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Broughton 26-28 Forrester
..but Forrester refuse to be felled by
Wood!
Despite
going down 26-28 to Forrester at the weekend, Broughton can take many
positives out of the match which saw them pick up 2 bonus points.
As ever, our Club Association with the two other BATS
clubs allowed us to introduce Christian Boyd and David Wood
(imaginatively nick-named Woody!) to the fray
and both made their mark with a try apiece. Boyd was the man of
the match, however as he didn't stay back to hear the wonderful news in
the Clubhouse, his exclusive Chris O'Neil plaque was awarded to Steve
(Derek) Duval & Kip the Kiwi who were voted as joint second.
Despite Broughton going into today's game
without a win since the end of October, a New Year came about with a air
of optimism and the home side where delighted to welcome back
Player-Coach Neil Matthews to action following a long lay-off after knee
surgery.
Forrester made the short journey across
Edinburgh and their youth policy certainly looked like it was paying
dividends with the average age of their squad possibly on a par with the
weight in stones of your scribe!
Broughton started the match off in frantic
style with Jamie 'Hands' Lindsay denied a try in the opening
minute following fine play from Maddison who found Sarge in space.
The Aussie full-back found Jamster on the wing but he was bundled into
touch inches away from the whitewash.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and the
result of the game may have been all so different if Broughton had
decided to kick a 5 minute penalty instead of trying to bulldoze their
way over the line. McFarlane tried to bundle over the line from
short distance and was adjudged to have knocked-on as he made the
despairing dive for the line.
The visitors made Broughton pay for their
inability to convert pressure into points in the 10th minute when they
took the lead against the run of play. Hooker Donald Pyper thought
for one crazy moment that he had moved into the back division for the
day and attempted to clear his lines by foot in his own 22. Sadly
the ball was picked up in midfield by a welcoming Forrester youth who's
final pass, despite having a suspiciously forward hint to it, let the
winger in for a try in the corner. 0-5.
Referee Digby Thomas upset the Forrester
faithful 5 minutes later when he blew for an infringement in back play
as the pace of the winger outstripped the Broughton defence.
On the half hour mark, Broughton took a
deserved lead following a clever move orchestrated by the
influential Matthews, who's return to the stand-off position helped the
back line to keep it's shape throughout the 80 minutes. Chris
Mollier-Alexander (or Kip for ease of reference) came close to opening
his account for the club, however the ball was collected by Stan Smith
who blasted over for the try. Arrandale converted. 7-5.
A double hammer blow to the homeside in
the final 5 minutes of the half put the first sign of daylight between
the sides. Payne was penalised in midfield for being offside which
was slotted to give Forrester a single point advantage and from the
restart, Broughton appeared to self destruct. Hart made great
headway down the right wing and his pass out to Maddison was not
collected and the Forrester winger was the first to react and ran half
the length of the field before passing the ball to a supporting player
in a 2 on 1 situation with Sarge to beat.
Half-Time 7-15.
The writing looked like it was on the wall
with 8 minutes of the second half gone when Matthews knocked on from an
Arrandale pass from the base of the scrum. The visiting scrum-half
reacted quickly and kicked the ball through and this was chased
successfully for a try in the corner. 7-20.
Joe Edwards, who had arrived back in the
country some 48 hours earlier after returning home for Xmas, had an
issue with his alarm clock and arrived for the second half. The
immediately made an impact when he came on for Cox in the 57th minute.
Kip won the opponents lineout on their 22, and a series of quick hands
saw the ball go to the impressive Boyd who went in unopposed for a try
under the posts. Arrandale made light of the touchline coughing
and slotted the extras. 14-20.
It looked like the perfect comeback was on
as Wells took the ball for a rampaging run up the park from the restart,
however he was dispossessed by the Forrester centre who set his winger
off on a run to breach the Broughton line once again. The
conversion was missed. 14-25.
Captain Gareth Payne came up with the
goodies on 56 minutes when advantage had been applied by the match
official for Forrester pulling down the maul 10 meters short of the
line. Payne's angled run allowed him the space to run in behind
the posts for a score which Arrandale duly obliged with the 2 points
which made the scoreline 21-25 and Broughton were still very much in the
game.
Bombhead showed good skills when he came
off the bench for crocked Sarge and he was unlucky not to keep his kick
through in the park which may have sent Matthews in for a try.
The Broughton defence were keen to make
amends for some poor displays in recent games and they were out of their
blocks too quick for the referee's liking on 66 minutes which allowed
the visitors the luxury of extended their lead to 21-28.
The game was set up for an exciting finale
when a tremendous rolling maul by Broughton in the 70th minute set up by
Edwards and McFarlane allowed replacement hooker Wood to dive over.
Arrandale's conversion attempt was wide. 26-28.
Broughton ended the game as they started
it by attacking the Forrester line. Lindsay went on a jinking run
up the left wing with headline making potential, however he was put into
touch as he looked to offload.
Final Score: Broughton 26 - 28 Forrester
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