|
Ross High 2nd XV 19 - 10 Watsonians 3rd XV
|
|
|
|
The Third XV suffered their 2nd defeat in as many weeks, going down by 3 tries to 2 against a dogged Ross High side in Tranent on Saturday afternoon.
|
|
|
|
In a match dominated by gale-force cross-field winds, Sonians had battled back from an early setback to take 10 - 5 lead into the final quarter of the contest, however a combination of poor tackling and even poorer concentration allowed the home side to nick 2 late converted tries to seal the victory.
|
|
|
|
After a shaky start, Sonians began to get their hands on the ball and on several occasions they opened the home defence only for the wind to “intervene” in the final pass. Some magic from Jamie Stevenson, playing out of position in the number 10 jersey, saw Sonians break from their own half and take play deep into their opponents half. Centre Stuart Mack was on hand to take the final pass and dot the ball down beside the posts.
|
|
It was a measure of the conditions that the resultant conversion, taken from virtually a central position sailed wide of the mark when it seemed harder to miss than score!!
|
|
|
|
This is how it remained until half time, but with their tails up the Thirds were confident of scratching out a result against the odds.
|
|
|
|
From the kick off, Sonians laid onslaught to the Ross High line. Good breaks by McMillan, Campbell and Easton kept the pressure on the home team but it took until the final quarter for the visitors to finally cross the line.
|
|
After being denied an earlier try due to a dubious “forward pass,” rampaging blindside flanker Buncle crashed over from short range after a quick tap penalty.
|
|
Once more the conversion failed to find its mark.
|
|
|
|
At this point the Sonians players probably felt they had done enough to win the match and as a result a degree of complacency set in.
|
|
|
|
Ross High kicked play deep into the Sonians twenty-two and with lineouts a shambles in such high winds, the defending team failed to secure their own ball. The home team mounted pressure and following a series of rucks, the ball was spun wide where the replacement winger took advantage of the overlap to score the try. Crucially this one was converted leaving the Thirds trailing with the clock counting down.
|
|
|
|
In an attempt to force themselves back into the lead, the Sonians team were guilty of taking too many risks and failure to release a ball in the ruck allowed the home team to clear their lines and ease the pressure. While the Sonians players argued the decision with the match official, the Ross High fullback took a quick tap and sped off through a gap to run home the clinching try. The successful conversion signalled the end of the match.
|
|
|
|
On the face of it, this is a disappointing result for the Thirds however when put in context (with just 11 players available at 1.30pm on Saturday afternoon) the fact that the game went ahead is an achievement in itself.
|
|
A combination of atrocious conditions, new faces and players playing out of position meant that the Thirds were probably always facing an uphill battle.
|
|
However, this is in no way a reflection of those guys who did give up their Saturday afternoons to help us out at the last minute, many of whom would be useful additions to the Third XV panel should they chose to attend on a more regular basis.
|
|
|
|
With no match scheduled for this weekend, all Third XV players are free to “enjoy” the annual curry night on Friday night !!
|
|
|
|
CW
|
|
watsoniansrugby.com
|
|
Published: 6/3/08
|
|
|