Shire played the 7s magnificently

May 1 2009 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

PERTHSHIRE were almost in sevens heaven last Saturday after knocking Kelso out of the Langholm 7s and then giving a big scare to professional outfit Newcastle Falcons in the quarter-finals.

The Borders 7s circuit is the oldest in the world and the overall winners of the King of the Sevens receives prize money of £5,000.

In their first tie, the Eagles raced into the lead through a magnificent break by Pete Saunders who picked the perfect channel to beat his man and run under the posts.

Hooker Tommy Simpson followed this up with great support work and managed to evade several tackles to score.

Kelso fought back with a try and started to turn on the pressure but just when it looked as though they might grab another try, Craig Assenti used every ounce of his speed to race back from behind and haul down his opposite number to prevent a certain score.

Assenti then followed this up with a 60-metre break, outstripping the Kelso defence to claim his first try.

Ross Browne, playing at prop, was next on the score sheet as Shire asserted their superiority and Erland Oag grabbed try number five with some deft footwork.

Wayne Matson converted all the tries to give Shire a 35-5 victory.

The reward for beating Kelso was a tie against reigning champions Newcastle Falcons who have won this tournament for the last four years and were going for a record-breaking fifth.

Any complacency they had was halted as Matson and Saunders combined to send Assenti off and the Shire youngster was too fast even for the Newcastle outfit.

But they hit back with a try – again. Shire regained the lead through Wayne Matson who juggled the ball before speeding over the line.

A break-away allowed Newcastle’s winger to equalise, but with McGuiness, Simpson, Browne and Barrie fighting for every ball, Shire didn’t give away any possession.

Oag and Mitchell joined the back division and Shire were unlucky not to score as the huge crowd took them to their hearts against the tournament favourites.

Newcastle managed to squeeze into the lead with a lightning paced break but Shire fought back strongly and were denied a score by a tackle on Saunders.

They beat current King of the Sevens leaders Watsonians in the semi-finals but lost out to a strong Hawick team in the final, giving Saunders a losing finalists’ medal.

Tomorrow the squad will take part in the Howe of Fife 7s and Shire play their first tie at 1.36pm.

Perthshire’s vintage touring team will take part in the 20th Tour De Fourths on May 29 and having reached the letter T, the team will travel to Thirsk in Yorkshire.