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Talismanic number 8 Ciaran Wilson was at the centre of a Hollywood style fight back this week and survived to tell the tale:
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Edinburgh Accies 3rd XV 22 - 28 Watsonians 3rd XV
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The Third XV travelled to Raeburn Place on Saturday for a league encounter with highflying city rivals Edinburgh Accies, boosted by several new faces and a new coach.
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Former 1st XV star James Easton has taken over the reigns and with last week’s opposition failing to show, Easton was keen to see his new charges in action for the first time.
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Third XV debuts were handed to a host of students with Nicholson and Baird adding some enthusiasm to the pack and Parsons and Crawley completing a youthful looking back line.
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Captain McAinsh was also pleased to welcome back Third XV favourite Jamie Stevenson, who despite his tender years added some much needed experience to the backs.
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In perfect conditions, Sonian’s kicked off and almost immediately landed themselves in somewhat of a rugby horror show. The youthful home team came out of the traps much quicker than the Myreside men, who were struggling to keep up with the pace of proceedings. Aggressive defence and counter rucking saw a series of turnovers giving Accies good ball in dangerous positions, and a simple overlap allowed their winger to skip home for an early unconverted score.
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5 nil quickly became 10 nil but the problems didn’t end there for the visitors who were completely disorganised in defence. Another overlap allowed Accies to race home for their third try of the opening ten minutes and suddenly 10 nil became 17 nil.
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Under the posts, the Sonians players knew they faced an uphill battle. The game had hardly begun and they were already three scores behind but Coach Easton showed his worth by barking touchline orders and gradually from the restart, the Thirds began to gain some field position.
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Faced with dynamic opposition, the "old heads" in the Sonians pack realised that they needed to slow the game down to a pace more akin to their own fitness levels - queue half an hour of attritional forward dominated rugby. The Third XV line out has been at the core of many attacks this season and Saturday was to prove no different. Debutant hooker Baird quickly forged a sound relationship with line out specialist Harry Mustard who time and time would become the launch pad for a Sonians up-field rumble.
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Indeed it would be an attacking line out that would lead to Sonian’s first score. Accies pressure saw some unusually untidy ball knocked back on the visitor’s side but some quick thinking from hooker Baird saw the ball moved across the pitch where winger Alex Grant found himself in space with the line beckoning. Grant made no mistake and despite a valiant attempt, Parsons could not add the difficult extras.
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This score was reward for some determined effort from the Sonians players but momentum was disrupted when flanker Chris Nicholson had to leave the field due to a nasty ankle injury. Nicholson was enjoying a fine debut for the Third’s and his new teammates wish him a speedy recovery.
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Easton reshuffled his pack, bringing fresh legs in Andy Learmonth into the back row and Euan Lyster to the front row.
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Sonians were soon on the front foot once more, their forwards beginning to out muscle their youthful counterparts. Driving runs from Lyster, Campbell and Mustard saw the visitors inch closer and closer to the Accies line and with the remainder of the pack working tirelessly to protect the ball, Number 8 Wilson stretched over from all of a yard to claim an unconverted try.
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The tide was turning in favour of the visiting team and with Accies struggling to get out of their own half, further Sonian’s tries looked likely. A surging run from debutant centre Paddy Crawley saw play moved deep into the home team’s half. The forwards cleared the ball and some fine hands in midfield saw fullback Stevenson with enough space to skip round several would be tacklers for a fine individual try. Unfortunately, the resultant conversion attempt came back off the upright but as half time approached, the score was delicately balanced.
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Half Time: 17 - 15
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At half time, Coach Easton stressed the importance of keeping the momentum going and how field position would be paramount to the outcome of the match.
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From the restart, the home team looked to put the Sonians team on the back foot but relentless tackling ensured that they could not add to their lead.
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In fact it would be the visitors who would score next, out half Joe Parsons knocking over a penalty after Accies had infringed in front of their own posts. Having clawed their way back into the game, Sonian’s now found themselves in the lead for the first time and were keen to build on this position. More forward surges saw the home side surrender another penalty in front of the posts and once again Parsons stepped up to add the points.
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The contest was quickly turning into the Joe Parsons show - the young number 10 intercepting a pass in the Accies half and racing home to score a try that he converted himself. This score gave Sonians a bit of breathing space but as expected, the home side came back strongly in the dying minutes of the match.
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With the clock winding down excruciatingly slowly, Accies managed a further unconverted score to ensure the visitors had a nerve racking ending to endure. However, the final whistle would find the visiting forwards once again on the attack.
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Full Time: 22 - 28
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Considering they were 17 points in arrears before they came to life, this was an exceptional fight back from the Third XV. Quite what the new coach made of it all, we are not sure but he will not doubt have been impressed by the commitment and attitude displayed throughout the majority of the fixture.
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Due to the nature of being a Third XV, the team can change greatly from one week to the next so it is often the case that they take some time to gel together.
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The forwards fought together impressively and gave their opposition a torrid time. Flanker Craig Adams turned over a lot of Accies possession, while second rows Keracher and Mustard made the hard yards on many occasions. Replacements Learmonth and Lyster provided much needed momentum at a key stage of the encounter and excellent kicking from Parsons, Kenny Nicolson and Stevenson kept the home team pinned in their own half for long periods.
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Next up is an away fixture to face the "Nails" at Goldenacre next Saturday.
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CW
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watsoniansrugby.com
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Published: 5/11/07
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