Rugby report for Saturday 11th December 2010
Regional League West, Division 1
Wigtownshire RFC 1stXV 10 Lenzie RFC 1stXV 15

‘Shire were desperately unlucky to lose this game to a try in injury time against the league leaders Lenzie, unbeaten this season. They led deservedly 10 – 7 at the interval and although Lenzie levelled the scores with a penalty midway through the second half, ‘Shire were competing well and a draw looked the likely outcome. A few minutes into time added on for stoppages Lenzie got possession from a scrum and moved the ball left to their fast backs and the left wing scored a try. To their credit ‘Shire came storming back and the last minutes of the game were played out on the Lenzie line as the ‘Shire forwards battered against a desperate Lenzie defence. At the final whistle they were still camped on the Lenzie line.
This was a good performance by ‘Shire after a longish lay-off due to the freezing weather of late. There was no sign of a lack of fitness and their storming finish showed that they were able to compete for the 80 plus minutes of the game. It was obvious from the start of the game that Lenzie’s fast elusive backs would present a problem. The fact that after 80 minutes ‘Shire had conceded only one try is a testament to their stubborn defence and ability to shut down the Lenzie backs. The forwards played a heroic part in this and ensured that the Lenzie backs did not see too much ball. This result means that against the 2 top teams in Division 1 West ‘Shire have lost the home game in injury time (against Strathendrick they led by a point after 80 minutes).
The game kicked off in near perfect conditions with a wind blowing across the field from the direction of the Loch and slightly favouring the team playing from the town end which was Lenzie. The early pressure came from ‘Shire and William Parker had a chance to put ‘Shire in the lead early on but the wind just took the ball past the left post. 7 minutes into the game the Lenzie backs showed how dangerous they were. The ball was moved to the right and the ‘Shire defence was breached by sheer pace. The try was converted and the visitors led 7-0. The ease by which the try was scored brought worried looks to the faces of the ‘Shire faithful! However, as so often before, ‘Shire dug in and took play to the visitors. Most of the play was now in the Lenzie half . A penalty near the Lenzie saw the forwards take a tap and drive over to score. Ben Haigh got the touchdown and William Parker kicked a good conversion. It was now 7-7 and ‘Shire were back in the game. ‘Shire were having the best of the action now and it was no more than they deserved when William Parker kicked a penalty just before the interval to make the score 10-7 to ‘Shire. Eddie Stevenson caught the eye with a crunching tackle which halted a promising move by the visitors and Neil Irving, playing out of position at full-back, was always ready to run at the visiting defence. The referee, Mr Jake Wilson, had to halt play for a short while as he spoke to both captains, after tempers boiled over and both sets of forwards set about each other - without the ball! Jake is a well-known and respected referee at London Road and the grin on his face said “come on lads I‘ve seen this all before-now let’s get on with the game!” There was no repeat throughout the remainder of the game!
The second half saw ‘Shire with the now freshening wind in their favour, but as so often before they never really made full use of it, apart from a few occasions. In the best move of the game ‘Shire mounted an attack with 5 players handling, but unfortunately the attack was halted and possession lost. The visitors were starting to assert themselves and the ‘Shire forwards looked as though were off the boil somewhat. It was noticeable that the penalty count was now going against ‘Shire, whereas in the first half the majority of penalties went ‘Shire’s way. Some 15 minutes into the half Lenzie were awarded a penalty in front of the posts. Their kicker was on target and the scores were now level at 10-10. Lenzie were definitely playing the better rugby at this stage but ‘Shire found a second wind and as the game moved towards the final whistle the game was very even. The Lenzie backs were still dangerous but ‘Shire forwards were restricting their possession. Then what the ‘Shire support feared would happen did happen. Lenzie had a scrum on their left about 30 metres out. A clean heel saw the ball moved quickly left and the left wing raced over for a try. The kick failed but the visitors now led 15-10. From a lineout 5 metres out from the Lenzie line ‘Shire mounted a sustained attack but could not cross the line. The final whistle blew with Lenzie desperately defending their narrow lead. As already stated ‘Shire were very unlucky to lose this game and a draw would have been a fair result. All credit is due to the players, who put in a tremendous effort to try to win the game and inflict a first defeat on Lenzie
Team: N Irving, J McKie, N Warwick, A Farquhar, T Wilson, W Parker, C Stephens: A Rae, B Haigh, M Hastie, A Love, R Thomson (Capt), G Keith, E Stevenson and K McNeil Subs: R McCreadie, C McGregor, B Forsyth