Linlithgow 34 -15 Leith
Saturday 02 September 2023
Report by David Mitchell

Linlithgow made a solid start to their East Region League Division 1 season with a comfortable win over Leith and could have won by more but for some uncharacteristic handling errors in the 1st half.

A late injury to Scott Aitchison required a change to the starting line-up and Oscar Davies moved up from the bench to start in the 2 nd row alongside the returning Fraser Mochrie. This meant a late call up to the bench for Kieran Cochrane. The game also saw starting league debuts for Archie Rusack and Oscar Davies, who had both made appearance in season 2022/23 from the bench against Haddington. Murray Johnstone made his league debut as well but from the bench.

The Reds kicked off playing away from the clubhouse and were totally dominant in terms of territory and possession for the first 20 minutes with the opposition barely leaving their own half and having to defend against the waves of Reds’ attacks. However some sloppy passing and handling meant that a few promising moves broke down when scores looked very likely if more composure had been evident and the execution more clinical.

The visitors were reduced to 14 men during the 1st half after the referee had given many warnings about high tackles. This created more space for the home side and it was no surprise when Conor Findlay went over for the 1st try after he spotted a gap in the Leith defence and showed great pace and angles of running to beat 3 or 4 defenders and score wide out. The conversion was missed but at least the team had some reward for all of their pressure. The scrums at this point were fairly even and in the line-out, Kyle Ormond was finding his main jumper Mark Caddle with regularity, but Leith did try to disrupt this with some success and the forwards need more jumping options to reduce the load on Mark and give some variety to the throwing in.

After being awarded a penalty about 10 metres out, the Reds opted for a scrum and the solid platform created by the pack allowed Mark Caddle to pick up and drive aggressively towards the line. This put the Leith defence on the back foot and created space wide out for the Reds’ back line and thankfully they moved the ball nicely and captain Jack Frame sent full back Ross Tulloch clear to score the 2nd try which again went unconverted.

Unfortunately centre Aidan Rennison had to leave the field with what appeared to be a bad knee injury and everyone hopes he will make a speedy return to the team. Murray Johnstone replaced Aidan and entered the field of play to make his league debut.

The final score of the 1st half came after great tidying up by Conor Findlay who turned to collect a loose pass and immediately saw an opportunity to move the ball wide. Jack Frame found winger Ross Plenderleith and he made ground before passing to the overlapping Ross Tulloch and he brushed aside the first tackler before selling a couple of trademark dummies and strolling over after a 40 metre run. The conversion was just wide and the score at half time remained 15-0 with the opposition having had very few chances to threaten the home goal line.

To their credit, Leith started the 2nd half well and starved the Reds of possession and began to work their way upfield. Their reward was a penalty and an unconverted try to bring the score back to 15-8 with 30 minutes remaining. The crowd sensed a change in momentum and were hoping that the Reds would respond positively and thankfully they did by moving play to the Leith goal line where the visitors conceded a scrum penalty and Mark Caddle took a quick penalty and drove himself over the line for a try which Jack Frame converted. This gave the Reds some breathing space and they soon followed up with an excellent team try after winning a key strike against the head at a Leith scrum put in. This quick ball allowed the backs to shift the ball left and again Ross Plenderleith found the overlapping Ross Tulloch on his left shoulder and the full back burst down the wing and chipped the ball over the full back and got a kind bounce to gather the ball and go over for the try under the posts to complete his hat trick of tries on the day.  Frame duly slotted the conversion.    

With the score at 29-8, Leith still tried hard to respond and despite some heroic goal line defence by the Reds, the visitors scored final converted try when one of their hefty forwards went over. However the Reds kept the best for last with a well constructed try with a clean take at the line-out and a slick passing move involving a well disguised loop move bringing in right wing Cammy Murrie who sent Ross Plenderleith charging at the
Leith defence and he exchanged passes with Ross Tulloch before barging his way over for a well deserved try.

Final score – Reds 34 Leith 15  

In the end a comfortable bonus point win and a 19 point margin that could have been much more if the execution had been better particularly in the first 20 minutes but a nice problem to have if still winning games comfortably.

The half back pairing is working well with both Archie and Conor settling in to their roles and appearing to be comfortable in the senior game. They both have the ability to spot gaps and are not afraid to take on responsibility for initiating attacks from all over the field.

It was encouraging to see some excellent combination work involving Ross Plenderleith and Ross Tulloch and great to see the 4 tries they conjured up between them. In the forwards, the solid platform created by the scrummage was again evident and this despite some enforced changes to the normal line up and the bench players Adam Scott, Stuart Cunningham and Kieran Cochrane all played their part in helping the team to withstand the Leith comeback and energise the final home push for victory.

In defence, the avoidance of any yellow cards was testament to the improved tackling as the players get used to the new tackle regulations.
Also it was encouraging to see so many players turning in performances that were worthy of man-of-the-match in particular Conor Findlay, Mark Caddle and Ross Tulloch who gets the vote for his hat trick of tries.

Next week, the Reds are at Portobello with another 3pm kick off. Hopefully the supporters will travel in numbers to see them go for another victory.

Linlithgow Reds

Calum McKeown, Kyle Ormond, Colin Devlin; Fraser Mochrie, Oscar Davies; Euan Mochrie, Jamie Tulloch and Mark Caddle; Archie Rusack, Conor Findlay; Ross Plenderleith, Aidan Rennison, Jack Frame (c), Cammy Murrie and Ross Tulloch.
 
Replacements: Adam Scott, Stuart Cunningham, Kieran Cochrane and Murray Johnstone