Sep
01
Magic 2's v Heriots 2's - October 7th
It was not a bad Edinburgh afternoon at Goldenacre although the sun was out the wind was a little breezy. The Magic twos turned up feeling good and looking good in the new, slightly over-sized, home strips.
The game kicked off and started just like the previous week against Hamilton. B'muir attacked and got right up to the Heriots line before a silly penalty turned over ball to the opposition. A good omen possibly but Heriots were not lying down the way Hamilton did.
Some great attacking play in the centres by The Nails was cut down by the new Irishman Mike Brown who hit boys for fun all day long. A bit of niggle was coming ion to play and Rob Ure, younger brother of our very own Jamie, showed he was not backing down in his first start for the 2s. On the 20minute mark B'muir were attacking on the Heriots 22m when a silly pass gave an interception,
Heriots countered, speedily passed wide and the pacey winger went the length for a great solo effort. Questionable defending may have a role to play but sometime good old-fashioned pace wins the race.
This may have been a catalyst to bolster B'muir into the game plan the coaches wanted to execute as we got ball for the next 4 minutes and battered the Heriots defence. B'muir held ball and ran hard and straight and it soon paid dividends as the hard-working Brown powered over after quick thinking from the other Irishman Conor Crilly at scrum half. the rest of the half saw B'Muir repel Heriots each time they forayed into our half and silly errors creep into play each time we attacked into theirs.
Highlight for me was the Heriots attack blatantly trip over their own man only to call for a penalty.... Private school education is not always all it is cracked up to be!
The 2nd half was the cliched game of two halves. Heriots started well and were 12-5 up after 2 minutes then 17-5 up after 11mins. Both tries from missed or poor tackles that allowed offloads and pushed our defence backwards. Credit to both teams that penalties were not kicked to goal and running rugby was the order of the day.
A kick to the corner from the 16th Heriots infringement saw us collect the line-out, set up the maul and drive over. Unfortunately, Heriots retaliated 5 mins later and widened the gap to 24-12. Good ruck plays by their pack and hard running from their two centres saw the blue and whites score again.
On the 35th minute the hit of the day came from 18 yr. old Grant Innes as Heriots tried to attack out of their own 22m, Innes was having none of it and emptied the player who knew he was in a tough game. Mike Brown may also have been in contention for hit if the day but we expect that form a seasoned player. Unfortunately, even with staunch defence Heriots still managed a breakaway try.
With support either side the ginger centre ran through a gap. offloaded, and again support on hand 2 more offloads saw them run 60m for a well worked try. 29-12 and it did not look great but the Magic 2s spirit kicked in and hooker replacement Alan Nethery got ball and exploded through a gap, support was there and the move continued only for the 22nd Heriots penalty to stop the flow.
Scott kicked to the corner and from that the line-out was won, and Ollie James was on hand to steer the maul over. 29-17 and 1 minute left. Kick off from Heriots, ball collected, Nethery break, pack supporting, penalty committed by Heriots... have we heard this somewhere before? Scott kicks to corner, line-out won...recognise the patterns folks... Arran Wilson steering the shop and over to secure a 4 try bonus point and as well as a losing bonus point.
All in all, disappointed with the loss but delighted with the spirit of the team to come back and get 2 points. Great to have new boys Rob Ure and Mike Brown get their starts in the team. Conor Crily at 9 had his best game I have seen in a B'Muir strip. Rory Scott at 10 orchestrated and distributed well. 18 yr. old Callum McDevitt showed that he is pushing to get his starting position back when came on and Nethery showed glimpses in his 20-minute stint.
However, the MOM for me was Arran Wilson. He packs more than punch in defence and runs some of the best and hardest line for a guy than weighs less than a bag of carrots. Next up is Edin Accies at Meggetland and some more tough decisions at selection for coaches. Come and watch if you want to see some great free flowing rugby.
