Royal High Cougars 19 Lasswade 25

In a tight promotion race and needing every point they can garner, Lasswade wouldn’t choose Royal High Cougars as the place to go to find them. With a fifty percent record both in games played and points scored and conceded Cougars have given other promotion contenders a hard time at Barnton.

Lasswade opened proceedings with a gentle breeze behind them on a slightly greasy pitch. They had the better of the opening exchanges keeping play mostly in the home half. With ten minutes gone Kyle Smith broke the home defence supported by Kerr who setup a ruck on the line. Starting this game because of an injured Turnbull rather than his more usual finishing role, Blackie was on the spot finish the job off wide out.

The general flow of traffic continued to be towards the Cougars’ 22 and a Lasswade lineout 10 metres out heralded an inevitable catch and drive which the Cougars managed to break up but not the ensuing rucks and Lamond crossed for the second try.

If Cougars had threatened at all during the first quarter it was through their backs finding leaks in the Lasswade line often when the visitors had over-committed to rucks they were bound to lose. On just such an occasion the ball came back on the Cougars side and found a mismatch in both numbers and speed down the left wing with the Cougars second rower being there to open the scoring for his side.

Lasswade responded more or less immediately driving back up the park, winning the loose play until Billingham claimed the third try.

Into first half extra time the score looked like staying at 15-5 but from a ruck in the visitors’ 22 the Cougars standoff found a half gap to dart over and then add the two himself as the last act of the first period.

The first quarter hour after the break was a fairly even if somewhat scrappy time with handling errors and unproductive kicking being too evident from both sides until the Cougars centre saw an opportunity and rounded the Lasswade last defender to ground beside the posts for an easy conversion to take his side into a four point lead.

Lasswade regrouped but needed 10 minutes before another short range lineout drive gave Blackie his second of the day and the team’s first objective of a bonus point. Matt Smith’s conversion extended the lead to a still slender three points with 15 minutes still to play.

It was a long quarter hour for the travelling support as their side was forced into scramble defence on more than one occasion. Then, with two minutes to go a penalty converted by Smith both ate up a bit of the remaining time and stretched the lead beyond anything other than a converted try. Lasswade safely gathered the restart and recycled the ball long enough to kick to touch for no side.

Not Lasswade’s best performance but a bonus point win nonetheless.

Elsewhere Greenock Wanderers were unable to fulfil their fixture at St Boswells and so Lasswade now top table three points ahead of both Dumfries and St Boswells who each have a game in hand. Forthcoming fixtures between these three – Lasswade at Dumfries (1 April) and Dumfries at St Boswells (15 April) – are likely to decide the final positions.
Before then Lasswade need another five pointer from Dalziel’s visit to Hawthornden on 25 March. Kick-off 3pm.

Six Nations Super Saturday displaces League rugby this week.