Linlithgow  52 – 24  Forrester

Saturday 21 October 2023

Report by David Mitchell

Old foes Forrester were the visitors to Mains Park last Saturday and they provided the usual stern test to the Reds in the latest East League Division 1 fixture which completed the first half of the campaign. After the recent deluge of rain, conditions were surprisingly good and the sizeable crowd were treated to an open game. Centre Ewan Curran returned after a break and this allowed Mark Caddle to return to Number 8.

Forrester started better than the home team and dominated the first 5 minutes with a simple pick and drive approach which eventually resulted in an unconverted try. However the Reds responded almost immediately with a try from Ewan Curran after a good passing move and a final well timed inside pass from Ross Plenderleith. Jack Frame added the extra points. This was quickly followed by a second try when after several strong carries, Jack Frame found winger Ross Plenderleith with a cross kick and the ball then found its way to the supporting Ewan Curran who crossed for his 2^nd try of the afternoon. 12-5

The home side were in the mood for more scores and some strong running from brothers Ross and Jamie Tulloch and equally good carrying from the front 5 led to a try from Jack Frame who neatly side stepped a couple of defenders to score near the posts. The visitors regrouped at this point and earned another try out wide on the right largely through the efforts of their ball carriers running hard at the home defence.

The Reds responded quickly to this setback and after a good line-out near the Forrester line and several attempts to barge over, the ball was moved to the backs and Jack Frame fizzed a long pass to Ewan Curran who galloped over for his hat trick try and the bonus point try and Jack Frame added the extra points to make it 26-10 with half time approaching.

In the final few minutes of the half, Forrester battered the home goal line but were unable to cross it against some great goal line defence and the Reds kicked clear only to lose the next line-out and concede a try which was converted to make the half time score closer than it should have been at 26-17.  

The second half was only minutes old when the Reds extended their lead after a good team try with Murray Johnstone completing the movement with a pass to Ross Plenderleith who broke free from his tackler and went behind the posts to score the try which was converted. Forrester’s restart kick was taken securely and the Reds set off up the pitch again and after a lovely exchange of passes Ewan Curran threw a long pass infield that was well taken by Ross Tulloch and he offloaded to Murray Johnstone who was tackled just short of the line but Mark Caddle was on hand to take the final pass and score near the posts.

The home coaches rang the changes in the 2^nd half with all 4 replacements, Stuart Cunningham, Ross Martin, Oscar Davies and Cammy Murrie getting game time and giving well deserved rests to Kyle Ormond, Alex Kenny, Euan Mochrie and Archie Rusack. From an overthrown lineout, Cammy Murrie made an immediate impact by gathering the ball and firing a pass along the back line to give Luke O’Hara the chance to beat his opposite winger and feed inside to Man-of-the-Match Ewan Curran who still had 50 metres to run and he just made it over the line as he was tackled to earn his 4^th try of the day. The conversion was missed but the home side now had a healthy 45 -17 lead with 20 minutes to play.

The referee sent Jack Frame for a 10 minute rest following a high tackle and during this period, Forrester did score a bonus point try and added the conversion. Ross Plenderleith then performed the best piece of defence of the day when he chased the left winger to the line and managed to disrupt the attempt to touchdown for a try and Ross rightly received what was the biggest cheer of the day for a magnificent effort. The Reds scored a final try of the day when after great work by the forwards in the visitors’ 22, Ross Tulloch was held just short of the line and should have passed to the screaming Cammy Murrie but instead flipped the ball to Ross Martin who touched down. Murray Johnstone added the conversion in what was the final scoring action. Final score – Reds 52 Forrester 24

Another fine win as the Reds maintained their 100% record in Division 1 this season. Ewan Curran was a well deserved Man-of-the-Match, but there were also major contributions by so many others e.g. props Calum McKeown and Andrew Graham both carried the ball strongly and off loaded accurately as well as doing their regular shift at the set pieces. The back row again worked tirelessly to stop the visitors’ attacks but also carried well in attack. Despite a couple of midfield misunderstandings, the backs always looked dangerous and would be even more so if running a bit straighter and deploying the occasional change of direction in order to create even more space wide out. The back 3 all carried strongly and regularly made ground with defenders finding them difficult to bring to a halt. The Reds have scored 269 points in their opening 7 games (average of 38 per game) but have conceded 171 points (average of 24 per game). So the aim must be to maintain the high scoring form but to limit the points conceded and give the Club a great chance to continue the winning habit for the rest of the season. Credit should also go to the coaching staff for their attacking approach and encouraging positive rugby across the team.

Next week the Reds are at Leith for the 1^st of the reverse fixtures and will be looking to repeat the September victory when they ran out winners by 34-15.

Team list:

Calum McKeown, Kyle Ormond, Andrew Graham; Alex Kenny, Kiran Cochrane; Euan Mochrie, Jamie Tulloch and Mark Caddle; Archie Rusack, Jack Frame (c); Luke O’Hara, Ewan Curran, Murray Johnstone, Ross Plenderleith and Ross Tulloch.                      

Replacements: Stuart Cunningham, Ross Martin, Oscar Davies and Cammie Murrie.