HOWE OF FIFE RFC 26 points | HILLHEAD JORDANHILL RFC 20 points

THE PRE-MATCH WARM-UP in this game on a drenched Duffus Park surface was costly for the Hills when Nick McAuley, their massive tight head prop, pulled up with a hamstring strain. Worse was to follow however when numbers on the field were reduced during the second half to only thirteen when two Hills players were sin-binned. Astonishingly, hosts Howe could not add to their score during this period but equally Hills, being shorthanded, were unable to stretch their opponents.

The poor playing conditions – wet and cold with a stiff breeze – were ideal for a traditional mud fest, but both sides tried at all times to play some decent rugby with Hills occasionally seeming to ignore the wet weather in opening out from unpromising situations. Howe were first to settle and, despite some valiant defence from the visitors, scored a  converted try after some five minutes of hammering at the Hills line. Some fine breakout running from inside centre Scott Halliday provided field position for Finlay Keegan to kick a penalty goal to open Hills’ account. But a defensive mix-up allowed Howe back into the game and, approaching half time, they looked comfortable with their 14- 3 lead. However Hills showed some of the resilience they have recently been displaying with a fine break from deep by Keegan which was taken on by the forwards. Two breakdowns later, stand-off Rory Harte floated out a bridge pass to left winger Damien Genocchio, who responded with an excellent well timed burst to touch down for try. The half time score of 14-8 to Howe was a fair refection of the 40 minutes play.

In the context of the game the next score was critical, but unfortunately it fell to Howe who profited from some sloppiness in the visitors defensive structures to score a converted try at Hills posts. The arithmetic was now such that Hills would require to score three second half tries to record a victory, but these calculations quickly went south when Howe added a fourth try. At 26-8 the game seemed over with Hills shorthanded and the ground becoming increasingly difficult to run on. But the Hills centre pairing of Halliday and Callaghan had other ideas, and with parity in numbers the visitors lifted their game. A fine break in the thirteen channel from Ciaran Callaghan created the field position for left winger Damien Genocchio to dart over for his second try which Finlay Keegan converted. Even though handicapped by having only three replacements, all the Hills players continued to work hard and, after a series of close range mauls, loosehead prop Darryl Elvin forced his way across the line to score. Hills were now only six points adrift and in the ascendancy, but time was not in their favour and the visitors had to settle for a losing bonus point.

This defeat brought to an end Hills impressive run of six undefeated games. It also was the conclusion of the first round of 11 games in national league 3 with the second round commencing in Edinburgh on Saturday the 30^th November against Murrayfield Wanderers. The half-time report card shows six victories and a league position of sixth, some 11 points behind joint leaders Berwick and Greenock Wanderers. Hills play both of these clubs away in the second half of the programme, but have the advantage of some six home games. The gap is not insurmountable for Hills to bridge, but it will require considerable commitment during the winter months from the players in terms of availability and attendance at training. A reduction in the outbreaks of yellow fever during game time will also assist.

Howe of Fife RFC 26 vs 20 HJRFC 1XV

Details

Date	Time	League	Season
November 23, 2019	2:00 pm	Tennents National League Division 3	2019-20

Venue

Duffus Park

Results

Team	Points	Outcome
Howe of Fife RFC	26	Win
HJRFC 1XV	20	Loss

HJRFC 1XV

15	Andrew Scott Full Back
14	Finlay Keegan 18 Wing
13	Scott Halliday Centre
12	Ciaran Callaghan Centre
11	Damien Genocchio Wing
10	Rory Harte Fly-half
9	Alex Gibbons Scrum Half
1	Daryll Elvin Loosehead prop
2	Harry Perston 16 Hooker
3	Adam Eakin Tighthead prop
4	James Reekie 17 Lock
5	Jonny Agnew Lock
6	Calum McLeod Flanker
7	Olly Davidson Flanker
8	Alec Cameron No. 8
16	Preston McGoldrick 2 Hooker
17	Blair Colvin 4 Lock
18	Paul Kidd 14 Wing

Hillhead Jordanhill RFC 36 points | Carrick RFC 7 points

THE FINAL SCORELINE IN THIS NATIONAL LEAGUE 3 FIXTURE might suggest a rather one-sided game, but the reality was much different. Carrick were tough opponents who gave little quarter in the set piece contests, with Hills only coming through in the final twenty minutes to secure both the win and a four try bonus point.

The first half found Hills mostly on the attack, but with little in the way of scoreboard action to show for their territorial domination. It took a Robbie Thomson steal of a Carrick lineout to spark the team into action. Scrum half Paul Kidd somehow found left winger Finlay Keegan as first receiver and he looked up, saw some gaps in the visitors’ defence, and ran powerfully into the Carrick half being halted only very close to the try line. Some determined recycling created sufficient space on the blind side of the breakdown for Ross Robertson to score Hills first try. Fullback Angus Twaddle added the extras with a fine conversion from the right-hand touchline. Despite this early pressure, the Carrick defence stood firm for the rest of the half and Hills had to settle for an Angus Twaddle penalty goal to take them to a ten point margin at half time.

