The club was excited at the imminent arrival of one of Scotland’s most memorable wingers, namely Matt Duncan to speak at our lunch and after we had enjoyed our food and great company we were entertained right royally buy our very own John Beattie and Matt reminiscing over what rugby really means. The glory days of international appearances or the real heart of rugby the club game. John recalled the time when Accies were preparing to play West and everyone was talking about how Accies were going to stop this potent threat – Matt score two tries that day!
The truth is that rugby takes a lot out of you but it gives a fantastic amount back. The clubhouse was buzzing and today we had the added pleasure of the company of Scott Hilton’s parents, Dave (ex-Scotland prop) and his mum, another sign of what club rugby is all about. We are lucky this season that we have had a good start but there are many hard and difficult games to come and the support today was superb and I know means so much to the players, as it does me.
On to today’s game. Despite a horrendous week of rain and wind, it was again thanks to the efforts of Robert Cheape and his team that the players had such a superb pitch to enjoy their game. Despite the forecasters predicting no rain after 2.00pm that did not prove to be the case and there were several showers during the game which made handling difficult for both teams.
Lasswade have had a difficult start to their season with several injuries and players unavailable and today Accies were without several key players – this is getting to be a real issue for rugby clubs across the country.
Well, Lasswade came out of the blocks and threw everything they could at Accies, from hard ball carrying from their forwards to some very slick and clever play from their backs – was this the side that had lost 3 of the 4 games they had played? They were positive and creative but Accies defence was up to it and after some very strong running and carrying by the forwards followed by a number of backs working their magic and a third penalty inside Lasswade’s 22, which resulted in a yellow card for the offending Lasswade number 8, Accies decided that they should take the 3 points on offer. Good penalty by Chris Johnstone. 3 – 0
Accies were looking comfortable at this stage and from some scraps at the tail of the lineout the ever-alert Guy Davis gathered the ball on half way and thundered, although I am sure Guy would describe it more like a 12 point stag roaring down the pitch, well into the Lasswade 22, this created the position from which a couple of quick transfers across the field, ending with a ruck and with a beautifully time pass Ruairadh Hood put the charging Ross Cowan into the gat, and he crossed the line for the first try of the game. A well worked try by the halfbacks and quality conversion by Colin Taylor. 10 – 0
Accies were now in control of the scrum and lineout and the dominance up front was allowing the charged back line to get into their stride, but the wet conditions and a lack of concentration on a few occasions did not help the heart rates of some of the spectators. There were several chances missed when the line was at their mercy which was clearly frustrating for all. However, a clearance from inside the Lasswade 22 was collected by the talented and robust Ross Cowan on halfway and once he had side stepped the first chasing defender, he was off like a slippery eel racing across the pool, defenders seem to vanish and when he finally met an opponent there was Jack McCready on hand to accelerate past the last two Lasswade defenders to scamper home for Accies second try. Great running and the final pass was held. Another confident conversion from Colin Taylor. 17 – 0
Accies were now comfortably in control, the scrummaging was it’s usual controlling self, we were working the lineout with the skills of Max Hutcheon’s direction and we were dominating the breakdown. This was providing our back with some great ball and they looked very threatening. However, a number of final passes were dropped or missed their intended target and we were leaving clearly available tries out on the park. So, despite a totally dominant 35 minutes of rugby Accies had only 17 points to their name.
Half–time 17 – 0
Accies kicked off the second half with the spectators hoping we could hold onto the ball and convert the chances that had been created earlier. Well the from a dominant scrum early on, the backs were released down the left, away from the stand, and after two perfect passes Jack McCready was clear and outstripped the desperate defenders to score his second try. Converted again by Colin. 24 – 0
Accies were clearly hoping for the bonus point at this stage and yet again Accies were creating problems but the departure of the ever reliable and strong Scott Simmonds was beginning to show and despite some great work by the forwards there was another knock on and then the turnover ball was kicked 60 yards by the talented stand off into our 22, where yes, I think you will have anticipated, we knocked it on again. This gave Lasswade the lift and platform that allowed them to work a forwards try close to the posts. Easy conversion. 24 -7
Not only had it allowed Lasswade to score it had clearly lifted their team and for the majority of the remaining game they were on top. Accies heads were down and they were finding g the wet conditions difficult to cope with. The fact that they had to substitute several key players was a factor but it was disappointing that they could not get the all-important bonus point that was clearly on offer. A committed and determined Lasswade side capitalised on the errors that their opponents were making and with the very last kick of the game the ball bounced off the post and a Lasswade hand was first to touch it.
Full–time 24 – 14