So near ... yet so far for the Shire

May 23 2008

Stockport Yarm 37

Perthshire TDF 36

PERTHSHIRE’S Tour De Fourths embarked on the 19th year of their alphabetical tour of Northern England and came within a whisker of recording a historic victory against a Stockton team made up of players from four local clubs.

Shire suffered an early setback because of the blistering hot and sunny conditions when John McLaughlin was felled by sun stroke during the warm up and his replacement Scott Gordon was detained en route to the game– so they had to play with only 14 players.

However, the Eagles shot into an early lead when Andy Elder broke round the scrum to set Euan Donald free and he scored under the posts.

Stockton equalised shortly afterwards and they used their man advantage to take the lead after 15 minutes.

The heat was affecting both teams but coaches Cluckie and Clunie kept them hydrated to reduce the chance of further injuries.

Teenage prop Nathan Cameron was Shire’s hero when he broke round the front of a line out to reclaim the lead and Pattinson’s powerful running in the centre resulted in him increasing this with a fine try.

Stockport were full of running and only fine tackling by veterans Lindsay, Mailer and Preston kept them out but the pressure eventually told and Stockport ran in two tries before half-time.

The lead changed hands several times as Shire’s players never gave up and Simon Hodge sprinted the length of the pitch for the best try of the game to bring Shire within one point of victory.

In the dying minute, Bob Lindsay broke free from the Stockport defence and, with the line closing fast, he could not find any support close at hand and was desperately unlucky to lose control of the ball as he dived over the line while being hit by a thumping Stockport tackle.

This was a classic case of so near but yet so far for the Perth boys but they are now eagerly looking forward to celebrating their 20th tour next year.

Although Perthshire overcame a strong challenge from the high flying Howe of Fife 7 at the Midlands 7s Championship at Madras Rugby Club on Saturday, they found Kirkcaldy too hot to handle in a thrilling semi-final and Kirkcaldy went on to win the tournament, defeating Dunfermline in the final.

Perthshire Rugby Club hold their annual prize-giving and dinner in the Salutation Hotel tomorrow and a few tickets can still be obtained from Andy Elder on 07946214231.

Top speakers are the ever-popular Bruce Fumey and Tom Dymock of Dundee HSFP.

The nominees for the various awards are:

Player of the Year – Ali Anderson, Adam Pattinson,Pete Saunders.

2nd XV Player of the Year – Andy Elder, Ereland Oag, Sandy Forsyth

Most Improved Player – Craig Assenti, Gavin Bloice, Sandy Forsyth

Young Player of the Year - Craig Assenti, Ereland Oag, Tony McGuiness

Team of the Year – 1st XV, 2nd XV, U16s.

TOM BURY and Neale Patrick have been named in the Scotland U20 squad for next month’s IRB Junior World Championship in Wales.

The pair have strong Perthshire RFC connections.

Bury plays for Boroughmuir while Patrick has made a name at Dunfermline.

The Scots will face Samoa (Friday, 6 June, kick off 7pm), South Africa (Tuesday, 10 June, kick off 7pm) and USA (Saturday, June 14, kick-off 3pm) at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground.

Coach Colin Robertson said: “We have done our homework on all three teams and we are aiming to cause an impact. We have added a bit of competition to the squad.”

Despite experiencing a winless run during the 6 Nations, Robertson believes his young team have learned a massive amount which they will be aiming to put to good use over the course of the Junior World Championship.

He added: “We have planned and prepared well following the 6 Nations and we have set clear goals for the World Championship.

“Our preparation game against Ireland tonight (Friday) is ideal leading into our first game against Samoa.

“Even though we lost all our 6 Nations games there is a buzz among the players. World Championships are massive events and with five games played every four days it will be a challenge for us.

THE AGM of Perthshire Rugby Club will be held in the clubhouse on May 29 at 7.30pm.