The first ten minutes of the second half continued to be attritional with neither side seemingly able to wrest the advantage. The game was calling out for a spark of magic to break the deadlock, and it was supplied by Hills very own Merlin, stand-off Rory Harte. He took a quick tap penalty from just inside his own half and proceeded to weave his way through the ranks of the visitors’ defence to touch down for a magnificent solo try between the sticks. Keegan kicked the conversion and this score seemed to revitalise the Hills while deflating Carrick. The hard-working no 8, Olly Davidson, drove over well from a close range breakdown with Angus Twaddle converting again, this time from a tight left-hand side touchline position. The prospect  of a fourth try and hence a bonus point seemed to induce some form of white-line-fever in the home ranks, and they wasted at least three try-scoring opportunities until Ciaran Callaghan showed the way with a fine angled run to the line. Angus Twaddle again converted and Hills were now 31 points up with only 5 minutes left.

Carrick, to their credit, kept going and on a rare visit to the Hills twenty two profited from some sloppy defensive work from the home side to score a try which they converted. This lapse of concentration spurred Hills into one final attack on the visitor’s line and second rower, Robbie Thomson, scored his first National League try from close range. This brought an end to the scoring and the game with Hills eventually pulling away from their very competitive and stuffy visitors with a winning 36-7 margin.

With Hills now starting to show some improvements in form, they can travel to Cupar for their next National League game on Saturday the 23rd November with some confidence. Their opponents, Howe of Fife, have however enjoyed a much better start to this season than the Hills, and at one stage headed the table. The fixture promises therefore to be a very close one. The game kicks off at 14:00hrs and travelling support will be made very welcome. PLEASE NOTE: The team bus leaves at 10:30 from outside the Western Tennis Club.

WEST OF SCOTLAND FC 12 points | HILLHEAD JORDANHILL RFC 24 points

APART FROM AN EARLY FLOURISH when the Hills should have kicked a close range penalty goal and right winger Graham Davidson might have scored in the corner at Burnbrae, there was little excitement to disturb the after dinner nap of those Hills supporters who attended the pre-match lunch. Certainly there was some animation in discussing the clubhouse evacuation following a fire alarm at the end of the lunch, but apart from the fine footballing and harrying skills of scrum half Alex Gibbons, play had been largely uneventful. Half time came and went with the score stuck firmly at 0-0.

But West were first to emerge from the torpor which hung over this game when they scored and converted a fine try, but this served only to stir the visitors out of their collective trance. Some fine lead up play from Calum “Duracell” McLeod forced a breakdown penalty and Angus Twaddle, with his first goal kick of the day, converted from some 35 metres. Better was to follow when after some textbook forward driving play close to the host’s goal line, super sub Nick “DJ Veggie” McAuley crossed for a try which full back Twaddle converted. Then stand off Rory Harte, who up until that point had had a mixed game, showed good footwork to score from close range with Twaddle again converting for full points. West then reminded their support that they could play a bit as well. After some concentrated attacks with both backs and forwards prominent, they broke through a previously tight  Hills defence to touch down for their second try of the afternoon. With the score now 17-12 for the visitors the next score would be critical to the overall outcome of the game, and fortunately it fell to Hills. The longer the game progressed, the more Hills midfield began to get the better of their opposite numbers, and from a fine break down the 13 channel, Ciaran Callaghan crossed the line, taking two defenders with him. Angus Twaddle’s fourth successful kick of the afternoon brought the scoring on the day to an end. There was still time for Hills to cement a try bonus point and West to get closer to their visitors and a losing bonus point, but the first half stalemate returned and the game played out with no further alarms

Hills now have a gap in their schedule as there is no game on the 26th due to round 2 of the National Cup occupying that date. The National League 3 programme resumes on Saturday November 2 when Caithness make the long journey down the A9 to Hughenden.

All players and supporters are asked to note that the November – January kick-off times have now moved back to 14.00 hours.

HILLHEAD JORDANHILL RFC  28 points | BERWICK RFC 28 points

BY VIRTUE OF THE FOUR TRIES THEY SCORED in this exciting match, Hills were able to take 3 points from this drawn National League match at Hughenden, while visitors Berwick with their three tries returned home with two.

