On a challenging afternoon, Lasswade scored 5 tries to the home side’s 2 tries. Home scorers were Rory Anderson and Hayden Hart, both finishing off lineout mauls. The first half started with the home side attacking the castle end and defending well for the first 20 minutes as Lasswade dominated possession and territory, limiting Lasswade to a single unconverted try in the first quarter. Some very passive defending and constant ill discipline, however, allowed Lasswade to take a 19-5 lead by half time. Rory Anderson finished the 1st half with a yellow card for a ruck offence.
The 2nd half was more of the same with Lasswade scoring 2 tries. Constant ill discipline resulting in penalties being awarded against the home side killed any momentum. The positives that can be taken are that the lineout functioned with its now standard efficiency and the scrum was largely stable, only really being pressurised when Rory was in the sin bin and the pack was 1 down. It was also heartening to see Curtis get through 80 minutes after suffering a concussion in the Gordonians away game.
More positively, the 2nd XV won 52-42 against Lasswade at home with debutant Jack Lang scoring 4 tries. Mentions in despatches to Andrew Whitelaw, Adrian Graves and Nick Winton for getting 2nd XVs on the park - no mean feat in itself in these challenging times for amateur men’s rugby in the UK. A concerted recruitment drive that has led to 18 new players joining the club since August has helped with replenishing player stocks, particularly at 2nd XV level.
Finally, all credit to Lasswade 1st XV who were deserved victors and finished Saturday afternoon in 1st place in National Two.
David Calder
Photos courtesy of Jax MacKenzie Photography
