The Black & White shirts swarmed forward but a knock-on ended the assault and Wanderers cleared.

It was not long before ‘Shire took their next try. A scrum about 40m out, walked forward but no penalty awarded; short plays followed and Dan Rae’s powerful carry put the reeling Wanderers on the back foot. Jonny Armitt picked his line and cut through the defence, dragging the fullback one way passed to Aidan Watson in support for an unconverted try.

Even more so the game broke up with all sorts of passes and offloads. Perthshire were getting ahead of themselves and forcing plays to try and score off every move. A pass went straight to the hands of a Murrayfield defender who sent it right out the to their speedster winger to sprint 70m and under the posts; gaining the conversion Wanderers were right back in it, 26-33.

Hitting back on the next play James Armstrong won a ruck penalty and the ball went deep into the 22. Murrayfield tried to defend the maul by standing off, aiming for an offside penalty. Wise to this, a quick peel allowed Matt Stevens the space round the edge of the pack to score.

A clever grubber kicked & collected by Aidan Watson pinned Wanderers back again. James Mair nearly made it across but knocked on. Wanderers held the 5m scrum but their clearance kick went into the arms of Aidan Watson who sliced through the chasers until held. A series of offloads followed which eventually reached the hands of Matt Stevens. He had 15m space in front on him and just covered it, scoring with an overhead stretch to dot the ball down. Converted by Jonny Armitt, there was some room in the score again, 26-45.

At the restart Calum Chalmers collected the ball and took a shoulder to the face as he was tackled. As both teams hesitated, waiting for the referee to make a judgment, James Armstrong seized the initiative and took from base and ran 60m weaving to beat the cover and fullback in a race to the corner for an unconverted try, 26-50.

Easing up, some slack defence gifted Murrayfield the opportunity to score, only denied by a forward pass. They crossed the whitewash soon after as ‘Shire tried to play out of their half and a speculative pass was intercepted.

A succession of scrum penalties saw Perthshire march upfield. Taking front foot ball, from another dominant scrum, flyhalf AJ Guthrie sold a double dummy to get round the centres. Passed out to Andrew Sanderson, he made the metres down the wing before shipping it back inside for Aidan Watson to score. The conversion was successful, 31-57.

Minutes later after winning a scrum against the head AJ Guthrie tried the dummy again. Wanderers were not fooled twice and took him down. Simon McGarry, who’d be sharp all day, was also not fooled and immediately picked up the ball from the tackle and squeezed round the fringes before dashing 55m to score under the posts, duly converted by Jonny Armitt.

Perthshire’s final try came after Murrayfield dropped a pass and Jonny Armitt kicked through. Plays from Rory Bayne and Angus Walker made the ground before the ball was delivered to Aidan Watson to touchdown on the wing.

Wanderers had the final say on the stroke of fulltime with a converted try, to end the match 38-69. Winning the Adam Pattinson Memorial Cup, presented by Claire Pattinson to Captain James Mair after the match, Perthshire can take the positives from the fast attacking style but will need to tighten up to get the full benefits. This was not a match for the defence, both teams will know they allowed in some soft tries.

There is a break for Six Nations Super Saturday before Perthshire host Orkney on the North Inch with an early 12pm kick-off on 25th March. The Bowling Club will be open from 11am, all supporters welcome to come down and cheer on the teams.

Fabulous start, Heartbreak finish, but Plenty of Positives

Waid Academy FP 39 – 36 Perthshire 2XV

With one of the longer away games, Perth set off to Anstruther not for fish & chips, but for a game of rugby against Waid Academy FP on pleasant, if cold day. Matches between these two teams have historically been a tough battle.

With a slight delay in arriving for Perthshire, the warm-up was a short affair, and the message for the team was discipline and not to panic when things got tough.

Perth came racing out of the blocks with a catch from their own kick off by Adrian Venter and a score from Angus Macfarlane in the first minute of the match. Waid were a bit shellshocked at this point with heavy pressure from the defensive line of the ‘Shire men.

Waid could only keep clearing their lines with kicks to the full-back Peter Cowen, who kept returning it with interest. It was from one these, that the second try was scored, a long punt up the field from Peter Cowen, and Callum MacDonald in chase, eyeing a prop on the wing, with a wicked bounce, Callum gathered, stepped the prop and ran in under the posts, with the conversion by Rab Pittendreigh, to make the score 12-0. It was that this point maybe Perthshire thought it was going to be an easier game and started to not pressure as much in both attack and defence.

This resulted in Waid using their big men up through the middle, sucking in tackles and with quick ball their excellent 10 did a double switch with the centre who ran in under the posts. Waid now had the Forth wind in their sails, and ran in two further tries, to make it 19 – 12. Perthshire in the process losing Cowen to a dislocated shoulder, replaced by Johnny Venter, and both 9s of Mikey Evans and Liam Flavell picking up ankle injuries, it was now Perthshire who were shellshocked.

The front five of: Stevie Wilkie, Callum Coutts, Calum Robertson, Stuart Mackie and James Marley, supported by Konner Wilkie off the bench at times; were under a lot of pressure but holding their own in both the scrum and lineout. It was from a lineout that pack leader Ryan Beaton decided to call the ‘Monday’ ball, which in resulted in Adrian Venter getting his 2nd try.

Half time came, 19 -17. Coach Dave Lewis, called for calm from the team, and again highlighted that keeping the pressure up was key to this game and not to step off the gas. Ross Alexander came on to the pitch to bolster the scrum.

