Young John Leads the Way at Harris
Saturday 05 Sep 09, the Blairgowrie senior squad travelled the relatively short journey to Dundee to play against Harris Academy FP’s in their second Scottish Hydro Electric Midlands Division II league match of the season.
Despite neither team scoring in the first half it was end to end action from both teams with Stevie Stewart putting in some powerful tackles in defence for Blairgowrie and front row forward Al Guild driving at the Harris forwards on more than one occasion. Blairgowrie should have scored midway through the first half after a blistering run by Fraser Bissett but unfortunately Blairgowrie winger John Cockburn was tackled just short of the try line. Towards the end of the first half Blairgowrie were pinned back inside their own 22 metre area for long periods but their defence stood up to the sustained pressure from the Harris forwards. Half time : Harris 0 Blairgowrie 0.
From the restart Blairgowrie took possession of the ball but not for the first time in the match Harris turned over the ball allowing them to run through some poor defensive tackling by the Blairgowrie backs to take the lead. Minutes later the home team once again overturned Blairgowrie possession with their centre running past at least three Blairgowrie defenders with only John Cockburn to beat. Despite being the youngest and probably smallest player on the park young John put in a copybook tackle to prevent Harris increasing their lead. Despite John’s heroic efforts Harris soon added a second try to extend their lead which was a signal for coach Alan Webster to make some changes while also introducing himself to the fray. The changes appeared to pay dividends as within minutes of the substitutions being made second row forward Peter Duncan made a superb break through the Harris defence releasing the ball to the ever supporting Neil MacRae who in turn passed the ball to full back Stephen Souter to score in the corner. At this point of the game it looked as if Blairgowrie had weathered the storm with Mark Reddin putting in some good runs and the Blairgowrie pack putting their opponents under pressure. With only 5 points now the difference Blairgowrie were awarded a penalty in front of the posts but unfortunately they were unable to secure the 3 points and Harris went straight up the field to score their third try of the match. With minutes of the game remaining Harris added a fourth try to make the final score Harris Academy FP’s 22 Blairgowrie 5.
While Harris deserved to take the points this was a disappointing display by the Blairgowrie squad and while credit must go to the majority of the team for effort there were far too many missed tackles with possession being given away far too easily and far too often. Congratulations must go however to young Michael Simpson who made his debut for the senior squad and put in a sound performance at stand off. Man of the match points were awarded as follows: Mark Reddin - 1 point, Neil MacRae - 2 points and John Cockburn - 3 points and the Man of the Match award. With this weekend’s match at home against near neighbours Atholl RFC it is imperative that all players attend training to work on some of the deficiencies which were evident during the match against Harris.
Team: Al Guild, Robert Larsen, James Buchanan, Mark Reddin, Peter Duncan, Rory Philips, Neil MacRae, Ryan Walker, Gavin Wynd, Michael Simpson, Ally Walker, Fraser Bissett, Stevie Stewart, John Cockburn, Stephen Souter, Liam MacLaren, Ross Parsons.
Training continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.00 at the J J Coupar Park. New and old players always welcome.