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Crowd favourite Ciaran Wilson reports on this week's Third XV game. Unusually for a Third XV game, the opposition had brought an impressive gathering of supporting staff which included a cameraman for post match video analysis and their 1st XV Head Coach...
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Watsonians 3rd XV 3 - 8 Edinburgh Accies 3rd/2nd XV
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The Third XV came into this re-arranged league fixture with their Capital City counterparts on the back of a rampant win in Falkirk the previous weekend. Hopes were high that the Thirds could still have a say in the final destination of the league, especially given that their opponents Accies had beaten the leaders Forresters in their previous outing.
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Coach James Easton had a full panel to choose from, however he had not counted on the blood-lust of half his squad who in full camo-pant and bear-beater attire, had attended the premier of the new Rambo movie the night before. The viewing of such a violent film obviously had an adverse effect on those Third XV players who attended as they clearly felt the need to banish the memories with several litres of frothy alcohol. Far be it from me to criticise but I don't think John Rambo would have made it out all those tricky situations if he'd been slamming down the beers beforehand!!
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Due to the ongoing weather anomalies, M1 was deemed out of use this week so the match got underway on one of the more "fat-boy" friendly paddocks at Myreside. Playing with a strong wind on their backs the equally "strong" Accies "3rd" XV kicked off and immediately laid siege to the Sonians line.
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Despite a lacklustre warm up, the home side clearly relished the physical nature of the contest with some thundering hits causing the Accies players to turnover possession on several occasions. In particular, Myreside favourites Euan Lyster and Andy Learmonth were smashing anything and everything that came their way.
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The strong prevailing wind put paid to any hopes the Sonians team had of kicking their way to safety, so a more "up the jumper" approach was adopted and in the early part of the half it was indeed the home side who looked more comfortable with the ball in hand. Unfortunately in such conditions you are never more than 1 turnover away from being punted back into your 22, where the whole painfully slow process has to be restarted.
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The Sonians scrum was enjoying an impressive display against their more athletic counterparts, with several balls being taken "against the head," however line outs were a shambles for both teams with the wind making a mockery of the concept of a straight throw. It was a particularly difficult afternoon for the unfortunate Accies prop who not only had to hold the formidable Bad Boy up in the scrum but who also had the misfortune of a "close encounter" with Mr Calmness himself, Michael "Sugar Ray" McPhillips!!
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As the half progressed, the visitors became ever more frustrated with their inability to unhinge the home defence and when a penalty was conceded within kicking range, the Accies shooter stepped up to open the scoring for the afternoon. This is how it remained as the referee's whistle signalled a well earned half time break for the home side.
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Half Time: 0 - 3
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Instructions from Coach Easton were simple at half time. Pin the opposition in their 22 and take your points when presented.
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Third XV boot George Tallboys put the restart long into the opposition half and with the ensuing chase, the Sonians players laid siege to the Accies line. A series of handling errors marked a growing desperation to get points on the board, however the strong home scrum meant that Accies could not clear their lines effectively and Sonians kept the pressure up.
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On separate occasions 2nd row Dave Keracher got to within inches of the line as did centre Stuart Mack and fans favourite James "Bad Boy" McAinsh, however the visitors defence held strong. Once again, the attacking team had to take the "easy" option - Tallboys converting a penalty in front of goal to tie the scores at 3 a piece.
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As the half progressed, the home supporters could sense that a famous victory was there for the taking but with 25 minutes of the 2nd half gone, the Accies winger produced a moment of individual brilliance to score a fine solo try against the run of play. The conversion was missed but with over 10 minutes to go the home team were still confident of pushing on to victory
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.That is until the referee decided that he had had enough of watching the slug-fest in the mud and ended the match prematurely. Apparently, a "split" boot was the culprit but the decision left a lot of confused and frustrated faces among the home ranks.
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Full Time: 3 - 8
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In the post match huddle, Coach Easton was visibly proud of his charges who pushed a strong Accies team right to the wire, however this was little consolation to the players who felt they had been robbed the chance of a famous victory as well as any chance of silverware at the end of the season.
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When the dust settles, the Third XV will be rightly proud of this performance. Their commitment in the face of adversity would have made even Rambo himself a proud man, however a frantic period just after the restart cost dearly when poor accuracy cost the chance of a try on several occasions.
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On a more light hearted note - the visitors brought a camera man along to record the proceedings and rumour has it certain members of the Third XV mafia are in talks to secure the rights to this "video nasty." Expect copies of "Little Lord Fauntelroy and the Rambo appreciation society" to hit the high streets any day now!!
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CW
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watsoniansrugby.com
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Published: 27/2/08
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