Published: Thursday, 11th October, 2007 09:00
Rugby Round-Up
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Preston Lodge 77 Cambuslang 26
The Pennypit crowd enjoyed a glut of tries on Saturday as
Preston Lodge destroyed Cambuslang, despite trailing the visitors 19-15 at half-time.
PL scored 16 tries – 14 of them in the second half – as they pulled their socks up after a diappointing display in the opening 40 minutes to move up to third place in National League Division 1.
There were early signs that PL meant business and Graeme Patterson opened the scoring with a penalty on 10 minutes.
The first try came 10 minutes later when Greg Kinross broke through the Cambuslang backs at pace before he was stopped short of the line. A penalty was awarded for handling in the ruck and quick thinking and slick passing got the ball to Ali Wood who went over for a try on his debut.
Patterson added the conversion, but it was Cambuslang who dominated the rest of the half when PL switched off and concede three tries in an eight minute spell to trail 19-10. Chris Dixon pulled a try back just before the break.
PL came out after the break in a determined mood but no-one could have predicted what was to come as the home side totally dominated all areas of play.
The scrum, which had been under pressure in the first half, began to steady and Ross Anderson took two or three strikes against the head. He also found his jumpers in the line-out and they were able to steal from the opposition’s throws and produce clean ball for the backs.
Kinross scored the first of PL’s 14 second half tries after just two minutes with an injection of pace that left the Cambuslang defence standing, and minutes later he once again broke through to set up the backs who were able to show off their handling skills in getting the ball to Henderson who made sure of the try bonus point by scoring in the corner.
Kinross and Henderson were oozing confidence and their skills were to set up the sponsors’ man-of-the-match Paul Voy for the next try, by creating a huge gap for him to run straight down the middle in his own unique, marauding style to score under the posts.
The PL backs have never had so much possession this season and they put it to good use as Andrew Clark burst through to link play to Kinross out on the wing and he cut sharply back inside and crossed for his second try. It was then Voy’s turn to get his brace when he scored after an excellent interchange of passes with Wood in front of the posts.
The pressure on Cambuslang was relentless and stand-off Patterson heaped more misery as he sent a magnificent 30 metre cross-field kick over the try line where Henderson pipped Stuart McLean to the touchdown.
Henderson completed his hat-trick of tries on the half hour with a solo run across the field beating two men for sheer pace in the process.
Patterson, who would go on to score 17 points, kicked the conversion to take the score to 60-19, and he followed this up a minute later by sending a precise kick through the Cambuslang defence for centre Mark Coull to gather and barge over under the posts.
There were still three more tries to come before the end from Henderson, Wood and Chris McLean.
It was Cambuslang who had the final say as they somehow raised their game and their spirits by scoring a last minute converted try that secured them a try bonus point and make the final score 77-26.
Dunbar 26 Portobello 33
DUNBAR threw away a 20-point lead to gift Portobello a precious victory at Hallhill on Saturday.
The young East Lothian side had performed admirably to lead 23-3 at half-time after being denied a host of first team regulars through injury.
Ross McKenzie drew in two players before off-loading to centre Callum Jeffrey to score out wide for the first try and prop Andrew Wightman barged over from two metres out to add a second.
Portobello pulled three points back from a penalty before Dunbar engineered their third try with a quick passing movement as the ball went through the hands of Champion and Kelly to present Cameron Buglass with a clean run in behind the posts.
Donellan added the conversion as well as two penalties to give Dunbar a healthy lead at the break.
But Portobello hit back immediately after the restart to score a converted try after two minutes on the clock and followed it up with another one from a simple, but effective move.
Another try edged Portobello further in front and they added three penalties before Dunbar added one of their own to end the scoring.
Selkirk 27 Haddington 22
PREMIER 2 pace-setters Haddington relinquished their 100 per cent league record and top spot as they suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Selkirk on Saturday.
The Scarlets now sit joint-top of the table with West of Scotland with six matches played after third-placed Selkirk closed the gap on their rivals.
The match kicked off in perfect conditions and it was Haddington who took the early initiative by scoring the first try after only five minutes when good play from Callum Mark, Donald Snodgrass and Neil Rodgers in midfield set up Brock Gibbons to add to his impressive tally this season.
