North Berwick RFC 20 – Penicuik 25

Perfect day for rugby, dry with no wind and pitch looking perfect. A good crowd were on the terrace looking forward to the game but no one was prepared for the speed and intensity that Penicuik would start with!

Playing down the slope they camped on the home line for an extended period before scoring in the far-right hand corner & then converting within five minutes. NB were hanging on at that point but worked their way up the slope & back into the game, the reward was a penalty on 12 minutes, duly slotted by Findlay Graham.

The pace of the game slowed slightly but it was still mostly possession for Penicuik and defending by NB, who eventually cracked on 30 minutes with a second try to Penicuik. Just on the stroke of half-time NB worked their way into the right-hand corner from a penalty, moved the ball left and captain Gus Elder crashed over to mark his return from injury. Conversion from Findlay Graham was again on target to make the half-time score 10 – 12.

NB were back in the game but a score was hard to come by with some excellent defending from Penicuik who then broke & from the resulting penalty stretched their lead to 10 – 15. NB came again and strung together a number of passes across the pitch before Connor Johnson grounded to tie the game at 15 – 15 with 18 minutes to go. From the KO NB were caught napping and Penicuik took their opportunity to score under the posts so NB behind 15 – 22.

All to play for and the game opening up as NB tried everything but the Penicuik rush defence snuffed out the NB attack time after time. A final penalty saw Penicuik stretch their lead to 15 – 25 with only three minutes to go but the remainder of the game would see NB in the Penicuik red zone, this pressure eventually gave dividends when John Gardner crashed over to make it 20 – 25. Desperate defending from Penicuik held NB at bay to make this the final score.

Penicuik were clearly delighted with the result which was fully deserved, NB have to be disappointed at missed chances and a lack of concentration at times. Much for the coaches to work on! Man of the match was Gus Elder but the disappointment was clear during the speeches in the clubhouse.

Next week all of East 2 have a break before our long journey to Langholm. I suspect that we won’t have as much support for that match but look forward to welcoming them all back on the 16th of October for the return of Hawick Linden.