Mar
25
By Chris Evans
Boroughmuir 2nd XV 20, Ayr 2nd XV 14
Boroughmuir 2nd XV have been enjoying a return to somewhere near top form recently, with consecutive wins over Currie and Hawks. On Saturday they faced a tough fixture against an Ayr side that have been very much in the hunt for the title all season. The West coast side put a dent in ‘Muir’s championship ambitions in January with a 31-18 home win. Therefore the magic 2’s were looking to get one back over their rivals.
The match was played in bitterly cold conditions on the back pitches at Meggetland, with a wind blowing down the pitch that made it feel like -20c! The ‘Muir team again featured a number of changes. In the backs they were bolstered by the return of Grame Blackhall at ten and Jordan Webster on the wing who had both been involved in the first’s squad last week. In the forwards, a call up to the firsts bench for young number 8 Liam Black, gave Liam Mitchell a start in his favoured position of number 8. Kiwi Richie Battson returned from injury to join Mitchell in the back-row and Gordon Pearse captained the side from lock.
With a strong wind behind them, coach Neil McCallum hoped that his players would start well with this perceived advantage. However, it was Ayr that took the game to ‘Muir in the first half and played some attractive and ultimately effective rugby. The 2nds looked shell shocked in the opening twenty-minutes, perhaps an effect of the freezing conditions and fell off tackles which allowed Ayr to gain good territory. A couple of opening penalty kicks for the stocking wearing Ayr left wing, was soon followed by a try and it started to look like it could be a long day for ‘Muir.
However, some pressure relieving kicks from half backs Harry Fenton and Blackhall allowed ‘Muir to get back into the game. On thirty minutes, the ‘Muir forwards were able to get a chance to use their very effective line-out catch and drive. It seems these days that this well practiced play works at least once a game and against Ayr it was no different. This time it was the immovable object that is Bus Richards who got the try and he is surely now competing for top try scorer for the 2nds this season.
Ayr converted another penalty kick shortly after but ‘Muir hit back and found themselves camped on the Ayr line in the dying minutes of the first half. Although ‘Muir were now down to fourteen men, after Battson had been sin-binned for “persistant” infringements, the pack were on top of their rivals. A number of penalties were conceded by Ayr and the decision not to attempt the three points was vindicated. A powerful, straight run from inside centre Richie Sievwright, off a tap penalty pass from Fenton caught the Ayr defence napping and he touched down for a try. Blackhall converted the score to make the half-time score 14-12 to Ayr.
Coach McCallum, who was flying solo again this week with Andy Knight on the sauce once more, did his best to encourage his side at half-time, most of whom were showing early signs of frost bite and hypothermia! The 2nds had dented the confidence of Ayr with the way they had got back into the game towards the end of the first half and if this continued the victory was well within the home sides grasp.
Winger Chris Whitelock was given time to thaw out at half-time, being replaced by Calum Cusiter who moved to scrum-half with Fenton moving to the right wing.
The 2nds definitely improved in the second half and started playing controlled rugby.
The forwards started to carry the ball more effectively with the likes of Greg Jones, Liam Mitchell and Stu Clark making the hard yards. With kicking into the wind not being the brightest of ideas, pivot Blackhall used his backs a bit more with the hard running Jordan Webster coming off his wing and committing a couple of defenders with his hit ups.
On sixty minutes ‘Muir made the breakthrough they deserved and it was a superb cut-out pass from Blackhall, that just escaped the finger tips of an Ayr centre, to find Ross Bradford who beat two defenders with great pace and a sublime side step to finish off.
With Fenton now freezing up on the left wing, he was replaced by Chris Evans who went to strand-off, with Blackhall moving to centre and Bradford to the wing. Andy Clark also came off the bench to join his brother Stu in the pack.
The 2nds were now in the lead for the first time in the match and played with great composure for the final quarter. Some resolute defence close to the try line left Ayr frustrated and eventually led to turnover ball which allowed ‘Muir to clear their lines. With five minutes to go, Blackall extended the narrow lead to six points with a penalty kick The game finished with a strong scrum from ‘Muir, from which Andy Clark picked and fed Bus who used all his might to kick the ball onto the near by railway tracks!
The final score was Boroughmuir 2nds 20, Ayr 2nds 14.
After a poor start to the game, ‘Muir showed real character to get back into the game and grind out a win. The conditions were pretty awful for the backs, especially the back-three but they all stuck in and played their part. Both scrum-halfs controlled the game well, with Cusiter especially important in the second half with his experience. However, due to his tough tackling and tide-changing try, Richie Sievwright was the pick of the backs.
In the forwards all the pack fronted up well. Captain Gordon Pearse was a nuisance to both Ayr and the referee at the breakdown, as well as thinking on his feet at the line-out. Likewise Stu Clark’s throwing into the line-out was excellent given the conditions. The game suited the back-rows today and Liam Mithcell also came into his own as the game wore on. It was, however, Richie Battson who was coach Neil McCallum’s man-of-the match. Despite his yellow card in the first half, his all round game was superb, particularly in defence where he tackled anything that moved and was consistently effective at the breakdown.
Unfortunately, the 2nds lost prop/lock/quizmaster Andrew Wildgoose to injury early in the game and a trip to hosipital confirmed he had broken his ankle. All the squad wish him a swift recovery and hope to see him return for the latter 7s tournaments!
The 2nds now move up to second in the table and will look to solidify that position next week when they face Dundee HSFP in another home fixture.
15. Stuart Currie, 14. Chris Whitelock, 13. Ross Bradford 12. Richie Sievwright, 11. Jordan Webster, 10. Graeme Blackhall, 9. Harry Fenton, 8. Liam Mitchell, 7. Richie Battson, 6. Greg Jones, 5. Gordon Pearse (c), 4. Andrew Wildgoose, 3. Billy Blyth, 2. Stu Clark, 1. Paul Richards
Subs: Blair Calder, Richard Marshall, Andy Clark, Calum Cusiter, Chris Evans
