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News Article |
| GARIOCH 34 MORAY 21 |
| Tue 13th Jan 2015 |
Moray returned to BT Caledonia League Division 2 North business last Saturday when they visited Inverurie to play Garioch but they came away disappointed having lost out by 34 points to 21 in a proverbial game of two half’s.
Due to a series of postponements for various reasons, this was the Elgin sides first competitive outing in the league since the 15th November. The conditions in Inverurie were atrocious with a bitterly cold strong wind and numerous squally snow showers but both teams should be congratulated for serving up a good competitive game of attacking rugby.
The home side, playing into the wind, started the brightest and took the lead in the 2nd minute when they landed a penalty for 3-0 when Moray were caught offside in the backs.
The Elgin side looked a bit rusty but started to come more and more into the game and in the 28th minute took the lead. After a sustained period of pressure in the opposition 22, the ball was firstly moved left to a ruck and then moved right where back row Harvey A'j Freeman broke the line and scored under the posts. Full-back Andrew McBean landed the conversion points for a 3-7 lead.
From the restart, the Inverurie forwards infringed at the maul. A quick tap was taken and centre Joe Macari broke into the 22. Ball was moved quickly away and wing Calum Wright was given enough room to make the line in the corner. McBean's superbly judged the wind strength with his kick from the touchline and added the extras for a 3-14 lead.
In the final minute of the half, Garioch capitalised from a blatant knock on that was missed by the referee and forced their way into the visiting 22. A couple of phases later, their No 8 breached the defence to score a converted try for a 10-14 half time score-line.
Moray kicked off the second half but with the wind now behind them, the home side’s experienced stand-off kicked for position in the 22. In the 45th minute, after a period of pressure in the 22, the No 8 picked up loose ball and again burst through the visiting defence to score an unconverted try out wide to take the lead at 15-14.
The visitors were having to play out of their own half with ball in hand but the Garioch side were always in their faces and making it difficult to gain ground.
In the 55th minute, the Inverurie side forced their way to a line-out, 5 metres from the line. Clean ball was taken and a strong drive took them over the line for a converted try to extend their lead to 22-14.
Six minutes later, Moray got themselves back into the game. Some good driving and running play took them into the 22 and No 8 Ross Joy managed to breach the defence and score. McBean added the conversion points to reduce the lead to one point at 22-21.
In the 67th minute, however, Garioch forced their way in to the 22 to a scrum 15 out. Clean ball was moved wide and the outside centre broke the tackle and scored an unconverted try for a 27-21 lead.
Moray tried hard to create the opportunity for a converted try to sneak the win but it was the home side who added the final points of the afternoon. Their hard running No 8, who had posed problems to the visitor's defence all afternoon, took the ball at pace on the 10 metre line and barged his way through some lacklustre tackling to score his third try. With the conversion added, the final whistle went with the home side winning by 34 points to 21.
The Garioch side deserved their win and had played the conditions better. With the lack of game time, the Moray side were a bit rusty and the team were disappointed with their display.
This Saturday, Moray are at home and play Ross Sutherland in a BT Caledonia League Division 2 North fixture. Kick off is 2pm.
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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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