Hyndland welcomed rivals Braidholm to Fortress Scotsoun. The game was on the G4 pitch and with the monsoon winds in tow it was a clear indication that open rugby was going to be severely hindered..

After not playing for many weeks it was with relish that Hyndland and Braidholm were keen to play.

The game started with what was a superb shock assault on Hyndland by the Braidholm. Playing with the wind Braidholm quickly made their intentions clear with a hook and uppercut to go two scores up with only 12 minutes played. Braidholm’s tails were up and they were not going to lie down. These scores seemed to bring the discipline needed in the ranks and Hyndland locked shields in the pack and gradually took control. The Green Machine started to dominate upfront and despite the wild weather started to play towards their strengths. The first signs appeared when winger Stuart ‘Mantis’ Craig swooped in and latched onto a butchered kick from the opposition & galloped down the left touchline breaking a couple of tackles before offloading to supporting centre Nathan ‘specs’ Wray who in turn had a good run but a charged down chip ahead ended the flow of play.

Hyndland were supreme in the lineouts & hijacked most opposition throw ins. From one of these play was brought deep into the opposition 22 and a series of pick & drives resulted in wily No 9 Nicky ‘goose’ Gillan firing a quick blindside pass from a ruck to centre Chris Farrell who spotted a gap & broke a couple of tackles to crash over.

Hyndland grinded down the opposition gradually and used their bigger pack with devastating effect with crash balls, pick & drives as well as continuous probing runs around the fringes of set pieces. The second score came from a powerful scrum in front of the opposition’s 5m when No 8 Ben ‘kiwi’ Phillips smashed over a would be defender to dot down. Centre Chris Farrell followed this up shortly after with another well spotted gap blindside to crash over for a brace. Braidholm had a young side and did put Hyndland under pressure several times but handling errors and stout defence mitigated any scoring opportunities.

HT – Hyndland 17 – 10 Braidholm

The second half had Hyndland playing with the heavy winds. The forwards dominated immensely and the defence from Hyndland all round was much better. Winger Stuart ‘Mantis’ Craig crossed over after a series of rucks set up an overlap and clinical spreading of the ball wide allowed him to dive over. Flanker Gareth ‘teeth raider’ Quigley also crossed the whitewash when a pick & drive had him flying through a gap around the fringes. There was a further flourish when fellow Flanker Jamie ‘pumper’ Leslie was welcomed over following a roving maul by the Green Machine Pack for his maiden try for the club. Prop Mark ‘Collins’ also took advantage from very leaky defence to fall over from a crash ball. There was also an excellent chance for centre Nathan ‘specs’ Wray but unfortunately an ankle tap dropped him just short after a slicing run through a couple of tackles.

Three conversions added to the score to end the best game of the season for Hyndland so far.

Hyndland Legion showed with much more cohesive and constructive play they can certainly score points. The defence was also a lot better and overall a satisfying victory. The lineouts were very sharp and the securing of possession out of the top drawer. There was also a few line breaks from the destructive ball carriers with Paul, ‘Blind Side’ McGonagle, Jamie ‘pumper’ Leslie, Gareth ‘teeth raider’ Quigley, Ben ‘kiwi’ Phillips, Nathan ‘specs’ Wray, Chris Farrell and Stuart Craig being the prominent metre gainers..

Hopefully Hyndland can build momentum and perhaps get the results that have been eluding them these last few games.

The players need to be available for the games. This we shall hopefully see.

Villain of the Match:

None.

Moment of the Match:

Hyndland’s first score that fired the engine and Nathan ‘SPECS’ Wray being bounced but still hanging on in that tackle.

Special Mention:

The entire team put in an industrious performance which was a pleasure to watch.

Paul ‘blind side’ McGonagle – Roving charges and some good scrimmaging.

Joe ‘eh’ Halley for a workmanlike performance in the loose, reliable line out throwing and always crossed the advantage line with ball in hand.

Ewan ‘Onion’ Roberts for his high work rate. This goes unnoticed but is a big contribution.

Jamie ‘pumper’ Leslie for some decent carries, a try and sound defence.

John ‘vuvu’ McCluskey for some good loose play and tackling when put back in the pack.

Gareth ‘teeth raider’ Quigley for good defence and loose play all round.

Ben ‘Kiwi’ Phillips – A man possessed with devastating runs, abrasive loose play and good mauling.

Mark Collins for some good scrimmaging and potent drives with a good try.

Backs:

Tong ‘flash’ Smith who was better with his boot and organised the defence a lot better in the second spell.

Nicky ‘goose’ Gillan who made his tackles and marshalled the link between backs & forwards well.

Chris Farrell for some destructive running, with a brace of tries testimony to that.

Stuart ‘Mantis’ Craig for very effective attacking lines and a good score. Sound on defence.

Nathan ‘specs’ Wray for much better attacking finesse and solid on defence.

Squad from 15 – 1:

F Kerr
J McCluskey
Nathan Wray
Chris Farrell
Stuart Craig
Tony Smith
Nicky Gillan
Ben Phillips
Gareth Quigley
Jamie Leslie
Ewan Roberts
Jim McBrearty
Mark Collins
Joe Halley
Paul McGonagle

Subs:

A Mack
J Nel
D Kerr
N Ross