Glasgow Accies v GHK Match Report

Glasgow Accies -v- GHK
Saturday 13th April 2013

On this day in history…..well to be honest nothing that utterly memorable happened, so it is just as well that on this particular April 13 we had the real Glasgow derby to look forward to, and yet again the contest between the Anniesland rivals did not disappoint.

A healthy crowd, a cracking playing surface and even the odd blast of sunshine set the scene as GHK got the game under way. From the off it was clear that both sides were intent on doing justice to the near perfect conditions by playing fast, open, running rugby. If you add to that two defences that gave little away in terms of missed tackles, it was a fine spectacle indeed.

Robert Beattie for the home side carried a threat every time he had the ball in hand, so in that sense it was not a surprise that it was he who got the score board ticking over with the first try of the day gliding over after some smart handling down the GHK right. The conversion was added to give the hosts an early seven point advantage.

The GHK response was pretty direct and a series of powerful drives kept play in Accies’ territory. The pressure applied by the visitors brought its rewards in the shape of two well converted penalties by Rory Long to bring the score to 7-6 in favour of the home side.

Just after the quarter hour Rory Long started a move just outside his own twenty two, making a break and setting Gregor Hollerin clear. He powered up the GHK left taking out the covering defence. Callum Ruxton up in support took the ball on and outstripped the remaining cover for a really well worked try. If Mr McNair’s camera was working that was one for the archive and surely a contender for the SRU's try of the month. The conversion drifted wide in the breeze. 11-7 to GHK.

Both sides were playing with immense commitment and the respective physios were kept busy. For GHK Greg Woolard took an ankle knock and was replaced by Colin Neilson. This required some creative thinking by the coaching team but the versatility of the GHK squad was rather impressive. At least three players stood in at the scrum half berth and all gave accomplished performances.

The half raged on and the visitors carved out another scoring opportunity thanks to a trademark Danny Hoffmann break, but the Accies scrambling defence held out. It was then their turn to lay siege to the GHK line and only some resolute defence, round the fringes and out wide, held out the hosts’ attacking efforts. Cammy McLay, who had put in a serious shift both in the set piece and particularly at tackle time, was yellow carded for a deemed infringement deep in the GHK twenty two. It did seem a little harsh and it gave the home side a numerical advantage in a great field position. However, more dogged defence from GHK closed out the half with no further scoring. Half time 11-7 to GHK.

Mindful of being a man down, GHK seemed to up the intensity even further at the start of the second half. There was a bit of a breeze that appeared to be with the visitors and this was capitalised on by Scott Robertson whose substantial boot kept Accies on the turn. When Accies did put a flowing passing move together, and looked to have worked an overlap, it was only some focussed and secure cover tacking from try scorer Callum Ruxton that prevented what looked like try number two for the hosts.

Having served his time, Cammy McLay returned to the battle and within a few minutes was penalised for an offence at the breakdown. Even his opposite number thought this looked more than a little severe. Regardless, it gave Accies’ kicker the chance to reduce the leeway to just a single point. The kick crept over the GHK lead was reduced to one point.

In terms of territory and possession GHK were having the upper hand, but their advantage was not reflected in points on the board. However, the visitors did not panic and continued to play an expansive game. Having said that, when the opportunity was presented to take the opposition on up front, that was a challenge that GHK were happy to take up. With an hour on the clock, after a bout of sustained pressure on the home line, Gregor Hollerin drove over for a well deserved forwards’ try. 16 -10 as the conversion slipped by.

In the course of the half both sides had made good, and necessary, use of their benches. For GHK Aubrey Horton had come on for Adam Johnstone who had made a significant contribution to the cause. Greg Woolard declared himself fit to resume and rejoined the fray replacing Scott Robertson. His tactical kicking in the last quarter of the match kept the home side continually having to lie deep and this diluted their attacking threat considerably. Fraser McLeod took the place of Davie Mitchell who had tackled tirelessly and was part of a back row that bossed the breakdown (which was the difference between the two sides according to the home supporter beside myself).

It was however still a ‘one score’ game. The clinching try came as a result of one of Greg Woolard’s kicks taking play in to the Accies twenty two. In trying to run from deep, the home side knocked on as a result pressure from the scavenging GHK forwards. A scrum in a great attacking position was the opportunity GHK needed and although the initial thrust was held up, possession was quickly recycled and Aubrey Horton touched down in the right hand corner. A difficult conversion was just beyond Rory Long’s range. 21-10 to GHK with about six minutes to go.

Davie McKeown replaced Gregor Hollerin who had played a critical part in all of the GHK scores and who had performed to a very high level throughout. Both sides deserve great credit for their fitness levels and all round commitment. Accies showed remarkable spirit and resilience by taking the game back to the visitors, even at this late stage, and their pressure was rewarded with a try from a drive from a tap penalty. Gordi Reid saw yellow for the infringement that resulted in the penalty. 21-15 to GHK

As the teams made their way to the halfway line the referee indicated that there were two minutes remaining. Accies had some possession in those closing moments, but the GHK defence remained structured and unforgiving and the game was closed out with no further scoring.
Final score Glasgow Accies 15 GHK 21

It was, as they say, a great advert for rugby with two sides intent on playing a game that is well worth watching. From a GHK point of view, the transformation from last week was quite remarkable. Great credit has to go to the players and coaching staff for their efforts during the week and on match day. There were a number of stand-outs in the GHK side, indeed all contributed to a fine team performance. It is hard to single out one individual so the man, or men, of the match are Davie Mitchell for his relentless tackling and breakdown work, along with Gregor Hollerin who put in a great all round performance and had a defining influence on the score board.

This article was posted on 14-Apr-2013, 17:11 by Hugh Barrow.