Linlithgow 40 – 0 Moray

Saturday 20 September 2025

Report by David Mitchell

Moray provided the opposition in this Arnold Clark National League Division 4 match. The Reds were hoping to build on good recent wins at Dunfermline and Ellon against a team that had lost its opening 3 games. Weather conditions were tricky on the day with steady rain pre-match and continuing during the 1st half. Euan Mochrie was making his 150th appearance for the Reds, a great achievement for this past captain and consistent high performer for the team. Jamie Tulloch made a welcome return from injury and there were starting positions for Aiden Mochrie and Colin Devlin in the front row.  

The home side made a fast start with a try in the first 10 minutes. From a midfield scrum Jack Frame switched play to the left and found Ross Tulloch with a long pass, and Ross fed strong running winger Ewan Curran who scored a try in the corner. Jack Frame’s kick from the touchline hit the bar and stayed out.

The rain got heavier for the next 20 minutes but the Reds continued to attack relentlessly despite a few handling errors caused largely by the slippery ball. It was no surprise when they scored again with almost a copy of the 1st try. Jack Frame passed left to full back Ross Tulloch who moved it to flanker Euan Mochrie, and he made ground to supply a pass to Ewan Curran, who powered past his opposite number and neatly switched the ball back inside to the full back who in turn deftly offloaded to the supporting flanker who galloped over the line for the try. Jack Frame added the extra points.

At this stage, the scrums were going well for the home side and good ball was being collected at the lineouts with Oscar Davies making some great catches in very trying conditions. The Reds continued to dominate territory restricting Moray to very few incursions into the home 22 metre area. The Reds were putting a lot of pressure on the Moray midfield, and it was no surprise when this led to a 3rd try. The visitors tried to run out from inside their own 22 metre area, but they dropped the ball and centre Ruaridh Stewart hacked it towards the goal line, neatly gathered it and dived over the line for a try and Jack Frame again added the extra points (19-0).

The home side were sensing that a big score was in the offing, and they continued to attack with individual runs by Frame, Stewart and Alfie Muir keeping Moray pinned back in their own half. The Reds’ pack were competing very well with all eight showing a willingness to carry hard at the visitors and some of the set-up play was very good in such testing conditions. The 4th try was scored with the best move of the game. Kyle Ormond’s accurate throw at the lineout found the safe hands of Oscar Davies and he transferred the ball to Lewis McGill who in turn fed Kyle as he peeled round and set up a ruck. From the ruck Archie Rusack passed to Alfie Muir who shipped the ball to Jack Frame, who had looped round behind the centre, and Jack carved through the defence and found Ewan Curran who combined with Ross Tulloch to send Luke O’Hara clear, and he cruised over for an excellent try. Jack Frame added a fine conversion from near the touchline to complete the scoring in the 1st half.

Half time – 26-0

Another excellent 1st half performance in difficult conditions. A solid forward pack effort and some sparkling handling to cross the line 4 times in the 1st 30 minutes of the match. The weather conditions improved in the 2nd half and the crowd were expecting a similar spectacle, but unfortunately both sides struggled to control the ball in the early stages with Moray putting in a great effort to pin the Reds deep inside their own half. Eioan Magee made a brief appearance from the bench only to be yellow carded by the referee for a blatant offside just short of the Reds goal line.

Both teams continued to fail to handle the ball cleanly and play was very disjointed until the last quarter of the game. By this time the Reds had deployed all their replacements with Aiden Mochrie, Kieran Cochrane, Eioan Magee and Freddie Adcock taking the field. The Reds eventually fought their way into Moray territory and provided the 1st score of the half when captain Fraser Mochrie went over for a try after a midfield break by Jack Frame who also added the conversion.

The final score came after relentless pressure inside the Moray 22 metre area was rewarded with a try. The forwards made several good drives with Kyle Ormond and Aiden Mochrie both coming close to scoring but finally the ball was moved left where Alfie Muir delivered a neat scoring pass to Ruaridh Stewart who barged over for the try. Jack Frame added the conversion to make the final score 40-0.

Full time: Linlithgow Reds 40 – 0 Moray

Reds Team

Front row: Calum McKeown, Kyle Ormond, Colin Devlin
Second row: Lewis McGill, Fraser Mochrie (captain)
Back row: Euan Mochrie, Jamie Tulloch, Oscar Davies

Half-backs: Archie Rusack, Jack Frame
Centres: Alfie Muir, Ru Stewart
Back three: Ewan Curran, Luke O’Hara, Ross Tulloch

Subs (all played): 
Aiden Mochrie, Kieran Cochrane, Eioan Magee, Freddie Adcock

Comment

The 40-0 scoreline was an excellent result in the conditions but the players were clearly disappointed with the slackness of some passing moves that denied them even more scores. Credit to Moray for sticking to their task especially in the 2nd half. This win moved the Reds to a very creditable 2nd place in the Division with only Cartha QP ahead of them.

The strong defence shown so far this season was again present and the goal line heroics managed to deny the visitors any points on the day. There were many solid performances in the Reds pack with a growing togetherness coming from very capable individual performers gelling well as the season progresses. The back division continues to play attacking and creative rugby utilising the individual strengths along the line and creating a multitude of scoring opportunities, many of which they are finishing in a clinical manner.

Next week is a free week with no fixtures being played across all Divisions. The next game on Saturday 4th October will be a tough encounter away against Kilmarnock who currently sit 3rd in Division 4.