Squad (L-R) : Neil Cowie, Guest, Shane Armitage (kneeling), Paul Hughes, Jono Gibson, Craig Hughes, Chris McGuigan, Jay Cowie (ball-boy), Steven Wilson, Gordon Anderson, Guest, James McLaughlan, Scott Pollock, Guest

GHA hosted the annual Veterans Charity 10-a-side tournament last weekend at Braidholm. There were international ‘Legend’ Teams from Scotland, Wales, England/Ireland and the Southern Hemisphere with a number of ex-British Lions and All Blacks on display. WD were playing under the banner of the Scottish Social Legends! The rules stated that squad sizes should be 17 but unfortunately there were only 10 available to WD. Malky Clark and Gerry Brankin were being pressured into playing but as both started their careers around the same time as Moses they declined

Our opening game was against the England/Ireland Legends and although we went down 27-0 we put up a decent show. In the end though the professionalism of the former internationals overpowered the battling local side who gave them a fright towards the end of the first half with some clever interplay between backs and forwards. Ultimately we couldn’t get over the whitewash for the try that the play deserved.

The 2nd match was v Whitecraigs and the WD ‘boys’ turned on the style. In the opening seconds Neil Cowie caught the opposition off guard with a catch at the front of the line and bulldozed up the line. As he was tackled he deftly off-loaded the ball to Craig Hughes. There was an audible THUMP! as the collective jaws of the spectators (and Craig’s teammates) hit the ground. Craig went rampaging up the line and was brought down just inside the Whitecraigs 22. Things were looking good. WD continued the game the way they started and ran in 6 tries through Scott Pollock (2), Gordon Anderson (2), Shane Armitage and Chris McGuigan.

The final Pool game was against an athletic-looking Kilmarnock side (didn’t they read the rules!) who had previously pushed the England/Ireland select very close. Kilmarnock deserved their 27-5 win, but we will be asking if it would have been a different story if Jono Gibson’s early break not been pulled back by the referee for an infringement. Gordon Anderson had some useful breaks too but good defence by the opposition kept him out. WDs solitary score came from Scott Pollock who sprinted up the wing and managed to touch down under the posts to make the conversion easier. The roar of the crowd could probably be heard back at Langloan at his conversion attempt (laughter that is) as it got no more than 6 inches off the ground.

By the time the Semi-Final of the Bowl competition started, the previous exertions were beginning to take their toll on the team. With no replacements available the team were struggling. Fortunately a couple of East Kilbride players offered their services and we took to the field against the hosts (one of them our own Tom McDougall). GHA Gazelles are a side that regularly plays together and had looked good in their Pool matches however tries from Armitage, McGuigan, Anderson and Gibson ensured a 24-7 win. We were heading into the Final! McGuigan’s try is of particular note as he claimed to have sprinted almost the full length of the pitch before scoring. My recollection is he fell over the line with it!