Peeblesshire News | Sport | Super-human effort, but Peebles go out of the cup

Published: Friday, 7th March, 2008 10:00

Super-human effort, but Peebles go out of the cup

By D.P.T. Scribe at Neilson Park

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Dale Clancy starts another Peebles attack.

Pic by: Peebles RFC

Haddington 38, Peebles 20

The final scoreline from a cold, wet and blustery Neilson Park does not reflect the intensity of the game or closeness of the result until the last three minutes of the game.

Nor does it describe the superhuman effort by the Tweed Homes men’s second half effort against the gale force wind, and the slope between the 5th and 37th minutes when they had chances of creating an upset and stealing the game.

With a half time deficit of only one point, and with three tries in the bag, the home supporters expected a free running Haddington to run in a barrow load of tries in the Scottish Hydro Electric national Cup.

This did not happen, as the visitors fought for every scrap of ball, turning over rucks as well as capitalising on home errors.

Peebles were missing regulars (Dan Boughtwood, David Paton, Neil Cruikshank, Alan Smellie and Drew Moore), but their replacements quickly settled and Peebles took very little time to use the elements to their advantage and were quickly camped in the home 22.

It took a home infringement to give Donald Anderson the opening penalty shot and a three-point lead on ten minutes.

Five minutes later Peebles, again on the attack through driving rucks and mauls, building up the phases, were only stopped when a knock on occurred.

From the scrum Haddington knocked on giving Peebles scrum advantage.

The ball went speedily from scrum half Dale Clancy to stand off Donald Anderson, who fed to Duncan MacDonald, coming at pace to cut through the home defence almost untouched to put Peebles further ahead, scoring under the posts. Donald Anderson added the extras.

Haddington attacked from the restart and forced a couple of penalties that gave them territorial advantage in the Peebles 22.

While the home side moved the ball from left to right and back again, they could initially not break the rearguard defence of the Peebles tackling.

That is until they were awarded a scrum five metres out under the posts, which they drove over for No 8 Nico Maybury to get the touchdown, complimented by stand off Jamie Peters’ conversion, narrowing the difference to three points.

There was no scoring for the next ten minutes despite the onslaught by Peebles in the Haddington half, with a few ruck turnovers and knock ons letting the visitors down as well as the improving Haddington defence.

Despite the windy conditions, the Peebles lineouts were function as well as expected, with Tig Jocelyn, David Harvey and Ross MacNish winning some good ball, unlike Haddington who seemed unable deal with the windy conditions.

From one Peebles attack, a dump tackle on Donald Anderson, gave him a fairly easy penalty in front of the posts, to increase the lead to six points.

Peebles kept on the pressure using the elements, and when Haddington tried to run out of defence Peebles were awarded a third penalty, which narrowly missed the target.

From the resulting 22, Haddington kept the ball tight, working their way uphill into the Peebles, with a couple of well placed kicks against the wind, eventually being awarded a lineout less than 10 metres out.

In a move straight from the training paddock, they won the lineout and drove forward, then using the momentum, prop Gary Glass came round the side with ball in hand and dived over the line.

With the conversion being missed Peebles were only one point ahead.

Back in the groove, Peebles using the elements kicked ahead and when from a ruck following a Haddington scrum, Peebles turned over the ball, which was moved quickly to centre Duncan MacDonald who cruised through the defence for his second touchdown under the posts.

Donald Anderson added the conversion to give Peebles a breathing space at 12 points to 20.

That space quickly disappeared as the home side re-started with vigour and when two tackles were missed in succession, their centre, Brock Gibbon touched down, and being converted by Jamie Peters, meant the Tweed Homes men only being 1 point ahead at the break with the scoreline reading 19 points to 20.

The freezing horizontal rain that announced the re-start further worsened the daunting task against the slope and the elements facing Peebles in the second half; the home side almost under the radar swept into the lead.

Haddington kicked into the Peebles 22, but despite turning over possession, Peebles, manfully trying to ruck and maul their way uphill.

Several kick attempts against the weather proved fruitless and when Haddington gained possession from turnover ball, they were outflanked by a backs move that saw fullback, Neil Watt over in the corner 5 minutes after the re-start.

They could have gone further ahead when they turned down the chance of an easy penalty attempt, going instead for the line-out.

The conditions were such that Peebles capitalised on this, winning the lineout and started the tremendous effort by the Peebles team that kept them at bay for the next 30 minutes.

In one Haddington attack, that seemed almost certain to end in a score, Peebles turned the ball over 10 metres from their line, and the effervescent Donald Anderson broke out of defence to almost reach the half way line.

In support, winger Craig Hunter took the ball on and twice broke the covering tackles, only to be stopped short.

The home side then cleared their lines. Peebles launched another attack, but even after eight or ten phases with forwards repeatedly set up the rucks, Haddington’s defence held firm.

Duncan MacDonald had one run that broke the defence initially but Haddington again cleared.

The second half continued in the same vein, as Haddington launched attack after attack, and Peebles defended hard, rucking and mauling their way upfield only to be repelled, and Haddington used the wind to clear and start their own attacks.

The eventual outcome was that, with Peebles tired and with only three minutes to go, the home side swept down the left wing, and centre Calum Mark who had been a constant threat, went over under the posts, converted by Jamie Peters.

The final act was another Haddington seven-pointer as they kept up the pressure and reserve Neil Rodgers went over under the posts and Jamie Peters converted.

President George Shaw’s comments on the game were that this game and last week’s were a fairly good indication of the standard that Peebles will have to raise themselves week in and week next season if they attain promotion in the last two games, and that it is achievable.

Peebles: Willie Aitken, Ryan McConnell, Adam Clark, David Harvey, Ross MacNish, Raymond Jocelyn, Donald Sangster, Andrew Sangster, Dale Clancy, Donald Anderson, Neil Hogarth, Craig Borthwick, Duncan MacDonald, Craig Hunter, Calum Farmer

Replacements: Andrew Brown, Neil Clark, Adam Moffat, Euan Jackson.

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