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1st XV - Report
Date: Saturday 27th October 2012 - Kick Off: 15:00
RBS Caledonia Regional Leagues - Caledonia League Division 1
| Gordonians | 61 | vs | 10 | Orkney |
Gordonians beat the freeze to record important home win
Tough first 50 minutes before Gordonian backs cut loose at the Fortress
Counesswells was closer to resembling a winter sports venue at 10am with not a blade of grass to be seen on the snow covered main pitch. Three hours of snow scooping and line clearing later and the majority of the pitch was clear and ready for the highly anticipated return to their home patch which Gordonians have craved after three games away from home.
Both teams lined up very differently from the clash earlier in the season in Kirkwall where Orkney ran out 4 point winners. The return of influential centre partnership AnGus Willis & Sam Purvis had immediate effect with Angus scything through the Orkney defence straight from the kick off, offloading to the big Aussie who proceeded to copy his partner in crime before sending a deft chip to the corner to allow winger Richard Gray to slide over for the first try. Mark ‘Toblerone Toes’ Marchbank carried on his dead eye goal kicking by sending the conversion sailing wide of the posts.
Orkney responded with what would be a common trend of the day of; the Gordonians pack not taking care of a restart. The big Orkney pack led by their influential number 8 crashed over after a series of snipes round the fringes pulling ahead 7-5 with the extras added. The home side moved straight back up the pitch and after a series of close attempts thwarted by a desperate Orkney defence including holding up Will Fairlie over the line denying him his first points of the year it was left to Stephen Hemmingway to dot down near the posts, once again toblerone toes failing with the conversion. Orkney responded with a quick 3 penalty tying the scores at 10 at the half hour mark.
A first half which contained a number of basic errors and a lack of urgency from the home side was saved by a well taken try from winger Patrick Gray, catching a desperate clearance kick attempt on the Orkney 22 he proceeded to brush off the first defender and then show a clean pair of heels to outsrip the Orkney defence restoring Gordonians advantage. Once again Mark Marchbank struggled to master the art of getting the ball off the ground, much like the game against Mackie this would be the last time he would threaten the posts all day. Gordonians finished the half the stronger and secured the bonus point with Robert Stables barrelling over from close range with the last play of the half, Stephen Hemmingway slotted the extras.
HT Gordonians 22 – 10 Orkney
After some stern words from Richie Anderson at half time, the home side were under no illusions of what was expected of them, tighten up the defensive press, lift the work rate and play with more width. Playing in his home debut for the club, Patrick Gray got the crowd on their feet after 45 minutes once again brushing his way past a few defenders before scampering down the right touch line to slide over for the fifth try of the day. The Orkney pack dug deep and competed strongly in an opening 15 minutes disrupted by knock ons and injury stoppages throughout, proving that despite not travelling with their first choice squad they were up for a challenge.
After some slick hands in the midfield and burst down the wing from Patrick Gray, Dick Murdoch was the beneficiary taking the last pass and cruising round the full back to score under the posts making the conversion easy for Stephen Hemmingway. The Gordonians pack had finally got on top in the game and with Sandy Willis now orchestrating the back line from 10 they were crossing the gain line consistently providing the stepping stone for Dick Murdoch to break before offloading to Toberlone Toes to go over for his first try of the season at the 10th attempt. Marchbank then turned provider feeding the final pass of a well-constructed and patient score to allow Richard Gray to slide over in the corner. The next Gordonians score was built on solid defence, holding Orkney at bay on the Gordonian 10metre line for a number of phases before a big hit from AnGus Willis dislodged the ball. Richard Gray reacting first to hack the loose ball through and then use his football skills before grounding the ball to complete his hatrick.
Sandy ‘Rango’ Willis then proceeded to butcher a hatrick for right winger Patrick Gray by throwing a pass to the ground when the winger would have been clear under the posts. With the clock winding down and the Gordonians back line running riot there was still time to finish the game off with a flourish, good hands in the midfield left Marchbank and Richard Gray to switch near the touchline and then the winger did the rest completing a four try haul on the day. Gus Willis got the last word scoring the final try of the day and his first of the season close to the posts however he was unable to convert his own score.
