SCOTLAND A GET FIRST WIN ON ENGLISH SOIL
Friday, 01 February 2013

Scotland A recorded their first ever victory on English soil with a hard-fought victory over the Saxons amidst dreadful conditions in Newcastle this evening.
Two penalties from stand-off Tom Heathcote, and a first-minute try from debutant winger, Duncan Taylor, were ultimately enough to secure back-to-back victories against the Saxons, and a first on English soil.
The game kicked off with a bang, as great pressure from Richie Vernon and captain Ryan Wilson forced George Ford’s kick astray, and Saracens' Taylor gathered to step inside the covering tackles to score witha bolt from the 22.
Tom Heathcote added a penalty to the conversion of Taylor’s try, and Ford kicked a penalty of his own in reply for the hosts inside a lively opening 10 minutes at Kingston Park.
The Leicester Tigers stand-off duly added another three-pointer for the home side, as they got back into the match after an explosive start from Shade Munro’s men.
The weather began to dominate proceedings, with the wind and howling rain not allowing for much running ruby.
With half-time approaching, though, the rain eased and the visitors were still in front, despite mounting English power and pressure.
A break from lively scrum-half Sean Kennedy nearly brought another try for the visitors, but the youngster - another making his Scotland A debut - was well caught by Ford and the move petered out to close the half.
HALF-TIME: England Saxons 6-10 Scotland ‘A'

It was the visitors who started the second half brighter, with great work from Steven Lawrie and then Alex Dunbar making big strides into and through contact.
The ball was then shifted wide to Nikki Walker who was denied only by a superb covering tackle, forcing the big winger into touch.
A penalty at the scrum followed, and Tom Heathcote extended the lead with his second three-pointer of the evening after 47 minutes (6-13).
Greig Tonks’ superb break, showcasing the Edinburgh Rugby full-back’s pace and elusive footwork, then allowed Heathcote another chance at the posts from a resulting penalty.
However, amidst horrendous rain, the stand-off was unlucky not to convert, as his effort came back off the post.
England piled on the pressure, and ferocious defending kept them at bay, with Swinson and Lawrie to the fore.
Another Tonks break followed before Kennedy’s grubber into the English 22 relieved the pressure.
Going into the final quarter, there remained a seven-point gap between the sides, and it was all to play for.
More tenacious defending followed, and the pressure was relieved by a massive scrum from the Scotland pack, with Heathcote’s penalty to touch allowing territorial reprieve.
The final stages were fraught with Scottish angst as props Jon Welsh and Gordon Reid were both sent to the sin-bin, but fearsome 13-man defending held the Saxons at bay, turned over possession and allowed the Scots to send the ball into the stands of the famous win.
Final score: England Saxons 9-13 Scotland A
Scotland A: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Duncan Taylor, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Sean Kennedy; 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Steven Lawrie, 3 Jon Welsh, 4 Tom Ryder, 5 Tim Swinson, 6 Stuart McInally, 7 Richie Vernon, 8 Ryan Wilson CAPTAIN
Replacements: 16 Alun Walker, 17 Gordon Reid (on for Dickinson), 18 Grant Shiells (on for Vernon), 19 Robert McAlpine, 20 James Eddie (on for McInally), 20 Jamie Stevenson, 21 Ben Cairns, 23 Dougie Fife (on for Dunbar)
England Saxons: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Johnny May, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 George Ford, 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Matt Mullan, 2 Joe Gray, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 4 Graham Kitchener, 5 George Robson, 6 George Kruis, 7 Will Fraser, 8 Jordan Crane CAPTAIN
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchannan (on for Gray), 17 Nick Wood (on for Mullan), 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Joe Simpson (on for Wigglesworth), 22 George Lowe (on for Tomkins), 23 Kyle Eastmond (on for May)
Man of the match: Ryan Wilson
Attendance: 6480

This article was posted on 1-Feb-2013, 23:23 by Hugh Barrow.