Dunbar welcomed local rivals North Berwick to Hallhill for this East Region Division 1 match. Both teams were sitting equal fourth with Dunbar having the advantage of a better points difference and also had played one match less. There was the added pressure of both clubs playing for the Tommy Dale Trophy which the Dunbar club currently held and would be looking to hold on to. The weather was unusually exceptionally good for the time of the year which brought out a large support from both clubs.
Dunbar started this match very much on top and dominated all aspects of play. From the first scrum North Berwick were forced to shuffle their pack as they were shunted back at speed. North Berwick number 8 Ben Ingles moved to his more familiar position of prop to toughen up the scrum. Dunbar had a great chance to open the scoring early when good play by captain jamie peters saw the ball to out to flanker keith courtney. The big flanker dummied through the centre then handed off a defender before knocking on at the line. Minutes later gary peters burst down the right before cutting inside to within 10 metres before popping to Andrew Wightman who knocked on as he reached the line. There was no doubt who the better team was and North Berwick were hanging on bravely.
Dunbar were still guilty of giving away too many penalties which allowed the visitors time to clear their lines. The home forwards rumbled to half way and set up quick ball. The ball was quickly moved to jamie peters who threw out a massive pass to Graeme Fletcher, who drove on to the 5 metre line before being tackled but got the pass away to centre Paul Pritchard who crossed the line. Unfortunately for the Dunbar player he lost control of the ball before touching down. The home support started to show signs of discomfort wondering if the Dunbar try would ever come. With 27 minutes of Dunbar pressure the visitors were awarded a penalty in front of the posts but amazingly the ball went wide. With 33 minutes played North Berwick reached the Dunbar 22 for the first time in the match but were quickly despatched down the field from a Peters clearance kick. Dunbar winger James Kelly was having some good runs down the right wing but the North Berwick defence was excellent. With half time approaching Dunbar eventually got the try they so much deserved. From a scrum in their own half the ball went out to jamie peters who fed centre Peebles who then returned the compliment to his skipper who broke through some weak tackles then handed off the last defender before taking play deep into the twenty two before releasing Paul Pritchard who set up John Peebles to score. Peters added the extra points from the touchline as the referee blew for half time.
Dunbar started the second half as they had done the first by totally dominating play. With 43 minutes played a great break saw James Kelly carve his way through the middle. The winger was well tackles but popped up a great ball to gary peters who set John Peebles away on the wing. Peebles set up good ball for the forwards who pressed for the line before winning a penalty. Surprisingly Dunbar kicked to the corner rather than go for the points. Good line out ball saw the ball move quickly along the line to Pritchard who was stopped under the posts. The forwards threw everything except the kitchen sink at North Berwick but got nowhere fast. The ball was despatched out to stand-off jamie peters who was tackled by two defenders but his height allowed him to reach over to score. The captain converted his own try to open up a 14 point lead on 45 minutes. Dunbar came straight back up field and were awarded a penalty for something a North Berwick player said to the referee. jamie peters extended the home teams lead to 17-0. North Berwick with several players injured were forced to go to uncontested scrums. This really changed the tempo of the match as the visitors had more possession with no pressure on their scrum ball. Dunbar made several changes with Mills, Courtney, Wishart and Brown replacing Clutton, Gallagher, Kelly and John Peebles.
Dunbar seemed to go to sleep as North Berwick went on the attack from deep and somehow ran in a very good try to reduce the score to 17-5 with half an hour to play. Dunbar brushed away the cobwebs and started to dominate again. From a scrum the ball was despatched along the line to Pritchard who broke clear into the twenty two before releasing gary peters. The full back carried two players over the line as he touched down. jamie peters missed the conversion but the home lead was back to 17 points with 55 minutes played. North Berwick were starting to assert the pressure but the home defence was outstanding with Fletcher and Mitchell putting in some big hits. With 66 minutes played North Berwick seemed to have the easiest of opportunities but somehow knocked on with the Dunbar defence posted missing. With the pressure on Dunbar mounting the visitors threw everything into attack and were rewarded with a well worked try after 70 minutes. The conversion was missed but the visitors were now making a game of it. The pressure again went on the home defence and North Berwick seemed to have scored again but the referee could not see the grounding.
Dunbar managed to get a grip and hold on for the final few minutes and were relieved to hear the final whistle. Dunbar had dominated so much of this match prior to the scrums going uncontested and deserved the win. There were some excellent performances for Dunbar and the discipline was much better today. After the match Ronnie Dale the son of the late Tommy Dale presented the Quaich to Dunbar captain jamie peters.
Dunbar get a breather from league duty as they welcome their Irish visitors from Skerries for the weekend.