West of Scotland 2nd XV 14 Glasgow Accies 53

Saturday 14th August 2010

Burnbrae
Greatly Improved Performance from Accies

What a difference a week can make. After a disappointing performance against Greenock Wanderers last week at Fort Matilda Accies turned it about face at Burnbrae on a beautiful day for running rugby.

Straight from the start Accies showed their intention to run the ball and what a start it was. Within 3 minutes West had kicked off three times and Accies were ahead by 12-0. The value of catching the ball cleanly from a kick off was never better demonstrated. Firstly it was taken by Andy Jackson who surged forward sucking in the West pack then quick release to Mike Hermes who sailed up the touchline, beat his opposite number and cut inside the fullback for a terrific try converted by Ali Mclaren.

The second kick off was grabbed by new boy; second row forward Adam Taylor from Dumfries. Again he took it into contact before quick release. A series of forwards and back handled it before Adam, backing up superbly, finished the move for his first try in Accies colours. Ali McLaren narrowly missed the touchline conversion. 0-12.

Accies promptly dropped the third kick off giving West a chance to set up camp in Accies territory and demonstrate that they were not going to lie down to this resurgent Accies side. In the 7th minute the ball pooped out awkwardly from a set piece. The West centre was quickest to it and he romped through the gap for a converted try.

7-12.

The game was being played at a frantic pace in the heat and you felt that it couldn’t last at this level of intensity. To a certain extent the number of penalties being awarded slowed it down a bit. From one of these, in the 14th minute, Ali McLaren drilled it into the corner and from the subsequent lineout Jack Walker was driven over for the third try. Again McLaren showed his mettle as a goal kicker with another fine touchline conversion.7-19

For the next 15 minutes the intensity dropped and Accies were under a bit of pressure. This period showed that Accies had tightened up the defensive frailties of the previous week with some solid tackling by both backs and forwards.

In the 30th minute Accies scored again. Flanker Andy Jackson quickly took a 22-drop out and Stewart Smith was first to spot the opportunity. He secured the ball and used his pace and power to sweep aside the remaining defenders for a try in the left hand corner. 7-24

Accies scored two more tries before half time, firstly from a smart break and cut out pass from Dougie Horner to Ross Chassels who found Craig Wright on his shoulder with space to scuttle home for a try in the corner. 12-29

Finally right on half time Accies picked up a loose ball and found Mike Hermes in space on the half way line. He turned on the after burners for another score.

In between these scores a good handling move by West and a kick ahead beat the Accies defence for a converted try.

Half time West 14 Glasgow Accies 34

There were three main differences from last week to this. Firstly Accies had stepped up the intensity of their play especially by the forwards as a result there was far less turnover ball. Secondly the tackling was much secure and finally and probably most importantly the quality of their handling was immensely better.

Certainly the opposition were not as strong but still this West side play in Division 1 of the Reserve League that includes the top 2nd XV’s from Premier 1 and is a highly competitive competition. Accies also had five changes of personnel, Ross Chassels came in at fullback, Dougie Horner moved into the centre, two highly experienced campaigners and they were joined by Jonathan Stenhouse a fullback straight from the Loretto 1st XV, who unfortunately took a knock early on, Andrew Brown a scrum half from Glasgow Academy, who played in the second half and looks to be a good prospect for the future and Adam Taylor a powerfully built second row from Dumfries who looks like a certain shoe-in for Sandy Fitzpatrick who has retired.

After all this activity there was still a second half to come. Coach John Beattie took the opportunity to give all his reserves a run and they acquitted themselves well especially big Robert Fuller who had a stormer.

Accies scored another three tries, the first in 55 minutes. Great hands from Stewart Smith and an inside flick from Ali McLaren put Craig Wright in for his second try.

The second 4 minutes later by Stewart Smith after another good bout of handling and finally on the hour mark Mike Hermes intercepted to score his hat trick. Ali McLaren converted two of the tries.

The game ended 10 minutes short by mutual agreement as both sides had players with knocks, the result was decided and it was extremely warm. A good decision considering how long the season to come is.

This result should boost the confidence of the team especially as they have a number of players still missing who will add to the strength of the squad. If they can keep clear of injury they have the makings of a team to challenge for promotion this season

Scorers

Mike Hermes 3 Tries

Stewart Smith 2 Tries

Craig Wright 2 Tries

Adam Taylor 1 Try

Jack Walker 1 Try

Ali McLaren 4 Conversions

This article was originally posted on 14-Aug-2010, 18:10 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 15-Aug-2010, 07:35.