Forrester RFC 15 Berwick 40

Due to the weather and Six Nations Berwick have not played much rugby recently and in parts of this game it showed. A stop start game riddled with knock ons and passes going astray gave a broken mid stage to the game but a solid start and a fluid finish gave the visitors the bonus point and victory.

The conditions for rugby on Saturday were ideal. Blue skies, dry conditions (for a change) and a solid pitch allowed Berwick to make a solid start. After some initial defensive work Gareth Hill scored following a good line out drive had sucked in the defence allowing the ball to be passed quickly through the back line to allow Hill the chance to step his man and touch down. Rory Hindhaugh landed a very difficult conversion from the touch line to give Berwick the breakthrough at 0-7. Forrester though kept he ball tight and tried to punch through the middle using their forward weight and height but the Berwick defence was solid and accurate to deny them any momentum. After the early period of solid play both sides started to miss passes and knock on and Berwick were guilty of trying too hard at times. Eventually Forrester’s pressure earned them a deserved penalty which they duly took to close the gap to 3-7. Berwick then showed what they are capable of as Cammy Rogerson made an initial break which was carried on by Lee Douglas before the ball reached Hill on the wing. Spotting some space behind the defence he chipped the ball over the top and with the ball sitting up nicely Hill was able to gather the ball to canter over for his second try of the game. Again, Hindhaugh managed the conversion from out wide to extend Berwick’s lead to 3 – 14. However, Forrester scored right back following a solid scrum and good backline passes created the overlap out wide. The conversion was missed and the first half closed with the game in the balance at 8-14.

The second half got underway and Berwick upped the tempo of the game to move the bigger pack around the pitch. They did this to great effect and an obviously pre-planned moved from a scrum allowed Hindhaugh to score after some smart interplay with the other backs. Although he missed the conversion the lead was extended to 8-19. A period of broken play was brightened after Jack Webster made a break through to allow Jack Dalrymple to score a try. Hindhaugh slotted the conversion and Berwick were stretching away at 8-26 and with the fourth try the bonus point had been secured. The game again got broken up with various injuries to the home side but Berwick then put together a better period of play with Hill scoring other tries to secure his hat trick. The Hindhaugh conversion made it 8-31. The home side’s heads started to drop at this stage and Dalrymple took advantage to show some tidy footwork to slip the defence and score. Again, Hindhaugh slotted the conversion to make it 8-40. However, it was the home side who finished the scoring off with a good consolation try right at the death.

Berwick looked rusty at times but this was a good solid win. They showed a strong defence to deny the home side early on and then as their forwards started to tire the Berwick backs ruthlessly exploited the chances to win the game. The full side will benefit now from regular games again and if they can eradicate the errors they are capable of finishing the season strongly and climbing the table to boot.

This weekend Berwick are at home against Livingston with a 3pm kick off. It would be good to see the home support out in numbers.

Berwick Team
1) Stuart Gilchrist 2) Gareth Black- Capt. 3) Tom Jackson 4) Euan Thompson 5) Grant Maltman 6) Adam Pearson 7) Geoff Logan 8) Tommy McColl 9) Cammy Rogerson 10) Jack Webster 11) Jordan Jackson 12) Jack Dalrymple 13) Lee Douglas 14) Gareth Hill 15) Rory Hindhaugh

Replacements
Ryan Wilson, Alex Frost and Aidan Rosie.