Jamie Peters made no mistake with the conversion for a 7-0 lead. Two minutes later Peters increased the lead to 10-0 with a penalty as the confident Scarlets piled the pressure on their hosts.
But the visitors were rocked soon after when over-elaborate play in the midfield and a speculative kick bounced straight into the hands of a Selkirk player who had an easy run-in and simple conversion to pull Selkirk were back within three points.
The Scarlets resumed normal service and were straight back on the offensive driving Selkirk backwards at every opportunity and some great phases of play by backs and forwards sent flanker Neil Rogers in for a cracking try on 20 minutes. Peters kicked a tremendous conversion for a well-deserved 15-7.
One lesson that any team travelling to the Borders will always learn is that Border clubs never lie down and Selkirk were no exception.
They slowly started to capitalise on the small errors that crept into Haddington’s game and pounced on a poor 22 metre drop-out to surge back towards the Haddington line before moving the ball quickly wide for their winger to score on 32 minutes to make it 15-12.
The home side weren’t finished there and took the lead for the first time in the match with a try from a drive from a line-out deep in the Haddington 22 to go into the half-time break leading 17-15.
Disappointingly for Haddington, they just never got going at the start of the second half and the match became loose which suited Selkirk at this stage as they had the upper hand.
Whenever Haddington had possession, the home side were quick to slow the play at the breakdown, starving the dangerous Haddington runners of any quality possession.
Within 10 minutes the hosts had increased their lead when they hit up the middle of the park from a line-out. Haddington stood off as Selkirk offloaded out of the tackle to score near the posts, and with the simple conversion, the home side led 24-15.
The Scarlets needed the next score or the game was in danger of slipping away and it was the forwards who started to control ball again in the rucks that would eventually see Selkirk penalised for infringing.
From a quick tap penalty Callum Cockburn was picked out in space to score out wide, and with Jamie Peters’ excellent conversion, Haddington were now trailing by only two points at 24-22 going into the last quarter.
By this stage both teams were wary that the next score would almost certainly win the game, but it was Selkirk who came up trumps as Haddington tried to run ball out of defence before becoming isolated and were penalised for not releasing.
Selkirk gladly kicked the award to seal the match.
Aberdeen Grammar 36 Musselburgh 0
MUSSELBURGH failed to score a single point on their travels against an organised Aberdeen side – a result which leaves the East Lothian outfit third from bottom in Premier Division 2.
Burgh had little to offer in the first period against a streetwise Grammar outfit and a non-streetwise referee.
A penalty and four tries in the first half virtually secured victory for the home side, and despite an improved performance from Burgh after the break, Aberdeen added to their score with another try to seal the match.
Musselbugh’s generosity in the first half by gifting their opponents three tries in the opening period was a hard lesson for the young side and club officials weren’t happy with what they saw as an “uneven” performance from the referee.
The county side were 17-0 down going into the second quarter of the match and the lead was to prove too much to claw back as Aberdeen pressed home their advantage.
The injured Leitch was replaced by debutant Grodynski early on for Burgh and Talac was also forced out of the game on the half hour mark which affected Burgh’s flow.
But Burgh had dug in well and offered a stern defence in the second half where they had also featured, briefly, as an attacking force.
Burgh looked especially dangerous in the final quarter of the game but couldn’t turn their possession into points and it was Aberdeen who got the final score with a try from Barrie.
The Aberdeen pack is a powerful unit and the three-quarters possess pace. Call-offs and injuries during the game did not help Burgh’s cause, but young players were blooded, which can only be beneficial as the season progresses.
Penicuik 20 Ross High 29
ROSS HIGH secured their first win on the road for an incredible four years by becoming the first team to beat Penicuik at home for two years.
The East Lothian side were behind 20-10 at half-time with a penalty from Craig Patterson and a charged down try by Chris Hutchison scoring their points.
But a spirited fightback in the last 20 minutes of the match saw Michael Patterson’s try cut the lead and two late Jamie Evans tries edged Ross High in front for that long-awaited away win with a bonus point.
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