Hillhead Jordanhill 1st XV 34 points Garnock 1st XV 19 points
Bernie Mitchell
This National League 3 ( NL3 ) fixture, contested on an eminently playable surface after heavy overnight rain, was in the balance well into its final quarter. Hills held a slender 1 point advantage at 20-19 over the determined Garnock, visitors from North Ayrshire. Both sides had played each other to a virtual standstill. The wisdom in the well engaged crowd being : “ the next score would be the winner “.
As fate would determine, it took 2 flashes of individual brilliance from Hills stand off, the effervescent Rory Harte, to settle this absorbing contest. A sign of a class player is that s/he plays “ head up” rugby, and that was confirmed by the 10’s first try. Awarded a penalty on the Garnock 10 metre line, Harte looked up, took in a splintered defensive shape in front of him, and elected for a quick tap. His swerving run and acceleration took him untouched through the Garnock team to score at the posts. The conversion was successful, Harte’s first of the day. To disprove the old myth that “lightning never strikes twice in the same place”, Rory Harte repeated the trick, some 5 minutes later. But this time, he chipped the ball delicately over the heads of the static defence, caught the ball off the turf and raced to the try line unopposed. Pure magic ; game over down to an athlete’s skills.
Up until the virtual conclusion, this had been a hard fought but very close sporting encounter. The scoring confirmed that : ( Hills first ) 5-0, 5-7, 10-7, 10-12 and 15-12 at the games mid – point. Hills scorers were Harte, Liam Tighe and James Agnew, the latter sprinting and weaving his way home from a Blair Colvin break to half way and then an offload. For their part, the Garnock backs, in particular Jared Reekie and Rory Walker, along with no.8 Ross Brockett, attacked the Hills defence, scoring 2 fine tries.
The 3rd quarter saw Garnock move into the lead at 19-15, but the Hills no. 8, Milan Markinovic, stole in at the corner, following some swift handling from the home backs. His side were now just the single point ahead. The remainder of the game was memorable for witnessing the mercurial talents of Hills stand off Rory Harte.
The return fixture at Lochshore, a place where angels fear to tread, will be no easy gig in the depth of a January winter. But there remains a lot of rugby to be played before then. Unfortunately that will NOT involve the Hills this coming Saturday, October 19th. Our scheduled opponents, Orkney RFC, cannot field a side, and have forfeited, leading to a deduction of 3 Championship points. The revised date for the fixture in Kirkwall is SATURDAY November 16, when Scotland play Portugal at Scottish Gas Murrayfield ; unwelcome information for the players and committee. However the Club will have to get on with it.
Meanwhile on the adjacent Great Western Road pitch, Hills 2nd XV, benefitting finally from a largish resource to select from, overwhelmed a plucky Marr 3rd XV by 106 pts to 0. Hills 2nd XV now travel to play their counterparts Hamilton at Laigh Bent with a 15.00 KO on Saturday the 19th.
