Close Encounter at Stobswell

Saturday 06 Nov 10, Blairgowrie had the relatively short journey to Dundee where they met the improving Stobswell RFC in the first qualifying round of the National Bowl competition. Stobswell opted to play uphill in the first half but it was Blairgowrie who applied the early pressure with an early try after Mark Reddin had taken an excellent lineout ball which was then driven by the Blairgowrie pack allowing John Cockburn to dive over the line which he then duly converted. Following this early score one of the Stobswell front row players had to leave the field and disappointingly the remainder of the game had to played with uncontested scrums which effectively killed the game as a contest for the forwards. Blairgowrie continued to apply the pressure but poor ball retention by both teams meant that the game failed to flow with far too many stoppages for scrums and penalties. Blairgowrie added a second try through Russell Edward after some good driving by Alan Clarke and his fellow forwards with the home side responding with a penalty midway through the first half. Blairgowrie’s third try came after Gavin Wynd had chipped the ball over the Stobswell defence allowing Mark Reddin to catch the ball which he then drove over for an unconverted try. With minutes of the first half remaining Gavin Wynd once again chipped a superb ball into the corner. From the resulting lineout the ball was fed out to Fraser Bissett who broke through a number of tackles before releasing the ball to Kev Brown who was stopped short of the try line but still managed to flip the ball to Gavin Wynd to score near the posts converted by John Cockburn. Half time score Stobswell 3 Blairgowrie 24.

With the home side playing down hill in the second half Blairgowrie had to defend their own try line for long periods with Stobswwell scoring two unconverted tries to reduce the deficit to 9 points with a quarter of the match remaining. At this point of the match Blairgowrie were reduced to 13 players after two Blairgowrie players were sin binned for indiscipline but despite this the Blairgowrie defence held well and with minutes of the match remaining made their way upfield for Gavin Wynd to score a fine individual try to make the final score Stobswell 15 Blairgowrie 29.

Team: Mike Lee, Al Guild, Ryan Walker, Al Clarke, Mark Reddin, James Larsen, Russell Edward, Kev Brown, John Cockburn, Gavin Wynd, Fraser Bissett, Peter Duncan, Robert Larsen, Stevie Stewart, Michael Black, James Buchanan, Liam MacLaren, Ewan Morrison, Alex Watson, Andy Barrett, Liam Tweedie, Alan Webster.

While it was good to progress to the next round of the National Bowl competition this was not one of Blairgowrie’s better games but the fact that the majority of the match had to be played with uncontested scrums did not help Blairgowrie. Blairgowrie will now meet near neighbours Strathmore in the next round of the competition at the J J Coupar Park on Saturday 4th December with a 1.30 kick off. With Strathmore unbeaten this season and currently sitting at the top of Midlands Division I there is no doubt that it will be stern challenge for the Blairgowrie squad. As such it is imperative that all Blairgowrie players attend training on Tuesdays and Thursdays if they have any aspirations at all to progress to the next round.
Following the match Blairgowrie captain Fraser Bissett thanked the Stobswell for the match and for their hospitality with the man of the match points being awarded to John Cockburn, Mike Lee and Alan Clarke - all 1 point each, Ryan Walker - 2 points and Mark Reddin  - 3 points and the Man of the Match.

With no league fixture this weekend (13th) there will be an internal Married v. Singles match at the J J Coupar Park with a 2.00 kick off allowing time for all to watch the international rugby on the big screen prior the Club Dinner Dance later in the evening. Please note that dinner dance guests are asked to be at the Altamount Hotel at 6.30 for a 7.00 start.