Wigtownshire 17 - Carrick 8
'SHIRE won the local derby against Carrick Rugby Club from Maybole by 17 points to 8 on Saturday at Stranraer's London Road.
Scottish Hydro Electric Regional League West Division 1
Wigtownshire RFC 1stXV 17 Carrick RFC 8
But it was not a vintage performance and although 'Shire never looked like losing, despite trailing 3-0 at the interval, they struggled at times to suppress a lively Carrick side which refused to admit defeat. The game was played in good conditions although a cold wind blew across the pitch forcing the backs to blow on their fingers at times! The cold fingers were no doubt responsible for some indifferent handling and passing which ruined many a promising move. 'Shire to their credit tried to play open fast rugby but poor handling and some inexplicable decisions by the referee conspired to thwart their scoring efforts. In fact both teams seemed to have problems with the referee and 'Shire skipper Robert Thomson was visibly puzzled and upset with some of the referee's decisions, but commendably kept the 'Shire players focused on the game in hand. The 'Shire forwards were well on top of their opponents and were controlling the tight and ruck and maul. The backs were full of running but the final pass seemed to go astray when a try was on. Number 8 Neil Irving was prominent with some strong running from the base of the scrum but nothing came of these moves. After 38 minutes of the half during a Carrick attack their outside half dropped a goal to give the visitors a 3-0 lead and that was the score at the interval. It had been a frustrating 40 minutes for 'Shire who did not deserve to be behind but too many mistakes were thwarting their efforts to get on the scoresheet.
The second half began with 'Shire in control and on the offensive. After 10 minutes they got their reward when centre Andrew Farquhar scored a lovely try under the posts after some slick handling and passing by the backs. William Parker made no mistake with the conversion and 'Shire now led 7-3. The 'Shire tails were now up and it was no surprise when 5 minutes later, after some strong running by Neil Irving and Andrew Farquhar, the forwards forced the ball over the line after taking a tap penalty just short of the Carrick line. Veteran prop Richard McCrindle was the player credited with the try. Richard is no stranger to scoring tries but normally likes to sprint the final yards to the line! William Parker kicked an excellent conversion to make the score 14-3 to 'Shire. 'Shire had brought on Adam MacCaig in the centre for Neil Warwick with Ross Williams dropping back to full back. Montgomerie replaced Richard McCrindle at loose head prop and David Lawson came on for Jason Paterson. At this stage with some 15 minutes of the second half gone, the 'Shire faithful expected 'Shire to close out the game but this did not happen and Carrick, who had looked a beaten and tiring team, found their second wind and began to put 'Shire under pressure. 'Shire though had several promising moves break down, one in particular when a 40 yard move ended with a 'Shire player pushed into touch yards shore of the line. With 5 minutes left William Parker kicked an excellent penalty to put the game out of Carrick's reach. It was now 17-3 to 'Shire. In the dying minutes Carrick mounted a series of attacks and their no 10 finally scored on the right after stretching a tiring 'Shire defence. The kick failed and the whistle blew for the end of the game, with 'Shire deserved winners by 17 points to 8. This was not a classic game but it was a win and 'Shire have not lost at London Road this season. The record shows only 2 away defeats to Strathendrick and Cumbernauld, the 2 top teams. 'Shire currently lie 3rd in the league. Coach Campbell McGregor was philosophical about the game afterwards. He has some work to do in training, especially preventing the stream of penalties at the breakdown, which caused such problems for 'Shire during the game.
Team: N Warwick, T Wilson, R Williams, A Farquhar, C Stevens, W Parker, J Paterson: R McCrindle, G Keith, A Love, A Graham, R Thomson (Capt), R Pauley, E Stevenson and N Irving. Subs: A MacCaig, D Lawson and J Montgomerie
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Weather for Newton Stewart
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 0 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
