East Lothian Courier | Sport

Published: Thursday, 4th October, 2007 09:00

Rugby Round-up

Haddington 36 Hamilton 15

TABLE-TOPPERS Haddington continued their assault on Premiership Division 2 with a convincing win over Hamilton which stretched their winning run to five from the first five matches.

In dry autumnal conditions, Hamilton started well and only good covering from home scrum-half Sam Johnston denied former Glasgow winger Gerry Hawkes a chip and run try in the corner.

But Hamilton soon opened the scoring in the 15th minute when their South African number 9, Stydom, popped over a drop goal from the base of a ruck after good phase play from the visitors.

The Scarlets were next to score when a high Hamilton kick ricocheted into Callum Cockburn’s hands to set up a 40-metre run deep into the Hamilton half and the burly teenager found Jamie Peters in support and space to canter over for a try. Peters added the conversion for a 7-3 lead.

The Haddington faithful didn’t have long to wait for the second try when Johnston outstripped the back row cover to inter-pass with full-back Gibbons and the quick Aussie number 15 neatly stepped away from the Hamilton cover to score wide out for the fourth week in succession.

Hamilton continued to play good rugby and test the home defence with their expansive play, but over-zealous use of the boot by the Hamilton wing forward gave him an early taste of the half-time oranges and presented Haddington with an opportunity to close the half with a another try.

Johnston made good use of turnover ball in the middle of the park to put second row Caulfield into the open and the big middle rower offloaded back to Johnston who outstripped the cover to touch down in the corner. Peters added the touchline conversion for a 19-3 home lead.

Haddington continued to work gaps in the Hamilton defence in an attempt to chalk up the four-try bonus point before the end of the first half, and captain Donald Snodgrass waltzed through midfield to set up an attack in the visitors 22.

From the recycled ball, vice-skipper Adam should have scored, but a downward pressure fumble denied the prop a try and an unassailable half-time lead for the Scarlets.

Hamilton again started well in the opening exchanges of the second half. Poor defensive clearances from deep in home territory gave the visitors a couple of opportunities to get back into the game, and the impressive Stydom finally took one when he ducked through the ineffectual defence to score a converted try under the sticks.

The Scarlets’ response was immediate with a try from Rhodri Thomas who showed impressive pace to outstrip the defence following good handling from the inside backs, and although Peters missed the difficult conversion, the bonus try was secured and the visitors had a 14-point margin to overturn.

Better handling, straight from the training paddock, put Snodgrass through the first line defence in the 50th minute and the skipper sold an outrageous dummy to the opposition and Haddington were on their way to a comfortable victory.

Peters again added the extras for a 31-10 lead.

Haddington then resolved to route one rugby for the sixth score from a driving line-out when Adam atoned for his earlier fumble as he emerged from the forwards’ pile-up with the ball to make it 36-10.

Hamilton refused to give up and continued to play passing rugby to test the Scarlets’ defence and the home side again failed to clear their lines which allowed Hamilton to set up camp in the home 22.

After a number of phases, winger Hawkes showed good strength to drive over from close range to score an unconverted try.

Both teams continued to throw the ball about in the final minutes but no further scores were added and Haddington finished with an impressive 36-15 victory against a stuffy and difficult Hamilton side.

Sam Johnston and Donald Snodgrass again confirmed their status as key performers and Brock Gibbons continued to glide and step impressively in open play.

Ross High 33 Portobello 10

ROSS HIGH got back to winning ways with a vital bonus try win at home over Edinburgh rivals Portobello on Saturday.

The win came coutesy of tries from Chris Hutchison, Graeme McCrann and two from Michael Patterson, with two conversions and a penalty from Craig Patterson.

Player-coach Graham Paris said: “I was pleased with the result, but not with the performance, but I would have taken any win before the match.”

Dalziel 12 Preston Lodge 10

Preston Lodge’s dismal away form continued on Saturday as they left Motherwell with no points after kicker Andrew Clark spurned a host of scoring opportunities.

The Prestonpans side have not won a single point on the road since January 6.

PL kicked off and early possession was secured and Graeme Paterson – restored to a more familiar stand-off role after the return from injury of Bronson Wherelunga – was able to send a searching kick deep into the Dalziel 22.

Pressure from the forwards forced an error from the home side, but the penalty chance to take an early lead was missed by Andrew Clark.

The visitors continued to dominate the early play and Dalziel were forced into another error after failing to stay on their feet at a ruck, but again Clark failed to convert the penalty award into points when his kick from just outside the 22 went wide of the posts.

Dalziel gained confidence from the early misses and played their way back into the match as their forwards drove well and set the ball back for some slick passing through their backs.

After 25 minutes a high, hanging up and under from Paterson was chased down by Greg Kinross whose excellent tackle forced a penalty near half-way for not releasing.

Backchat from Dalziel edged Clark’s kick 10 metres closer, but he was unable to give PL the advantage for the third time.

Dalziel’s forwards started to dominate the set pieces and a drive after a line-out was to force PL off their feet giving a simple penalty in front of the posts for Hill to convert.

The rest of the half proved difficult for PL to gain any possession or territory despite good breaks by Paterson and Morrison and Hill increased the home side’s lead to 6-0 at the break with another penalty.

Dalziel extended their advantage to 9-0 early in the second half when Kinross was caught offside in midfield, but Paterson closed the gap slightly with a penalty for PL shortly after.

PL then embarked on a brilliant display of rugby and a good drive near the try line forced another penalty. Morrison bravely opted to kick to touch and his pack rewarded him by driving to the line where he dived over for the try.

Paterson’s conversion gave PL a deserved 10-9 lead after 60 minutes.

But Dalziel hero Hill was on hand again to win the match for his side with a penalty late in the game.

Dunbar 3 North Berwick 23

DUNBAR welcomed their closest rivals to Hallhill on Saturday and were outplayed in every department by North Berwick.

The visitors dominated the play from start to finish and only Dunbar’s superior defending kept the score down as they went down fighting.

Dunbar’s problems were compounded by positional changes brought on by injuries both before and during the match, and this was evident as they lost their shape.

To North Berwick’s credit, they exploited their advantage well and didn’t waste the opportunities that came their way.

North Berwick play a simple and effective brand of rugby and following a ruck in Dunbar’s 22 metre area in the first quarter, the ball was passed through each back’s hands for the winger to score in the corner.

The teams then swapped penalty kicks through Donnellan for Dunbar and Craig for North Berwick, and the teams went in at half-time with the score 8-3 to to the visitors.

North Berwick spread the ball wide at every opportunity in the second half and from a turnover at a ruck, the visitors passed the ball at speed which created an overlap to score an excellent try that Grant Craig converted.

The match swung from end to end, but Dunbar lacked any sort of cutting edge and it was Craig for North Berwick who kicked a drop goal to put the result beyond doubt.

North Berwick’s inside centre scored a late try for the visitors.

Club Mourns Death

MUSSELBURGH’S match against Hillhead/Jordanhill was cancelled on Saturday due to the death of a player from the Glasgow club.

It is believed the player was a member of the club’s second team who died in an accident last week and the match was called off as a mark of respect.

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