The torrential rain stopped just as the players were arriving for the match and the game was played in dry air conditions if a little wet underfoot, but great credit to the ground staff because the pitch was in perfect condition for running rugby.

After last week’s less than pleasing performance our boys had obviously taken on board Coup’s words during the week and from the start ran the ball at Annan with pace and skill. But Annan kept Accies pinned in their own half and seemed to have the upper hand. Then after 7 minutes, as if from nowhere, good work by Ross Cowan created space for Gus MacCallum down the left and from recycled ball and he finished off superbly. 5-0

The crowd had only just sat down again when the best move of the match then started. This scribe was too excited to be able to write down all the players involved as it seemed half the Accies team took the ball down the left side of NA: running out of space, the forwards recycled and moved the ball to the right, up popped hooker Ker Malcolm at pace, who beat one defender, drew the last defender and then slipped a beautiful and quite deft “behind-the-back” pass to Michael Walker who then went in to score under the posts. A quite superb move and Accies rugby at its best. 12-0

Accies kept up this pace and were attacking the Annan side from every part of the pitch and when they did have the ball they were forcing errors from the Annan attack. However to their credit Annan forced their way back into the game and were awarded a scrum on our 5 metre line. The ball fell loose from one of the Annan players and Brad Bell picked up the ball and ran down the right, beating several Annan defenders before veering in field and passing to the supporting giant, Kiran Seran on the 10 metre line. Off went the “stag” and no one was going to stop him scoring.. 17-0

20 minutes had passed and the crowd were enjoying a free flowing game, although though this scribe thinks the referee was hoping things would slow down a bit! But that was not to happen as from another fierce bit of defence, Annan knocked on and the ever present dynamo that is Calum Dalrymple, picked up the ball, beat two players and off-loaded to Ben Frame who, supporting on his shoulder, went over to score under the posts for the 4th and (after just 25 minutes!) our bonus point score. 24-0

Annan are never a side to lie down however and they came back at Accies with determination and forward power. But good handling inside our 10 meter line and a superb break by Mike Hermes put big Kiran into space again and he grabbed the chance to score his second under the posts. 31-0

With barely 30 minutes into the game, Accies then broke into the Annan 22 from inside their half with some very slick passing and good support. Only a flying arm prevented another score and from the resulting penalty (when a yellow card / penalty try might have been the more “appropriate” option had the scoreline not been what it was), Accies chose to take a scrum. Quick ball, a pick up from the base from No. 8 Kenny Beattie and then an off load to Ross Cowan resulted in the next score. 38-0

By this stage in the match, the home crowd were expecting a complete rout – but I have never seen an Annan team capitulate in a zillion seasons! And this side were no different. They took the game to Accies for the remainder of the half and with pick and goes and good movement, sought to ship it to their wings. They were rewarded for this effort with a simple try from a tap penalty 5 metres out from the Accies line. The home support, led by TMO Pundy, howled in derision at the decision as it seemed that at least 2 Accies bodies had held up the “try-scorer”, but it stood and the conversion was dispatched.

Half time 38-7



Annan started the second half as they had finished the first and had the majority of possession and territory: in truth, they had the better of the 3rd quarter by some distance. They are a side that deserve to be further up the table than they are but stout Accies defence and some (forced) handling errors meant it was Accies who scored next. From one of the handling mistakes it was inevitable that the ever present Calum Dalrymple was once again on hand to pick up the loose ball as he had been, seemingly, all match and this time he went over to score himself. 45-7

Credit to Annan and they kept to their now daunting task: they “manned up” and went on the attack, scoring from a free-flowing move inside Accies 22 for their second try. The home support were deflated as a result, but it was deserved: 45-14

However from the re-start, Accies went back on the attack and camped in the Annan 22. A scrum for Annan resulted in pressure being put on their stand off who off-loaded to an outside player. The ball went to ground in the subsequent tackle and the ever alert Ker Malcolm picked up and scampered over and behind the posts. 52-14

But Accies were not finished and after some more good defensive work in the middle of the park, another Annan knock-on was pounced on by Gus MacCallum and he kicked on from the halfway line and won the race to touch down for yet another good try. 52-14

With the game now drawing to a close Accies mounted one last effort and again good handling between backs and forwards, a feature of the entire game, saw Craig Wright run over under the posts for the final try. 64-14

A tough trip to Allan Glens awaits, and only our best will do next week. But we can take heart from a strong performance this week that illustrated that when we stick to what we’re good at, now matter what’s thrown at us, we’re actually a pretty good side. Some stand-out performances from a number of our players this afternoon, but the very pleasing thing is that this was a “squad” performance. Boys and girls, we’re getting better!!

MOTM: There were some great individual performances from our boys today – Brad Bell, Michael Walker, Ker Malcolm and Ross Cowan all stood out. Elliot and Fabio scrummaged particularly well and Kiran took his 2 tries well. And, for this scribe at least, it was great to see Gav Paul come off the bench and really contribute in the second half. But Cal Dal claimed the accolades this week, and deservedly so – he may only be 5 foot whatever but today, he was absolutely dynamite! A great performance wee man!

Ref. Watch: All the way from Oban, Monsieur Malone had, overall, very a good game. The match flowed well, he was not as “officious” as some this season and clearly he communicated with his charges on the park effectively. There was “nae nonsense” throughout the 80 minutes – a tribute to his management of proceedings – and neither coach (who cares about the supporters!) had any real cause for complaint at his decision-making. A very solid, bordering on complimentary, 8/10!!

This article was posted on 21-Oct-2013, 21:19 by Hugh Barrow.