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News Article |
| MORAY 1ST XV 8 HIGHLAND 2ND XV 28 |
| Wed 11th Oct 2017 |
 Moray 1st XV lost for the first time at home this season when they went down by 28 points to 8, against Highland 2nd XV, in their latest BT Caledonia League Division 2 North fixture.
The Inverness side kicked off, playing downhill, and in the 5th minute took the lead. Moray were attacking in the opposition half when ball was turned over and moved wide to the Fijian full-back. He stepped and weaved past four defenders and scored a converted try under the posts for 0-7.
In the 14th minute, the Elgin side were handed a penalty on the 22 which they despatched to an attacking line-out, 5 metres out. Clean ball was taken and driven but unfortunately lost in contact and the opportunity was gone.
 Four minutes later, Highland increased their lead. This time the home side gave away a penalty for entering the ruck from the side and a quick tap was taken and the ball moved quickly left to a ruck. Ball was then moved right and the blind-side flanker entered the line, broke through the defence and scored a converted try under the posts for 0-14.
The home side rallied and in the 26th minute had progressed to a penalty 12 metres from the visitor's line. A quick tap was taken and a drive set for the line but the determined defenders managed to guide the drive into touch and following a clean line, cleared the danger.
 The scrummage had been pretty even up to this point but the Moray scrum was now starting to get the upper hand and in the 32nd minute, the Inverness side were penalised for standing up in the scrum. Stand-off Chris Clarke stepped up and landed the kick to reduce the leeway to 3-14.
Three minutes from half-time, Highland extended their lead after a fortuitous break. The home side were attacking but the ball was lost in contact and the stand-off quickly chipped over their heads and into space. A wicked bounce came off the Moray defender’s shoulder and the visiting wing was on hand to collect the ball and run in a converted try for a half-time lead of 3-21.
 The Elgin side started the second half brightly but missed out on a couple of good chances early on, firstly when Mark Taylor was penalised when he held the ball on the deck after being isolated following a good break that took him past the first line of defence and secondly when they knocked on after picking the ball up at the back of an attacking scrum 5.
In the 65th minute, however, their second half pressure finally produced a try. A penalty took them to an attacking 5 metre line-out. Ball was taken and set but this time No 8 Ross Joy broke blind and had the strength to make it over the line for an unconverted try, reducing the lead to 8-21.
 There was hope that the team would now kick on from here and get the win. They got themselves into good positions on a number of occasions in the final quarter but some inaccuracies and some resound defending by the visitors meant they did not add to their tally.
In fact in the last play of the afternoon, the Highland side played their way into the home half and a missed pass in a backs move created the space for the Fijian 15 to come into the line on a good angle and score a converted try under the posts, the bonus point try, for a final score of Moray 1st XV 8 Highland 2nd XV 28.
 Highland had been very much up for the game, had employed a rush defence all afternoon, were quick over the ball at the breakdown and had taken their opportunities well. Moray on the other hand had won plenty ball but a lack of precision at times combined with some unenforced errors when in good positions had not helped the cause.
This Saturday (tomorrow) Moray 1st XV make the long trip by land and sea to play Stornoway in the league.
*The full photo gallery from this match can be found here.
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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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