Hillhead Jordanhill 1st XV 38 points West of Scotland 19 points
Bernie Mitchell
A hard, physical game, on a well prepared Hughenden surface, saw Hills always ahead of their Glasgow rivals, moving from a 14-5 points lead at the interval to the full time score of 38-19. The first quarter of the game saw Hills at their best with some audacious running from the shadow of their own posts to the visitors twenty two. Quick recycling from 2 successive breakdowns allowed right winger, Damien Genocchio (aka the Ginger Flash) to cross the West try line unopposed. Rory Harte added the extras off the tee, and Hills gave the impression they were about to steam roller the West team off the field such was the aggressive ball carrying of forwards Niall Hall, Calum Griffiths and James Agnew. However Hills second try owed everything to Matt “ Plod” Murray, playing at full back, who burst electrically into midfield before finally being stopped. Calum Griffths, running silent and deep in the ensuing play, offloaded to Rory Harte whose half break sent Andrew Brown scuttling over the try line to touch down by the posts. Rory Harte converted to take his team to 14-0 after 30 minutes.
West could legitimately have folded at this point but they came back into the contest, thanks to more secure possession from their line out and some intelligent running from their danger men Sutcliffe in the centre, and Howick at full back. They pulled back 1 try before the interval but some poorish finishing denied them a second.
The wind, which Hills had helped Hills in the first 40 minutes, lessened in the 3rd quarter and took away that attacking weapon from the visitors. Hills, despite a misfiring line out and at times an unwillingness to build the game through phased attacks, profited from the direct running of back rower Griffiths and Scott Halliday in the centre, both of whom scored to take Hills to 26-5 ahead with only 20 minutes to go. But again West showed resilience in the face of adversity to run from deep and copy Hills approach to score a fine try. But West could not get closer that that 2 try margin with Hills adding further scores from Andrew Brown and Damien Genocchio. West to their credit added a 3rd try before fulltime.
A final try score of 6 to 3 confirmed advantage Hills. The 5 points gained from this fixture were certainly welcome, but it is doubtful if head coach Tonci Buzov would have been entirely satisfied with the performance given the number of unforced errors made. West for their part with a youthful but promising team will be no walk over when it comes to the round 2 fixture at Burnbrae.
The 2XV also prevailed with 5 points from their encounter with West, winning 52-19. The victory takes the Hills 2XV top on the West Reserve League 1, a great achievement for a young and talented squad, filled with players pushing for inclusion in the first XV.
