Peeblesshire News | Sport | Seven-try win seals promotion for Peebles

Friday, 25th July, 2008

Published: Friday, 4th April, 2008 10:00

Seven-try win seals promotion for Peebles

By H.L. Parker from the Gytes

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Peebles 45 v Livingston 7

BACK in September, Peebles’ opening game in their SHE Premier III campaign brought them a comprehensive 7-try win at Livingston in which full back for the day Neil Hogarth and then club debutant Donald Sangster registered a brace apiece.

And at a muddy, wet and windy Gytes on Saturday, the rampant

Red-and-whites confirmed promotion to next season’s second flight thanks to another 7-try victory over the same opponents.

On this occasion however two tries each were scored by the strong-running Duncan Macdonald and by the elusive Donald Anderson whose mesmerising flitting across the mud was justifiably rewarded later on by Andy Pearson with the Tweed Homes Man of the Match award.

Single counters meanwhile came from Tig Jocelyn (his second in a fortnight), Calum Farmer (the club captain’s 5th Premiership try of the season) and hooker Trevor Keen (his ninth this term).

Fellow Kiwi Dan Boughtwood completed the scoring with five conversions to take his Premiership tally from 19 games to a staggering 259 points – all bar thirty of them from kicks.

On such a productive afternoon, small wonder that Director of Rugby, Bob Hogarth, was such a happy man.

“I’m absolutely delighted, the players have played remarkably well all season.”

“The number of tries we’ve scored is unbelievable. Even today in such atrocious conditions we scored some absolutely cracking tries.”

Bob added, “Of course we’ve had a much stronger squad this year but you need that to make a real challenge. We came very close to winning the championship outright.

“But we’re back where we belong,” Bob added, “We’re a Premier II team after all. In my opinion we should never been in Premier III.”

“But we can’t be complacent, we’ve got to work hard to put in challenge next year. That’s what my aim and ambition will be.”

With the wind and rain at their backs, Peebles dominated the early line-outs through David Harvey and Ross MacNish while both Sangsters and Craig Borthwick drove through the middle.

Following a Waqa hit on Borthwick, a Boughtwood penalty touch won Peebles a line-out near the Livingston line. From Harvey’s aerial take and a driven maul, Jocelyn dived over in 13 minutes, Boughtwood converting.

And it only took the Gytes men a further five to double their lead after a pulsating Willie Aitken drive and a Boughtwood break sent Macdonald thundering over.

Kiwi Dan again added the points for a 14-0 lead.

Despite Wilson and Sills igniting a good spell for the visitors, the speeding Hogarth went close to scoring from Drew Moore’s thumping kick into the Livingston 22.

Then with Neil Clark on for Adam Clark and Cruikshank replacing Andrew Sangster, a 30-yard burst saw Macdonald power between the posts from his fly-half’s perfectly-timed pass.

Boughtwood converted and the Red-and-whites were 21-0 ahead after 33 minutes.

Two minutes later, the home No 10 added the points to a superb Anderson solo try which involved the Peebles full back cutting the visitors’ defence to ribbons with a run that began just outside his own 22. And 28-0 was the half time score.

With Keen on for Scotland under-19 hooker Ryan McConnell and A. Sangster for the ailing Harvey soon after, the second half brought a drop in the wind but increasingly horrendous underfoot conditions.

It also brought a try for Livingston’s Jamie King converted by Craig Bolan.

Soon after, Farmer (who’d just replaced Hogarth) finished off a move started by Anderson and Macdonald to extend the home lead to 33-7.

Next, Clark and Keen breenged prior to Anderson’s 60th-minute blindside try which Boughtwood goaled.

And with Aitken on for A. Clark and the versatile McConnell on in the home back row, Peebles scored a 7th-try in the last quarter.

Though Dale Clancy, Anderson and Macdonald featured in a sweeping handling move that would have graced sunny conditions and a firm ground, Macdonald was forced into touch at the corner flag.

Not so Keen, who drove over soon after for an unconverted try that made the final score 45-7 for the jubilant home side.

Last word goes to Alastair McDougall of Tweed Homes: “I’m absolutely delighted! Though we heard that Gala had scored enough tries against Ellon to stop us winning the championship, we can look back and say that we scored more points than Gala did. So we can go up felling good!”

PEEBLES : D.W. Anderson, D. Clancy, D. Macdonald and C. Borthwick, N. Hogarth (C. Farmer 48), D. Boughtwood and A. Moore; W. Aitken (A. Clark 60), R. McConnell (T. Keen 40), A. Clark(N. Clark 32, W. Aitken 70), D. Harvey (A. Sangster 42) and R. MacNish, T. Jocelyn, D. Sangster, A. Sangster (N. Cruikshank 32).

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