Once again, Perthshire came out of the blocks pushing to a 19-36 scoreline within the first 15 minutes: Allan Farell on his debut, broke clear to score under the posts; Arran Sheach and Blake Laidlaw ran excellent lines, which allowed space for, Man of Match, Adrian to help himself to 2 more tries. With his final one, a 40m run beating 5 men to score between the posts. However, once again this seemed to shock Waid back into action and they start to claw their way back into the match and get the game to within 5 points.

At which point Perth missed a penalty, where a tap and go might have been the best option as Perth were re-applying the pressure, but a call from the side line by the coach asked for the penalty kick. Sadly, this was the last time Perth had a chance to score with heavy pressure from Waid in the final 5 minutes resulted in a score to make it 36 all. With a kick to nudge team in front, 2nd Row Stuart Mackie bolted off the line and charged down the kick.

With time ticking, the game looked like it was going to end in draw, but heartbreak for Perthshire, as a penalty in front of the posts for Waid was the final action of an end-to-end game, with Waid winning 39-36.

Though it was a tough loss for Perthshire to take, Coach Dave Lewis, mentioned that in the last few seasons, this fixture was very one-sided to Waid with some big scores. However, in the past it was more often settled by a point or two either way. This highlights the excellent progression from the team, to come here, and take 2 well deserved bonus points and sets up them up to get themselves off the bottom of table with the remaining 2 matches to come. The 2s now rest for a week, and return on 25th March away to Bannockburn.

Royal High 21 – 46 Perthshire

After a positive week of training Head Coach Alan Clark’s men were ready for the trip to the capital to take on Royal High. Confidence levels were high and the boys were well prepared. After a last minute decision to change pitch, the stage was set, nice surface and the sound of aeroplanes flying low overhead. It was time for kick off, with Perthshire opting to wear their red & black strips.

Royal High got the game under way with Perthshire gathering the kick off and stringing some early phases together. Progress was hindered with a slight lack of discipline and a few penalties were award against the men in red & black. James Mair had his forwards organised with lineout defence and were causing some real problems for Royal High, who could not get clean ball from the set piece. The first 10 minutes was awash with knock-ons and penalties which whilst frustrating didn’t stop both teams trying to execute their game plans.

Royal High struck first with a few successful crash balls, finally breaking through and getting their reward, a successful conversion and it was 7-0 to the hosts. Captain Mat Rae rallied his troops under the posts and urged calm heads and a reaction. After some more dominant phase play from Perthshire, the effect of his words becoming evident, and a great lineout steal from Simon McGarry gifted Perthshire an opportunity. A monstrous carry from Dan Rae had High on the back foot, quick ruck speed released the backs and with slick hands winger Ross Goodison broke down the line, with an inspired basketball ball off load, Jonny Armitt was free and clear under the posts. AJ Guthrie made a successful conversion and it was all square 7-7. Contender for try of the season for sure.

It carried on to be a bit messy with handling errors, however, it was clear Perthshire were in the driving seat. Royal High showed a strong maul defence, turning the Eagles over and opted to box kick, only to find the safe hands of Jonny Armitt. Spotting the space the experienced fullback sent a chip over and winger James Armstrong plucks the ball from the air and with some hard running bundles over in the corner. A tough kick to add the two points fell slightly short. Another potential try of the season nominee?

Some more controlled play and with lineout dominance it was only a matter of time before Perthshire struck again. Ewen MacDonald like a charging bull broke the line, with a perfect offload to Simon McGarry who was hauled down just short of the try line. A super quick ruck saw number nine Lewis Murrie feeding Calum Chalmers and nobody was stopping him. Another tricky kick which drifted slightly wide, 7-17 to Perthshire.

More dominant play for the team in red & black, a great driving run from the towering Matt Stevens provided Perthshire with an excellent platform. Again quick ruck speed and some slick offloads proved fruitful and Ewen MacDonald crashed over the line for Perthshire’s bonus point try. The conversion hit the post and the referee signalled for half time; the score 7-22.

The start of the second half was much the same as that of the first, errors from both sides made for a scrappy affair. Rory Bayne was at the receiving end of a yellow card for a swinging arm and this provided the hosts with a bit of drive. Moving the ball through the hands and splitting the ‘Shire defensive line, to take a converted try, 14-22.

A late shot on James Armstrong and the numbers were balanced once again as a Royal High received their own yellow card. At this stage ‘Shire really began to take control of the game, albeit still a bit of a scrappy affair. A penalty awarded for diving over and AJ Guthrie slotted it over to extend the lead to 14-25.

Perthshire would strike again, this time with Rhys Darlington making a superb break , trundling towards the Royal High line, only to ground it on the five metre line thinking it was the white wash. Captain Mat Rae continued the charge with a sharp offload he sent, Man of the Match, Simon McGarry over. AJ Guthrie adding the extras, 14-32.

Strong carries and some good handling work was the theme for the Perth outfit. A piercing run from Simon McGarry, covering around 30 metres, to finish under the posts put the game out of reach of the hosts. Successful conversion and it was 14-39.

‘Shire were not done yet and a scintillating dummy pass from AJ Guthrie provided Lee Graham with the easiest of finishes between the posts. Successfully converted, the score was 14-46.

The hosts would have the final say in the match. After some strong runs, they approached Shire’s line, a great turnover from the visitors proved costly in the end as the clearing kick was charged down in-goal and grounded by Royal High. Conversion made and the referee blew for full time, 21-46.

Thank you to Royal High and the referee for providing an excellent afternoon of rugby. Supporters encouraged to come down to the North Inch next weekend as it is a double header with the 1XV playing Hillhead and the 2XV going up against Strathmore 2XV, both kick-off at 3pm. The Bowling Club will be open from 1:30pm.

Photos by Jazmine Tomlinson.