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News Article |
| MORAY 2ND XV 12 ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY 48 |
| Wed 25th Oct 2017 |
 Moray 2nd XV took centre stage at Morriston last Saturday against an in-form Aberdeen University, losing by 48 points to 12 in a BT Caledonia League Division 3 fixture.
After a lively first five minutes with both teams testing each other out, the Aberdeen side opened the scoring in the 6th minute when they turned over ball at a home line and opened the ball to score an unconverted try out wide for 0-5.
 In the next 10 minutes, they added two further tries, set up by strong hard running by their No 8 and open side flanker who breached their way through some lacklustre tackling by the home side. One of these was converted taking the lead to 0-17.
The Elgin side were finding it difficult to win any ball and the students were full of confidence with ball in hand and in the 20th minute, they secured the bonus point after an attacking line 5 was collected and driven over the line by the forwards for a converted try and 0-24.
 The home side slowly managed to get more into the game but in the 27th minute, they leaked a further two tries. The first, a converted try, came from a chip over the defence which was collected and run in, and the second after missed tackles allowed the Aberdeen side to get behind the defence and score an unconverted try taking the lead to 0-36.
The Moray heads did not go down and they started to get more of a foothold in the game. In the 38th minute, they won ball in the open, in midfield, and centre Cameron Renton made good inroads into the opposition half before offloading to replacement centre Marc Higgins who had enough pace and strength to make the line out wide. The conversion attempt came up short and the score was now 5-36.
 Two minutes later and in the last play of the half, the University side scored another unconverted try after a forward drive delivered good ball which was quickly moved wide for the score and a half-time lead of 5-41.
It had been a disappointing half for the Moray side but the University side had played some strong forward rugby and the backs had used the width of the pitch well.
With the game all but gone, the Elgin side kicked off the second half, determined to put up a good show in the final 40 minutes.
 From the restart they pressurised and forced a penalty in the opposition 22 which was kicked to an attacking 5 metre line. Clean ball was taken and after a couple of drives for the line, the ball was moved wide and Renton came on a good line to break the defence and score under the posts. Replacement full-back Callum Wright landed the kick for 12-41.
From the restart, however, the Aberdeen side retorted. Clean ball was taken off the top and moved to the inside centre who drifted through the defence to score a converted try for 12-48.
The home side were now seeing more of the ball and competing well in all areas of the game.
 In the 57th minute, a good break from centre Sinclair McLeod was halted just short of the line. He set good ball and a couple of forward drives ensued with the Moray side getting over the line but held up. Inaccuracy at the attacking scrum saw the ball turned over and the opportunity was gone.
Three minutes later, the Elgin team were back in the 22 but a head injury to Moray forward Jason Mcrae saw the game stopped for around 10 minutes whilst an ambulance was called.
 Moray continued to press in the last 20 minutes of the game and they played a substantial part of the final quarter in the University half getting themselves into good positions in the 22 on a number of occasions. Some unforced errors and inaccuracies, however, meant that they did not add to their account and the final whistle went with the Aberdeen side victorious by 48 points to 12.
After a devastating and disappointing first half where the University side seemed to score at will, the side should be immensely proud of their second half performance. They competed hard, minimised the University threat and won enough ball that with a bit of luck and more accuracy would surely have seen them add to their tally. As it was the second half was drawn at 7-7. It had been another steep learning curve for the side but they will be stronger from the experience.
 This Saturday, the 2nd XV are away to Huntly on league business.
Moray 1st XV's BT Caledonia League Division 2 North fixture against Shetland last Saturday was postponed as the remnants of Storm Brian caused some issues with ferry travel. The fixture has been rearranged and will hopefully be played on January 6th.
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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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