Perthshire 6th September

Mackie S2 travelled to Perthshire on a sunny Sunday for the first league game of the season. All boys were wide awake and switched on in the warm up, and carried this through to the match itself.

1st period. Perthshire won the toss against a Mackie team who were well spread out over the pitch to receive the kick off. A long kick was well caught by Logan B and excellent Mackie team work ran the ball forward to the right of the Perthshire 22 before a good tackle stopped the run. Forwards quickly recycled the ball which was quickly passed left to Tom on the wing for the first try. After the restart, Mackie won a scrum against the head and quick ball from Mick allowed Joseph to power over for the second try. Continued pressure from Mackie allowed Murray to score on the right wing, then Jack drove over to the left of the posts and then Ross again in a similar position. Perthshire fought back taking the ball into the Mackie half before excellent tackling and rucking won the ball, allowing a fabulous counter attack which passed the ball from forwards through backs and ultimately to Murray on the wing to score his second, ending the period 6 tries to 0.

2nd Period. Mackie made 4 substitutions and continued to dominate the game, winning an early penalty which Owen took quickly, surprising Perthshire with a strong forward drive allowing Jack to score his second. Perthshire fought back from a tap start, with improved ball retention to drive over for a try. There followed a fairly intense period with strong forward play from Fergus, Matthew and Theo, before Oscar found some space for a fine solo try which was converted by Logan B. Perthshire fought back again, closing in on the Mackie 22 before another turnover was passed through the hands to Malcolm, who showed a clean pair of heels running in a try from well in his own half. More Mackie pressure found Cameron T draw in 2 perthshire players before releasing Jamie with a beautiful pass. An equally impressive tap tackle stopped Jamie scoring. The half ended after further tries from Jack and Joseph, which were both converted by Owen and Oscar. Mackie 11 tried and 3 con; Perthshire 1.

3rd period. The final period continued with strong forward play and excellent running and passing from Callum to Owen which made space for Murray to run in two quick tries. An attack on the left allowed Jamie to release Matthew to fly over for the 14th try of the game. Perthshire continued to work hard but were tiring from the intensity of the Mackie forwards and the movement of the backs. From a ruck near the middle, Euan switched play from right to left, passing to Luke who made a strong drive, releasing Murray for the 15th. Callum and Owen again found space to release Murray for the 16th. Finally after a scrum, Oscar drove over the last try of the game.

Final score: Perthshire 3; Mackie 54.

Summary: excellent team performance from all players, with good tackling, excellent rucking and passing. This won the ball and then kept it alive making it very difficult for the opposition. Keep up this fast flowing rugby and you will continue to do well.

Credit Derek Robertson