Ten Try Win For Blairgowrie
Saturday 31 Oct 09, Blairgowrie continued on their Scottish Hydro Electric National Caledonia League Division II campaign with a home match against Stobswell RFC at the J J Coupar Park. Having been led onto the pitch by team mascot Robbie Smith from the Blairgowrie Rams Rugby Club the home side took early advantage of the fact that Stobswell were a player short with Michael Black opening the scoring for Blairgowrie with a try in the second minute of the match after some good handling by Michael Simpson which was then converted by Stephen Souter. Despite this early set back the visitors put Blairgowrie under pressure for a long spell in the early part of the game but some good defending by the Blairgowrie backs ensured that Stobswell did not score. Having soaked up this early pressure Blairgowrie upped the tempo and from a scrum on the half way line young John Cockburn picked the ball up from the base of the scrum and ran through the Stobswell defence sidestepping the full back to score a fine individual try.
The next try came after some good rucking and driving by the Blairgowrie forwards allowing Neil MacRae to quickly feed the ball to Ally Walker who took the ball at pace to score under the posts converted by Stephen Souter. A fourth try quickly followed after Neil MacRae had taken a quick tap penalty then off loading the ball one handed to the supporting Fraser Bissett again converted by Stephen Souter. With the first half drawing to a close prop forward Al Guild decided to charge through the Stobswell defence only to be stopped just outside the 22 meter area. From the ensuing tap penalty by Alan Webster the ball was passed out to Michael Simpson who in turn fed the ball to Stephen Souter to make the half time score Blairgowrie 33 Stobswell 0.
From the restart Rory Philip secured the ball for Blairgowrie which was subsequently fed out to winger Stevie Stewart who made a superb break with the final pass going to Fraser Bissett to score in the corner. The seventh try of the match came following a ball taken against the head by hooker Robert Larsen which was in turn passed along the back line with Peter Duncan getting the final touch down. The eighth try came after some good rucking and mauling by the Blairgowrie forwards with Neil MacRae making the initial break who then passed the ball to Fraser Bissett who was tackled just inside the Stobswell 22 meter area. Despite being put to the ground Fraser got back to his feet, retrieved the ball and proceeded to the try line to score his third try of the match converted by Stephen Souter. For a period in the middle of the second half both teams persistently made unnecessary errors and the game deteriorated for a short spell. However Blairgowrie eventually got back on the rails and following a good break by Mark Reddin the ball was fed inside to the on running Peter Duncan who broke through the visitors defence to score his second try of the match converted by Stephen Souter. With minutes of the match remaining Stephen Souter completed the scoring for Blairgowrie with a converted try following some powerful driving by Kev Brown. Final score Blairgowrie 64 Stobswell 0.
With a number of first XV regulars unavailable for selection this was a reasonably sound performance by the Blairgowrie players who managed to secure maximum points while keeping a clean sheet in the process. Following the match team captain for the day Fraser Bissett thanked the young Stobswell team for a good game. Thanks were also relayed to Roy Coles (Accountants) for sponsoring the match and to Ralph Donaldson and Toni Broe for preparing the food for the sponsors and players respectively. Man of the match points were awarded as follows; Fraser Bissett - 1 point, Peter Duncan - 2 points and Al Guild - 3 points and Man of the Match.
Team: James Buchanan, Robert Larsen, Al Guild, Peter Duncan, Neil MacRae, Rory Philip, Alan Webster, Kev Brown, John Cockburn, Michael Simpson, Fraser Bissett, Michael Black, Michael Grant, Ally Walker, Stevie Stewart, Stephen Souter, Jake Cockburn, Ewan Constable, Mickey Todd, Mark Reddin, Andy Barrett.
This Saturday (7th) Blairgowrie travel down to Rosyth for what is sure to be a very difficult match against Fife Southern RFC who are strong contenders for the league title. Team selection and travel arrangements will be announced at training which is on Tuesdays and Thursdays at t7.00 at the J J Coupar Park.
Congratulations to former Blairgowrie player Patrick Coupar who made his international debut last Sunday for the Scottish Rugby League team and helped them secure a place in the European Rugby League Cup Final where they will play against Wales with the match being shown live on Sky Sports TV this Sunday (8th). Patrick is the second member of the Coupar family to have been selected for their country with brother Mathew who also played for Blairgowrie Rugby Club having played for the Scottish Ruby Union sevens team a few years ago. Everyone at Blairgowrie Rugby Club wish ‘Paddy’ and his Scottish team mates all the best in Sunday’s cup final.