Hitting down the slope in the first half, the hosts were quickly into action and by the end of the first quarter were 15 points up. After 5 minutes, scrum-half Alex Gibbons took a quick tap penalty some 30 metres out, stand-off Rory Harte threw out a longish bridge pass to right winger Graham Davidson who made good ground to feed Alex Gibbons on his outside. The scrum-half scored well in the right hand corner and full back Angus Twaddle converted with a fine kick from the tee. The fullback added a further 3 points with a penalty goal from almost the same position as his successful conversion. Some 5 mins later, stand-off Rory Harte did well to hold up an attacking maul to prevent Berwick winning it. From the resultant scrum, Hills moved the ball wide and Angus Twaddle launched a foray downfield to make the extra man and then created space for Graham Davidson to run in virtually unchallenged.

Although the conversion was missed, confidence was high in the home support and players, but then Berwick began to find their bearings and began to make much of their first receivers efforts in breaking Hills defensive resilience. The visitors began to spread their play, and it was only a last ditch tap tackle from winger Finlay Keegan which kept Berwick from crossing the whitewash. Hills, however, buckled just before half time when Berwick scored a converted try. Despite conceding, Hills came back well to threaten the visitors’ line, but poor distribution in a 2-on-1 situation frustrated the hosts. The first half closed on a 15-7 scoreline for the Hills.

From the start of the second half, Berwick began to step up their work rate but the first 10 minutes saw just an exchange of penalty goals from the sides. But Hills share of first phase scrum and lineout was secure and half backs Gibbons and Harte began to probe for gaps. The first fell for left winger Finlay Keegan, who found himself in some space 50 metres from the line with two defenders in his way.  With a classic piece of winger trickery, feint and swerve, he outwitted his opposite numbers to score a fine individual try. Hills final try was created by good ball carrying by Olly Davidson which Nick McAuley translated into a try scoring run for Conor Ferguson with a wonderful “Toony Flip”.

Hills were now 28-13 up and playing into the final quarter. At that stage, most of the crowd had their sights on a win for the Hills, but the self destruct button, which is part of the current Hills armoury, began to be pressed frantically and Rory Harte and then James Reekie were separately invited to spend some time in the cooler. 15 against 13 is an unequal contest and Berwick wasted no time in pressing home their advantage to take the score to 28 all with five minutes left. Although Hills were restored numerically, all the structure of their play had been lost, and every remaining refereeing decision was closely scrutinised and disputed by both sets of supporters. There were, however, no further scores, but plenty of controversy to fuel animated discussions well after the sounding of the final whistle.

Hills now travel for their North Glasgow derby to Burnbrae, home of West of Scotland FC, on Saturday October 21. Hills will be hoping their improved form and confidence will travel well with them. Kick is at 15:00.

PERTHSHIRE RFC 14 points | HILLHEAD JORDANHILL RFC 34 points

HILLS TOOK THE HIGH ROAD to Perth to record their first away win of the season. This was a fine, resilient, battling team performance from Hills which revealed qualities some of their faithful support believed had vanished forever from the club. Hills were 7-0 down after 50 seconds which became 14-12 to the hosts after 20 minutes, but in the remaining 60 minutes of a well contested game at the North Inch, such was the visitors commitment to defence that the stuffy Perthshire side failed to add to their score.

The key components of the Hills win comprised of assured performances down the touchline from the returning Jonny Agnew (his first game in Hills colours since 2013) and from captain Conor Ferguson, and there was also an improved defensive performance in the midfield where Ciaran Callaghan was outstanding. Added to the aerial certainty was an aggressive rolling maul which provided the basis for three first half close range tries from Harry Perston, Jonny Agnew and James “Pine Tree” Reekie. The Hills’ backs also revealed their potency in attack with a well engineered try which started with Rory Harte looping his centres to creat the space for full back Angus Twaddle to burst clear from forty metres out in his run to the line. Twaddle converted two of the first half tries to see his side handily placed at 24-14 at the break.

Perthshire worked exceptionally hard to get back into the game and for most of the second half Hills were in defensive mode, but some copybook tackling in which no8 Calum McLeod excelled, and very effective use of his bench resources by head coach Graeme Blackhall kept the hosts at bay. Hills were always sharp on the counter attack and Perthshire struggled at times with the pace of some the quicksilver visiting backs. Angus Twaddle kicked a penalty goal to take his side further ahead and then in the 70^th minute Scott Halliday touched down by the posts following up a kick through the home defence from Rory Harte. The conversion was a formality and Hills were now 20 points ahead. To their credit, Perthshire tried to the final whistle to add to their tally of two tries, but Hills remained resolute in defence of their line.

Hills now return to their Hughenden grounds on Saturday October 14 after the two away fixtures to play NL3 newcomers Berwick. Some 15 seasons ago Berwick were regular visitors to a very different-looking Hughenden and it will be good to renew our old rivalries. Kick off is 15:00.