GHK v Helensburgh RFC – Saturday 20th October 2012, Old Anniesland

We welcomed Helensburgh RFC to Old Anniesland on Saturday and, as was stated in the programme notes, our visitors’ recent record suggested that this would be a close encounter of the rugby kind.

Our visitors from down the Clyde kicked off and in all fairness the early stages of the game were punctuated by errors. It was however the first piece of real quality play from GHK that led to the opening score. Taking possession from a Helensburgh drop out, Danny Hoffmann made a smart break through the initial line of defence, Gregor Hollerin took the ball on at pace and delivered a scoring pass to Aubrey Horton who cruised over the line and had the presence of mind to get under the posts. Davie Reed converted. 7-0 to GHK after 11 minutes.

Helensburgh replied with their first serious attempt in the GHK 22, but the home defence was up to the challenge and after 17 minutes the home side doubled the lead. Again it was a case of a powerful break and link between forwards and backs and on this occasion it was Mike Borthwick making the initial incursion down the Helensburgh left and then linking with Andy Powell who still had a lot to do to get through the defence but finished powerfully close to the posts. The extra points were added by Davie Reed. With just under a quarter of the game gone 14-0 to GHK.

There followed a period of sustained Helensburgh pressure with their full back particularly prominent in trying to breach the home defence. GHK stood firm but after 24 minutes the referee adjudged a deliberate knock on in midfield by one of the home side and from the resulting penalty Helensburgh got themselves on the score board. 14-3 to GHK after 24 minutes.

In establishing the momentum of the match, the next score was going to be crucial. GHK got themselves established deep in Helensburgh territory. A slick three quarter move was halted ten metres from the visitors’ line with Rory Love being forced in to touch. The home forwards continued to deliver plenty possession at this stage and a line out about fifteen yards out on the GHK right led to a series of attempts on the Helensburgh line culminating in Gordi Reid burrowing over for a deserved score. Davie Reed converted again and 21-3 was the score after 32 minutes and, as it turned out, at half time.

The home side kicked off the second half and it seemed clear that GHK were intent on getting that vital fourth try just as soon as possible. The home GHK forwards raised the level of intensity and had gained an edge over their counterparts. Helensburgh were having difficulty getting clear of their own twenty two. They were given a chance to secure clearing possession with a scrum under their own posts. However the home pack made a real mess of the visitors ball and when the referee re-set the scrum with a GHK put in, there was almost an inevitability about Mike Borthwick picking up, drawing his man and sending Mike Aird clear under the posts. The conversion was added by Davie Reed giving GHK a lead of 28-3 after 49 minutes.

Any notion that this might have signalled game over for the visitors was very far off the mark. The following fifteen minutes resulted in a commited Helensburgh response in which their back row and both wingers were particularly prominent. Whether GHK could be said to have taken their collective foot off the gas, who knows? It did look more like Helensburgh having dug deep to show the form and spirit that had had earned them some fine results in the last few weeks. Their efforts were rewarded after 57 minutes when their right winger, who had put in a shift all day, powered over for a try that was not converted. 28-8 to GHK.

After that, if anything, Helensburgh looked the more likely side to score again but to be honest, there was not too much in the way of creative endeavour in the remainder of the match. There was no more scoring. There was however one incident that defined the last quarter of the game. It began with a tackle on Danny Hoffmann and ended up with the vast majority of the players on the park becoming involved in a stramash of which Arthur Montford would have been proud. Was it the Battle of the Alamo? Gunfight at the OK Corral? Probably more like Breakfast at Tiffany’s actually. Thankfully, no handbags were damaged in the scuffle. Anyway, the referee dealt with it as best he could. Both sides kept fifteen players on the park and the remainder of the match was played out in the fine competitive spirit that characterised the entire game save those mad sixty seconds.

Final Score : GHK 28 Helensburgh 8

This article was posted on 22-Oct-2012, 06:23 by Hugh Barrow.