Oh yes they did! And for those of us there to see it amid the squalls pulsing down the Big Glen what a privilege to be at the season’s grand finale and witness the Perthshire Colts beat Gordonstoun School 17 – 10.

The boys were up for this. The first quarter had Shire playing with the wind and making repeated attacks, Ruaridh Davidson seeing the ball well and nearly bursting through terrific Gordonstoun defence, the breakdown from which earned Shire a Peter Bruce Wooton penalty which went narrowly wide.

Not be deterred, Shire back on it saw Pete kicking for touch and from a messy line out Angus McCance seized onto the loose ball and crashed over for a try.

Gordonstoun came back but Shire gained possession and a great PBW kick nearly saw Ciaran Cassidy latch on to a potential scoring catch which went just awry.

By this time the wet conditions were making it difficult to distinguish who was who through mud camouflage but Gordonstoun got their pick and go game going into the teeth of the gale and manufactured a great try in the corner.

Nip and tuck then but Shire were heads up and going through good phases which got them back into the Gordonstoun 25. Strong and repeated crashes didn’t yield a score before a tap free kick to Pete shipping to Ruaridh who burst through despairing tackles to go over for Shires second try. Pete kicked a good conversion.

A subsequent Gordonstoun attack stuttered in the backs giving Pete an opportunity to kick to touch and from the ensuing line out Ewan McKenzie stole the ball. Gordonstoun infringed and the penalty kick sailed agonisingly wide just on the stroke of half time to make the score 12 – 5 to Shire at the break.

The wind was a key factor in this game and Gordonstoun came out guns blazing in the second half going over for their second try, 12 – 10, then established repeated territorial advantage and looked a certainty to score again but Shire held out with bodies on the line defence which was sustained over an incredibly tense 10 minute period.
Every Shire repulse was followed by a Gordonstoun attack, eventually a kick and chase was caught by Max Renouf who made good ground, passed to Vincent Lux who skimmed up 30 metres to create a Shire opportunity from the breakdown which Ben Taylor chipped through but the scoring opportunity was missed and Gordonstoun cleared. In the process however a yellow was issued to a Gordonstoun defender and from the restart Brodie Rivers seized the ball and burst over for Shires try – we knew it was Brodie only by process of elimination because covered in mud he was barely recognisable even by his parents.

The last minutes of the game seemed an eternity but the final whistle eventually went, a 17 – 10 victory to Perthshire Colts, Caledonia Cup winners. Cue celebrations.

Gordonstoun are a fine side, well coached with some stand out players and their fighting spirit and never say die attitude made this final the gripping encounter it most assuredly was. The Gordonstoun pack was very strong and Shire had their work cut out to stay ahead. Ultimately though Perthshire just had too much and deservedly closed out the game.

Just then to say a bit about the lads; Brodie Rivers was dynamic and unstoppable, his bludgeoned try made a massive difference to the result and he hooked everything. David Hill had a tiger in his tank, Seitaro Usuda and Euan McFarlane came on and made great contributions in the prop department. Ewan McKenzie did his usual ball winning in the line and along with Laurence Smith did some tremendous muck and bullets stuff. Declan O Brien, Callum Coutts, Jamie Robertson and Angus McCance were on fire with relentless aggression, tackling and ball winning and Angus’s try was a great piece of work.

Ben Taylors scrum half play was excellent given the conditions and he put in countless tackles. Pete Bruce Wooton kicked, tackled and ran superbly, made the right decisions and was a pivotal influence. Max Renouf tackled like a Trojan, Ruaridh Davidson scored the first try and was go to man in the back line for his strength on the run. Vincent Lux was assured at full back and ran well and wingers Scott Alcorn and Ciaran Cassidy were dangerous in attack and were both unlucky not to score.

Findlay Ormieston came on and did well. Ben McGrogan, Matthew McCrory and Keiron Adams whilst desperately disappointed not to get on to the field of play should be secure in the knowledge that their qualities and presence was vital to the team’s success not only on the day but also in the games leading up to the final. The same goes for Arran Sheach who sustained a head injury in training on Saturday night – gutting for him and for the team group as a whole.

So a great day for the Colts. The final word though has to go to the coaches Craig Ormieston and Alastair Taylor who were the architects of this success and for whom a big thanks and well done seems somewhat inadequate. Their vision, training, encouragement and personal commitment to the minutiae of organisation was unstinting and epitomise all that is Perthshire Rugby Club. The rumour that Ormie might take a Pep Guardiola style fishing sabbatical might be premature but after all he’s done who could blame him?

Thanks Ormie. Thanks Alastair,

1 Callum Coutts
2 Brodie Rivers
3 David Hill
4 Declan O Brien
5 Laurence Smith
6 Ewan McKenzie
7 Jamie Robertson
8 Angus McCance
9 Ben Taylor
10 Peter Bruce Wooton
11 Scott Alcorn
12 Max Renouf
13 Ruaridh Davidson
14 Ciaran Cassidy
15 Vincent Lux
16 Seitaro Usuda
17 Euan McFarlane
18 Findlay Ormieston
19 Ben McGrogan
20 Matthew McCrory
21 Keiron Adams
22 Arran Sheach

Tries; Davidson, McCance, Rivers
Cons; Bruce Wooton

Another Colts article to follow later this week.