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Broughton open
campaign with win on the road
Broughton opened their campaign with a 15-7 win at Hawick Harlequins on
Saturday in a monsoon! Rain more akin to an Amazonian Rainforest fell
for the full 80 minutes and prohibited any chance of a decent game of rugby to
welcome the new season.
Dan Arrandale opened the
scoring for the visitors, who had completed their kit change on the bus some
15 minutes earlier, within 60 seconds with a try following a turnover scrum on
the hosts 22 and some quick thinking from Man of the Match Olly Maddocks.
The Welshman was unable to convert the extras. 0-5
It should have been another
score 2 minutes later when O'Neill lost control of the slippery ball with the
try-line begging. Broughton were the hungrier of the two sides and won
the resultant scrum but for the second time in as many minutes a knock on
inches from the whitewash denied McFarlane the opportunity to open his account
for the season.
Broughton's dominance paid
off 10 minutes later with a well worked try from Ben Sykes. Arrandale
went from try-scorer to try-maker when he used the greasy surface to full
effect with a neat grubber which was collected by rookie hooker Grant Wilson.
Wilson set up a ruck deep inside the Quins 22 and Sykes was the recipient of
the recycled ball to run in between the uprights. Maddocks kicked the
conversion. 0-12.
Quins however refused to lie
down and with the Broughton pack on the back foot after some early match
indiscipline, the hosts had a penalty 10 mtrs out. Whilst the Broughton guys
tried to regroup, the big Prop drove through the middle of a ruck for a try
despite the dubiety of the grounding of the ball. The Stand-Off
comfortably made the posts with the kick. 7-12.
Maddocks kicked a further
penalty on the half hour after the Match Official, ironically now sponsored by
Optical Express, penalised the Hawick 2nd Row man for obstruction in the line
out. The half-time oranges tasted sweeter for the Broughton side as they
went into the second half 7-15 to the good.
The second half was virtually
forgettable, with both sides struggling in the downpour, making the ball like
a proverbial bar of soap.
Quins should have pegged the
score back with a kick at goal on the hour, but the Stand-Off was unsuccessful
with his attempt.
The end of the match couldn't
come quick enough for all the players who dived back the Clubrooms in Town for
a shower and a chance to enjoy the fine Hawick Hospitality and share stories
about Barney!
A win on the road and in such
awful conditions was the ideal way to set out the Broughton stall for the rest
of the season.
Coach Graham Bonnar was
delighted to get off to a winning start. "The torrential rain hampered our
handling but the players stuck to the gameplan: kept the ball close to the
forwards and kicked for position. The halfbacks: Dan Arrandale and Olly
Maddocks, eventual man of the match, controlled the game well in the first
half and we took our tries well." Bonnar, who was a former Club Captain
added, "In the second half we continued to dominate the Quins forwards and
should have put further points on the board but perhaps we lost our composure
at crucial times. Overall an excellent performance from all eighteen players
and a great start to the league campaign."
Next week we welcome Lasswade
to Wardie. Wade sit top of the early league table following a 54-0
massacre of Dalkeith so a potential ding-dong battle is in store.
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