GHK v IRVINE RFC 27th October 2012

The last three o’clock kick off for a while saw Irvine the visitors to Old Anniesland.
Good weather and a pitch in great condition gave both sides the every opportunity to show what they had to offer.

It was GHK who kicked off but it was Irvine who were first to get on the score board after three minutes converting a penalty when GHK infringed in front of the posts about twenty two metres out. 3-0 to Irvine.

In these early stages the Irvine number seven was particularly prominent in offence, indeed the visitors’ back row were giving a clear indication that they were keen to take the game to GHK. Thankfully our own pack managed to move through the gears fairly swiftly, having been a little off the pace in the opening exchanges and after five minutes good line out possession was delivered by the pack, crisp handling took the ball well beyond the gain line and Fraser Hastie in support carried deep in to the Irvine twenty two.
Irvine had already been penalised when the referee, who had an interesting afternoon, saw the visitors’ number eight stamp on a GHK forward, so to the penalty was added a yellow card. Davie Reed kicked the goal from more or less in front of the posts. 3-3 after seven minutes.

The home side were starting to build a bit of momentum at this stage of proceedings, so it was rather against the flow of the game when Irvine took the lead again after GHK were penalised for not staying on their feet at the breakdown. The Irvine stand off kicked his second penalty of the afternoon from thirty five metres out. 6-3 to Irvine just short of the ten minute mark.

GHK got straight back in to Irvine territory from the restart and forced their way deep in to the visitors’ twenty two. Possession was recycled several times and ultimately, almost inevitably, the defenders infringed and Davie Reed drew GHK level with a short range penalty after twelve minutes. Six points all with twelve minutes gone.

If the first yellow card seemed perhaps a little harsh, the fate that befell Craig McPhee was something of a mystery not only to the home support but also to the Irvine management and reserves in front of the main stand. But so it was that GHK were reduced to fourteen men a few moments before Irvine were restored to their full complement of fifteen. The referee did seem to be seeing things that were not evident to players or supporters. You could almost feel a sense of frustration on the part of the players, particularly the Irvine lads, that the game was not flowing or being allowed to flow. Owen McInroy came on for Gregor Hollerin to provide front row cover.

Thankfully from the GHK point of view we were starting to put together some good combinations with Craig McPhee and Pete Ritchie gaining ground regularly with ball in hand. On the half hour mark a classic break by Danny Hoffmann took GHK deep in to the Irvine twenty two. The pressure was building on the visitors. When they were penalised for a crooked feed at a scrum, a quick tap and drive saw Gregor Hollerin power over for the first try of the day. Davie Reed added the extras with a fine conversion from out wide on the GHK right. 13-6 to GHK after thirty two minutes.

The home side were starting to dominate in most of the contact areas and also in the set piece. The Irvine line out was plundered on a few occasions and it felt that another score was inevitable. Irvine dug in and managed to restrict GHK to another Davie Reed penalty a minute or so before half time. 16-6 to GHK. It looked as though that would be that for first half scoring, but the home side saved their best for virtually the last play of the half. Danny Hoffmann scythed through the defence, linked with the support and the backs handled beautifully to put Aubrey Horton over in the left hand corner. The conversion was missed on this occasion. Half time arrived with the score 21-6 to GHK.

When Irvine kicked off the second half Fraser McLeod had replaced Alasdair Patrick for the home side, Alasdair having taken an almighty clatter to his right shoulder. GHK took up where they had left off by raising the pressure and pace even further. The result was a noticeable increase in the penalty count against the visitors and that was exacerbated by a tendency on their part to chat back to the referee whose handling of the game did appear to be causing them some issues. A further penalty was conceded by Irvine and despite being about thirty five metres out Davie Reed comfortably added three more points to the GHK total. 24-6 to GHK after forty nine minutes.

Irvine hadn’t showed much in an attacking sense for a while, but when they threatened the GHK line a timely interception by Andy Powell saw off the danger. Coach Hamilton played his substitute card just after the fifty minute mark replacing Fraser Hastie, Cammy McLay and Davie Reed, who had all made very significant contributions to the home performance thus far, with Hugo Lough, Owen McInroy, and Andrew Shedden. The replacements got in to the game right away which was just as well as Irvine, via their back row, were starting to punch holes in the mid field defence. However, GHK stood up to the challenge and prevented any serious incursions threatening the home line.

On the hour mark, GHK won possession from a scrum about thirty metres out from the visitors’ line on the GHK right. What followed was a classic piece of back play that involved the entire back line all showing great pace, handling skills, clever angles and support. The ball was moved from right to left and Callum Ruxton still had a bit to do when the ball reached him but he rounded off the move of the match by not only getting over the line but under the posts too. Mike Aird assumed the kicking duties and stretched the lead to 31-6 to GHK.

The home side were in the mood to get that crucial fourth try as soon as possible and kept the pressure on Irvine. A towering kick by Mike Aird planted GHK deep in the Irvine twenty two. From the line out that followed the driving maul by GHK was collapsed. We kept the ball alive but somehow Irvine managed to scramble the ball in to touch a few metres from their own line. At the ensuing lineout, when the GHK line out jumper was taken out in the air, the referee produced the second yellow card of the day for Irvine. It was their hooker who took the long walk from the Anniesland Road side of the pitch to the main stand. It has to be said that he did have the look of an innocent man when he reached the supporters and coaches. There was no denying that the offence took place. It did look as though the referee may have picked out the wrong man at the ID parade.

Anyway, the outcome of all of this was that, after seventy minutes, after a number of assaults on the Irvine line, Gordi Reid forced his way over wide left. 36-6 to GHK with ten minutes to go and that bonus point in the bank. A revived Alasdair Patrick came back on taking the place of Gregor Hollerin for the closing stages.

Things were not going well for Irvine at this point. From the restart they got in front of the kicker which gave GHK the chance to get back on the offensive. When GHK were penalised at a scrum, a remark from one of the visitors caused the referee to reverse the penalty. The home side were finishing strongly in any event and the indiscipline of the Irvine lads was simply presenting GHK with opportunities to play the game deep in the opposition twenty two. There was a real desire on the part of the home side to keep the ball alive and to make ground with every piece of possession achieved. There was genuine intensity to the play of GHK in these closing moments. Their efforts were rewarded when, after the Irvine number seven was penalised for a high tackle, a quick tap saw Mike Borthwick drive through the struggling defence and over for try number five. The conversion was not added. 41-6 to GHK with a minute to go.

As Irvine prepared to restart, their collective frustration appeared to get the better of them and yet a further inappropriate comment was made to the referee so their kick off became a penalty to GHK. There was no time for any more scoring however.

Full time score: GHK 41 Irvine 6

What did we learn today? When GHK put it all together we really can play some pretty impressive stuff that will present challenges for any team in this league. We have to avoid sluggish starts and show the intensity that was evident in phases of the game for the entire eighty minutes if we do wish to compete with the very best in the West.
Further, no matter what you may think of the decisions that you believe are being visited upon your team, keep your mouth shut and play the referee that you have before you. Irvine didn’t do that today and in fairness that made their difficult task even more challenging.

This article was posted on 28-Oct-2012, 17:07 by Hugh Barrow.