Ross-Sutherland RFC 12, Garioch RFC 15
ROSS Sutherland suffered their first home defeat of the season at the hands of an experienced Garioch side who taught the young Ross team a rugby lesson.
The Stags had been slow starters in the league's previous encounters, but started this match off fantastically, moving the ball around the park well through the backs, securing possession with aggressive composure at the breakdown. This forced Garioch onto the back foot, and put the away side under severe pressure from the start.
Ross were maintaining control of the match in the early exchanges, with forwards Ken Mackenzie and Stuart MacPherson hitting up the middle of the Garioch defence. Good field position resulted in a try from flying winger Mike Gordon, who initially handed off the defender and danced through another tackle, showing great feet, to go in for the try.
Mann failed with the conversion, but Ross looked good for their 5-0 lead.
Garioch then began to up the intensity with forwards and backs alike starting to mix it with Stags. They began to seize control from Ross and reduced the home side to playing in their own half. Garioch were rewarded with a penalty, that was missed from their veteran stand-off. As the score remained 5-0 to Ross.
The visitors continued to pile the pressure and took advantage of a loose pass to go in for their first try of the afternoon. The conversion was missed and the match was tied at 5-5 as the half drew to a close.
Garioch began the second half brightly, continuing to rattle the young Ross side. This resulted in a penalty, which was duly slotted to put the visitors into a 5-8 lead. But Ross came back into the game, pinning Garioch back into their half.
The Stags line out had been solid, with Ruaridh Waugh a stand out performer. Waugh stole possession from a Garioch line which landed at the feet of Mann: he gathered and showed great poise to run in down the blind side for his first try of the season - a true sniper's try. Mann converted his try to swing the match back into Ross's favour at 12-8.
Garioch were not to be outdone as they retaliated with a succession of phases through the forwards. Ross were struggling to put the match to bed as Garioch's experienced side started to turn the screw. This resulted in them going through for their second try of the match with ten minutes left on the clock. The subsequent conversion was slotted home by the Garioch stand off to put the away side into a tight 12-15 lead.
Ross then tried to force their way back into the lead over the next ten minutes but failed to cross the line. Tempers flared in the closing minutes of the match as the Stags desperately tried to keep their 100 per cent home record. But the referee blew for full time, with Garioch claiming a well deserved victory.
Speaking at the end of the match Ross Sutherland captain David Kennedy said, "I am really disappointed to lose the match today, especially in the fashion we did. We started really well and were playing some decent rugby, but we never built on our momentum and allowed them to creep back into the match. Full credit to Garioch, they've come up and caught us on the hop. We are not playing the type of rugby we are capable of, which is frustrating, but I know the lads have it them to move up a level, it's just about getting it right on the pitch."
