Eagles claw their way up the table

Nov 7 2008 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Livingston 13

Perthshire 33

SHIRE have claimed 12 points from their last three matches and are now clawing their way back up the league where they belong.

However, last week's win against Livingston took a long time to reach fruition but when the Eagles started to run the ball they were awesome and finished with a four-try bonus.

Rob Mitchell eased the Eagles into a nine-point lead with three superb penalties but some very poor defending allowed Livingston right back into the game with two tries.

Perthshire had to make several changes to their line up once again due to injuries and other absences. Sandy Forsyth was drafted into the second row in place of the absent Adam Pattinson and Ben Ockenden and James Knight replaced Stevie Knox and Callum Mackinnon in the back row .

But perhaps the biggest shock was the inclusion of coach Derek Busby amongst the replacements.

Shire have a lot of experience playing at Livingston and always struggle to play good rugby there and Livingston deserved their half-time lead as they were the dominant team.

Shire's eight were much lighter than Livingston's forwards and struggled at the breakdown.

Derek Busby and Ally Dall joined the fray at half-time and despite going further behind to a Livingston penalty, the Eagles gradually took a grip of the game.

Busby showed why he has been picked to play against major international touring teams in the past and why he was part of the 1990 Scotland Grand Slam winning squad.

He may be past the prime of his career but even spectators in the stand shuddered when he put in crunching tackles.

Leading by example, he brought control to the game and once the Shire forwards got on top of Livingston, the backs were able to shine.

Andy Elder looked the most alert player on the park and he was forever probing for gaps in the defence and it was no surprise when he sped up the wing to collect Shire's first try of the game.

As they gained more possession, Shire piled on the pressure and their pace and power at the back caused Livingston problems.

James Fleming continually tried his strictly come dancing routines and he bobbed and weaved his way through gaps which only he could see to score a mesmerising try which he converted himself.

The debate is still raging as to whether Shire's next try was a simple fluke or sheer artistry from Matt Smith.

He tried to catch a superb long cross kick out on his wing but it bounced off his body and he managed to kick it up in the air and somehow ran on to catch it before it hit the ground and outpaced the Livingston defence to score the try which sealed victory.

Shire really opened up after that and the ball was being moved at pace all over the park and it was Smith again who sealed the bonus point when he outpaced his opposite number to score out wide.

This is Shire's first victory in many years at Livingston and edges them to safety but they now face a testing run of games which will need all of their commitment.

Hillhead/Jordanhill bring their 1sts and 2nds to Perth tomorrow for a 1pm kick-off.

They came down from Prem 2 last season and are second in the league now and Shire will need to ensure that they make them finish second best tomorrow.

This game will mark the half-way point of the league campaign and the Eagles need to finish with a win. Please come down to support the teams and give them the encouragement they deserve.