Hyndland’s run in the West Regional Bowl came to an end with a semi-final defeat at home to Lochaber RFC.

The early stages of the game were played deep in Lochaber territory, as Hyndland threatened the visitors’ try-line with a series of attacks. Unfortunately, the visiting defence held firm, before Lochaber went most of the length of the field with a counterattack to take a 5-0 lead.

These early stages of the game reflected the match as a whole, with Hyndland struggling to convert significant periods of possessional and territorial advantage into points. In contrast, the away side proved much more clinical in possession as they opened up a 15-0 lead by half-time.

Hyndland rang the changes at half-time and it appeared to have an instant impact as they made their way deep into opposition territory once more, this time converting the pressure into points with a Tony Smith drop goal.

However, the revival proved to be short-lived as two further tries from Lochaber put the game beyond their hosts. To their credit, Hyndland persevered and were rewarded with a late try for Doolan as he capped a capped a good performance with a try in the corner.

Unfortunately, Hyndland’s late score proved little more than a consolation as the visitors’ defence held firm for the remainder of the game.

Hyndland RFC 8
Lochaber RFC 29

Harbouring hopes of reaching a first final in recent memory, Hyndland will be disappointed to have fallen short against a side that they proved to be the equal of for much of the game. An aggressive and well-organised visiting defence restricted Hyndland to just 8 points, which ultimately made the difference. Nevertheless, Hyndland can take great pride in the fact that they kept going for the full 80 minutes and were duly rewarded with a late try.

Hyndland will be back in action next weekend against familiar opposition, as they travel to Fort William to take on Lochaber once again, this time in the league.