Tries Galore but Luck Goes West’s Way

Perthshire 32 – 38 West of Scotland

Last minute defeat for ‘Shire in an 11 try match

Always a close encounter, Perthshire welcomed West of Scotland to the North Inch. Conditions were near perfect for rugby, no wind, no rain and mild temperature. A reasonable crowd gathered and were not to be disappointed with the excitement played out over 80 minutes in front of them.

Perthshire received the kick-off and immediately struck up field. Simple plays tested the West defence who were up to the task. Then West got a bit too enthusiastic at ruck time conceding a penalty. Without hesitation Aidan Watson played with the advantage to chip a cross-field kick left which was beautifully gathered by Jay Pettie who used his pace to beat the cover defence over 30m and dotted down the opening try which Calum Bruce duly converted.

Next up Perthshire managed to clear their lines but West were undeterred. After a few phases in the forwards they managed to find some space in midfield and slick offloads allowed them to respond with an unconverted score.

This galvanised Perthshire who dominated in the forwards. Club Captain Macka, back in the 1s for the first time, was stealing lineout ball and the solid front 3 of Kyle MacKinnon, Ryan Moon and Ewen MacDonald were bossing the scrums all over the park. West had no reply and were pushed back into their half, a penalty kick went to the corner. The following lineout maul was clean and steamrollered over with Kyle MacKinnon at the back taking the try, Calum Bruce again adding the extras.

The remainder of the first half continued to see Perthshire dominate upfront. James Mair, Angus Walker and Calum Chalmers putting in fine performances securing rucks and winning turnovers. In the backline, centres Mat Rae & Calum Bruce would punch deep holes in the West defence and Aidan Watson was alive to any half chance. It was somewhat against the run of play that West, exploiting a mismatch on the wing, pulled an uncovered try back to give a half time score of 14-10.

West came out firing in the second half. Desperate defence and last gasp turnovers, especially from Angus Walker, saved Perthshire a good few times. One such turnover around halfway saw the ball passed back to the right where Ross Goodison, now playing centre, spotted a small gap and burst through. In the try of the match he proceeded to smash though 3 further tacklers over a 60m run to score – what a try, the crowd cheered that immensely!

This was a short reprieve as the penalty count mounted against the men in Black & White. Given ample opportunities West found spaces when ‘Shire were guilty of concentration lapses, squeezing in tight to the scrum in a fine set piece attack for a try under the posts.

Worse was to follow, ‘Shire play a fast defence and Jonny Armitt was unlucky not to get an intercept knocking on; unfortunately moments later Jay Pettie was equally unlucky but this time the referee judged it a deliberate knock-on and dished out a yellow card.

Down to 14 men, the Eagles tried to keep it tight and wear down the clock. It was hard going, Ewen MacDonald and James Mair making more than their fair share of carries. All of a sudden a gap opened up and Aidan Watson used his sharp mind and sharp pace to scream up the pitch. He covered 70m but was denied just short. The ‘Shire support got there quickly and the ball was worked to Angus Walker who surged over for the unconverted try.

West kicked the restart deep and Perthshire were stuck in their 22, escape was made difficult by the speed of West’s defence. Multiple forward phases made little ground and the ball then went out to the backs, under enormous pressure the kick went awry allowing West cheap possession in the 22 and with an in-built overlap they exploited within 2 phases to score and bring it level 24-24.

Perthshire hit back into the West half and won a penalty about 40m out. Calum Bruce elected to kick and struck it well to regain the lead. Jay Pettie, having had time to reflect on what he’d done, returned as the team were restored to 15.

It was not too long before Jay made amends. On the counter attack Shaun Barton on the right wing ran up the touchline into the 22m and looked certain to emulate Ross Goodison’s earlier try until the cover defence bundled him out. West took the lineout quickly but it was read by the ‘Shire back row who immediately pounced on the hapless recipient who dropped the ball. Seized quickly the pack surged on and nearly made the line. Assessing the field, scrumhalf Andrew Sanderson sent the ball to Calum Chalmers who then passed long to the left wing where Jay Pettie was ready to dive over and give Perthshire an 8 point lead with 8 minutes left on the clock.

These remaining minutes were frantic. Both teams had expended their energy and there were tired bodies all round. West were mostly held for the next 4 minutes but made a break attacking into the Perthshire half. The scramble was good and ‘Shire looked to have won the turnover only for the referee to decide a supporting player came in the side and awarded West a penalty. With the wind in their sails West took a short penalty and going nowhere in the tight carries threw the ball wide finding the space to score and taking an excellent conversion made it a 1 point game, 32-31.

Only 2½ minutes left for Perthshire to hold the win. The restart was sent deep, West were going to have to win the match from their own 22. Tackle after tackle, ruck after ruck they made no distance. Into the final minute and they got their break. A flowing and offloading attack took them all the way across the line. The conversion was made and the final whistle blew. Elation for West and devastation for Perthshire.

This is the third time on the North Inch that West scored in the final play to seal the match. The bounce when it mattered didn’t go the Eagles’ way, but this was an improved performance. West now sit 2nd in the league table and Perthshire were ahead for 79 minutes. The next 2 matches against Strathmore (away on 23rd October) and Greenock (home on 30th October) will be critical for Perthshire to climb up the table. Supporters today made a difference and will do so again to lift the players in Black & White at these upcoming matches.

Unfortunately, with 31 players in the Senior squad unavailable this weekend, there were insufficient numbers and the 2XV match was called off.

Photos taken by Peter Wilkinson.