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News Article |
| LOCHABER 10 MORAY16 |
| Wed 9th Mar 2011 |
Moray made the trip down Loch Ness to Fort William last Saturday and narrowly defeated Lochaber by 16 points to 10 in a keenly contested Scottish Rugby Union Caledonia Division 2 (NW) fixture.
The home side kicked off, against the wind, and were handed the first opportunity to put points on the board when Moray handled at a ruck. The relatively straight forward kick was missed when the ball was scuffed and never made it over the bar.
As anticipated, the game was a tight battle and early attacks by both sides were snuffed out by first line defence.
In the 15th minute, however, the visitors took the lead. Lochaber were penalised for an infringement in front of their posts and Andrew McBean stepped up and slotted the kick for a 0-3 lead.
Two minutes later the Fort William side forced their way into the 22 with a cleverly placed kick to touch. The Moray line stood firm and the threat was cleared. This lineout was a precursor to an afternoon of excellent lineout play by the Elgin side and an aspect of the game that they went on to dominate.
In the 26th minute, they extended the lead. Ross Joy picked up from a scrum in his own half and made ground down the middle of the pitch before setting up good ruck ball. Quick ball was moved through the hands of the back line to Alex Stronach who had enough room to beat his opposite number and score out wide. McBean could not add the conversion points leaving the score 0-10.
Four minutes later, the Fort William side were caught offside in their 22. McBean calmly stepped up and slotted the kick for a 0-11 lead.
In the 33rd minute, Lochaber got back in the game. A spirited attack took them into the 22 and a few phases later, they breached the defence and scored out wide. The conversion attempt was superbly landed from the touchline to reduce the lead to 7-11.
The home side were now in the ascendency and just before half time had the opportunity to narrow the score further when they were awarded a penalty. The kick was hooked leaving the half time score Lochaber 7 Moray11.
Moray started the second half but were immediately driven back into their 22 before giving away a penalty for offside. This time the kick was successful which left the visitors with a slender lead at 10-11.
Lochaber tried hard to keep up the impetus but the Elgin side’s defence stood resolute. They came back into the game, winning good ball at lineout, but they too were thwarted by sound defence. The game stayed tight and although each side had kickable penalty opportunities, these were not taken. The defensive stint being put in by both sides meant that try scoring opportunities were virtually non-existent.
Mid-way through the second half, however, Moray did breach the home defensive line. They won clean ball at a lineout in the opposing 22 and drove to a ruck. At this point, the home side knocked on trying to turn over ball and a scrum was given. Clean ball was taken and the ball moved blind to McBean who managed to wriggle his way past the defence to score out wide. He missed the conversion of his own try leaving the score 10-16.
The final part of the game returned to the pattern set earlier in the half with neither team able to convert pressure into points. Moray freshened up the side with some late substitutions and saw the game out for a final score of Lochaber 10 Moray 16.
The victory keeps Moray on track for the promotion play offs.
It had been a hard fought encounter with both sides performing well in defence and not affording too many opportunities. Moray did, however, dominate the lineout where they posed problems to the home defence all afternoon.
This Saturday, Moray play their final game in the season’s league campaign when they take on Strathspey at Kingussie.
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Caledonia 2 North |
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| Aberdeenshire |
12 |
46 |
| Highland 2nd XV |
11 |
46 |
| Moray |
12 |
40 |
| Ross Sutherland |
10 |
22 |
| Banff |
12 |
19 |
| Mackie |
10 |
10 |
| Aberdeen Grammar 2nd XV |
9 |
1 |
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Last 1st XV Game |
| 1st XV Season (2021/22) |
| Banff 33 - 39 Moray |
| 5th Mar 22 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Duff House |
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