Once again, the weather took its toll on most of the fixtures across Scotland on Saturday but the RHC pitch at Barnton was in good condition and the match went ahead as planned. Unfortunately for PL, they were unable to match their opponents’ determination for the entire 80 minutes and ended up losing by a single score.

PL started brightly enough and the backs created a good opportunity in the opening 5 minutes but Rory Monks just failed to gather the pass that would have seen him clear on his way to the corner. RHC were first to get points on the board though, when they put together a series of close passes to create an opening in the PL 22 and they were helped on their way by some missed tackles by the PL defence that allowed Morrison to score a neat try which he converted himself.
The RHC passing was to be a feature of the game that would cause problems for the visitors for the entire 80 minutes, although PL didn’t help themselves as they continued to concede ball through unforced errors which kept them on the back foot and it took some powerful cover tackles from Paul Voy and scott rodgers to prevent RHC from scoring again. RHC did have a chance to extend their lead after PL were penalised 25m out, but Morrison couldn’t capitalise and pushed the kick wide. This was the signal for PL to raise their game and immediately they got themselves deep into the RHC 22 and looked certain to score. RHC could only concede a penalty to stop the move and despite an easy shot at goal being on offer, captain Blair Cowan saw a better opportunity and quickly tapped the ball before passing on to Paul Voy who forced his way over for an excellent try. Unfortunately Graeme Patterson’s conversion went wide but at 7-5, PL were definitely back in the game.
Chris Dixon kept the RHC defence under pressure by gathering good ball in the loose and Paul Glynn showed great skill to get himself free on halfway and only a great tackle prevented him from scoring. However, on the half hour mark, RHC would be next to score and extend their lead to 10-5 when Morrison slotted a goal from almost the same place as he had missed previously.
It would be PL that would finish the half in front though when once again, they put together several decent phases of rugby that included a brilliant drive by the pack and when the ball was released to Andrew Clark, he managed a half break before passing to Blair Robertson and the tall centre was able to stay on his feet despite the close attention of three would-be tacklers and force his way over the line to complete a great team try. This time, Patterson was on target to allow PL to go into the break 10-12 up.

The opening exchanges of the second half were completely dominated by PL as they were awarded several penalties inside the RHC 22. Eventually the referee’s patience ran out and he sent one of the home forwards to the sin bin for 10 minutes but unfortunately PL couldn’t capitalise with the numerical advantage and in fact, it was RHC who broke out of defence and were awarded a penalty themselves as PL scrambled back. Morrison was on target this time and regained the lead for his side by slotting the goal to make it 13-12.
This would prove to be short lived as Andrew Archer was all over the RHC back division and won good ball before the home side conceded another penalty, this time on the 40m mark. Patterson’s kick was measured to perfection and PL were back in front at 13-15 with 25 minutes still to play.
From then on however, nothing much went right for them and they gave away too much possession too easily. Scrum half Peter Johnstone had to retire hurt and it would always prove difficult to fill this key position and maintain shape elsewhere. RHC also raised their game by increasing their pace and with 15 minutes to go the scoring would be completed as they broke clear from halfway. An excellent cover tackle by Jonathan Brash stopped the move but the ball was recycled quickly and RHC had numbers out wide allowing Morrison to score and convert again, to bring his side’s and his own personal tally to 20.
PL never gave up but the game was too scrappy towards the end which prevented them from building any decent moves and eventually time ran out with RHC proving themselves to be worth winners at 20-15.

This is a blow to any lingering promotion hopes that PL may have had and completes their fixtures for 2012. The break until January 5th will allow some of the injured list to recover and come back stronger for 2013.



Preston Lodge Team:
G Patterson, L King, B Robertson, P Glynn, R Monks, A Clark, P Johnstone
S Rodgers, S McLean, K Duncan, B Cowan, B Stoddart, A Archer, C Dixon, P Voy

Replacements:
J Brash, J Eales, C Wilson, J Sked