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News Article |
| MORAY 20 KINLOSS EAGLES 24 |
| Tue 22nd Sep 2015 |
 Kinloss Eagles narrowly defeated Moray by 24 points to 20 in a hard fought Caledonia League Division 2 North local derby last Saturday at Morriston Playing Fields.
The opening encounters were fiercely contested with both defences putting in big hits. In the 16th minute, however, the visitors took the lead when a strong passage of play took them into the 22. Ball was set, then quickly moved away from the breakdown and the No 8 had enough space to score an unconverted try out wide for a 0-5 lead.
From the restart, second row Steven Clark regained the ball and the home backs drove deep into the 22 but unfortunately knocked on, 10 metres out.
 Moray returned to the offensive and in an attack in the 22, stand-off Chris Clarke suffered a serious leg injury which required him to be taken by ambulance to hospital.
In the 28th minute, the Elgin side reduced the lead. Kinloss entered a ruck in their 22 from an offside position and full-back Ewan Stuart slotted the kick for 3-5.
Four minutes later, the home side took the lead. The Eagles had a scrum in the Moray 22 but Stuart intercepted the No 8's offload at the back of the scrum and in contact shipped the ball to wing Callum Wright who outstripped the defence to score an unconverted try in the corner for a 8-5 lead.
 The lead lasted only 3 minutes as the visitors replied with a second try. After some good forceful continuity play, the ball was moved to the back line and the stand-off found the gap and scored under the posts. With the full-back adding the points, Kinloss now had the lead at 8-12.
With the success of the strong driving play of their big forwards, the Eagles, on the stroke of half-time, forced their way deep into the home half. Ball was moved from the ruck and a long pass missed two backs and was taken by the wing who made the try line in the corner for an unconverted try and a half-time scoreline of Moray 8 Kinloss Eagles 17.
The Elgin side started the second half brightly and within 4 minutes had reduced the lead. A penalty had taken them to a line-out, 5 metres from the line. Back-row Neil Wiseman took the ball at the front and slipped it to Clark who drove and made the line for an unconverted try, reducing the lead to 13-17.
In the 61st minute, the home side came very close to regaining the lead but unfortunately knocked on over the line after a passage of driving play.
 A piece of individual brilliance by the visitor's 10 in the 70th minute, saw his team stretch the lead. In an attack from around his own 22, he chipped the defence, regathered the ball after a friendly bounce and made it to the 22 where he was tackled. An inside pass found his supporting scrum-half and he stepped inside and scored a bonus point try under the posts. The conversion points were added for a 13-24 lead.
This was a blow for the home side who had been pressing hard but they returned to the offensive and 2 minutes from time, scored their third try of the afternoon. A break by stand-off Johnny Haslam, taken on by Wright took them just short of the line. The ball was moved by hands and centre Harvey Freeman crashed over for an unconverted try.
 With little time left on the clock, the Eagles controlled the final couple of minutes to secure the win at Moray 20 Kinloss Eagles 24.
It had been a hard and bruising game of rugby which Kinloss were delighted to win. The visitors were the stronger in the first half and turned the game with two quick scores just before half-time. After the break, Moray rallied well and were the stronger team in second half.
With no games this weekend, Moray's next league fixture is away to Stornoway on Saturday 3rd October.
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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 |
|
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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