Final Score Gordonians 61-10
A good result in the end but the performance will need to be lifted if Gordonians hope to keep up their strong home form next weekend at home to Highland after defeated Gordonians 29-18 at Canal Park earlier in the season.
A massive thank you from all at the club for the effort put in by the Countesswells ground staff to not only ensure the match went ahead on Saturday but that the pitch was still in exceptional condition!
Both teams lined up very differently from the clash earlier in the season in Kirkwall where Orkney ran out 4 point winners. The return of influential centre partnership AnGus Willis & Sam Purvis had immediate effect with Angus scything through the Orkney defence straight from the kick off, offloading to the big Aussie who proceeded to copy his partner in crime before sending a deft chip to the corner to allow winger Richard Gray to slide over for the first try. Mark ‘Toblerone Toes’ Marchbank carried on his dead eye goal kicking by sending the conversion sailing wide of the posts.
Orkney responded with what would be a common trend of the day of; the Gordonians pack not taking care of a restart. The big Orkney pack led by their influential number 8 crashed over after a series of snipes round the fringes pulling ahead 7-5 with the extras added. The home side moved straight back up the pitch and after a series of close attempts thwarted by a desperate Orkney defence including holding up Will Fairlie over the line denying him his first points of the year it was left to Stephen Hemmingway to dot down near the posts, once again toblerone toes failing with the conversion. Orkney responded with a quick 3 penalty tying the scores at 10 at the half hour mark.
A first half which contained a number of basic errors and a lack of urgency from the home side was saved by a well taken try from winger Patrick Gray, catching a desperate clearance kick attempt on the Orkney 22 he proceeded to brush off the first defender and then show a clean pair of heels to outsrip the Orkney defence restoring Gordonians advantage. Once again Mark Marchbank struggled to master the art of getting the ball off the ground, much like the game against Mackie this would be the last time he would threaten the posts all day. Gordonians finished the half the stronger and secured the bonus point with Robert Stables barrelling over from close range with the last play of the half, Stephen Hemmingway slotted the extras.
HT Gordonians 22 – 10 Orkney
After some stern words from Richie Anderson at half time, the home side were under no illusions of what was expected of them, tighten up the defensive press, lift the work rate and play with more width. Playing in his home debut for the club, Patrick Gray got the crowd on their feet after 45 minutes once again brushing his way past a few defenders before scampering down the right touch line to slide over for the fifth try of the day. The Orkney pack dug deep and competed strongly in an opening 15 minutes disrupted by knock ons and injury stoppages throughout, proving that despite not travelling with their first choice squad they were up for a challenge.
After some slick hands in the midfield and burst down the wing from Patrick Gray, Dick Murdoch was the beneficiary taking the last pass and cruising round the full back to score under the posts making the conversion easy for Stephen Hemmingway. The Gordonians pack had finally got on top in the game and with Sandy Willis now orchestrating the back line from 10 they were crossing the gain line consistently providing the stepping stone for Dick Murdoch to break before offloading to Toberlone Toes to go over for his first try of the season at the 10th attempt. Marchbank then turned provider feeding the final pass of a well-constructed and patient score to allow Richard Gray to slide over in the corner. The next Gordonians score was built on solid defence, holding Orkney at bay on the Gordonian 10metre line for a number of phases before a big hit from AnGus Willis dislodged the ball. Richard Gray reacting first to hack the loose ball through and then use his football skills before grounding the ball to complete his hatrick.
Sandy ‘Rango’ Willis then proceeded to butcher a hatrick for right winger Patrick Gray by throwing a pass to the ground when the winger would have been clear under the posts. With the clock winding down and the Gordonians back line running riot there was still time to finish the game off with a flourish, good hands in the midfield left Marchbank and Richard Gray to switch near the touchline and then the winger did the rest completing a four try haul on the day. Gus Willis got the last word scoring the final try of the day and his first of the season close to the posts however he was unable to convert his own score.
Final Score Gordonians 61-10
A good result in the end but the performance will need to be lifted if Gordonians hope to keep up their strong home form next weekend at home to Highland after defeated Gordonians 29-18 at Canal Park earlier in the season.
A massive thank you from all at the club for the effort put in by the Countesswells ground staff to not only ensure the match went ahead on Saturday but that the pitch was still in exceptional condition!
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