Reds go down fighting against strong Strathmore team
Linlithgow 12 – 36 Strathmore
Saturday 07 December 2024
Report by David Mitchell; photos by Graham Black
Unbeaten Strathmore were the visitors to Mains Park last Saturday for the last Arnold Clark National League Division 4 fixture of 2024. The Reds lost heavily in the previous encounter at Forfar in September and were looking to be more competitive in the return match. After some heavy rain, the pitch was soft underfoot but both sides put on a good display in a hard-fought contest.
The Reds were without Ross Martin resulting in young Oscar Davies filling the number 8 position. Fraser Mochrie added some steel to the forwards and in the back division Ruaridh Stewart made a welcome return to the team albeit at the expense of the injured Ewan Curran. Cammy Murrie celebrated his 100th outing for the Reds with a fine display when he took to the field in the 2nd half.
Strathmore made some early drives into midfield but the home side defended strongly and won a penalty after a great turnover led by Ruaridh Stewart. Jack Frame kicked to the 22 metre line and Kyle Ormond found Oscar Davies with the line-out throw and Archie Rusack set the backs going with a fine pass. Conor Findlay executed a perfectly weighted kick ahead that the visitors’ winger was unable to gather cleanly and Ruaridh Stewart collected the ball and slipped a pass to Jack Frame who crossed for the opening try near the corner flag.
As expected, the visitors responded almost immediately with a try in the corner after sustained pressure by their forward pack and some desperate defending by the Reds. The home side were determined to attack whenever they had possession and strong carries by Kieran Cochrane, Oscar Davies and in particular Euan Mochrie ensure that Strathmore knew that they were in a real tussle. It was no surprise when the Reds regained the lead after a cute tap penalty routine resulted in Euan Mochrie stretching out to touch down for a try that Jack Frame converted to give the team a 12-5 lead after 20 minutes.
This was the high point of the match for the home side as Strathmore upped their intensity and started to show why they are unbeaten this season. Despite the Reds holding their own comfortably at the scrum, the quality of the visitors’ line-out was beginning to provide them with a very solid platform from which they were able to launch their hard running and skilful back line. Their strong centre partnership was difficult to shackle, and they created space for their teammates to exploit.
Strathmore dominated territory and possession for the remainder of the 1st half, and it was no surprise that they scored 2 more tries before half time was called with the score at 12-17. However, the Reds should be proud of their overall defensive effort against quality opposition with great examples of tackling being shown by Jamie Tulloch, Oscar Davies and Ruaridh Stewart who all put in countless tackles and disrupted the visitors on a regular basis.
For the 2nd half, Cammy Murrie replaced Archie Rusack at scrum half to make his 100th appearance for the 1st XV and he again showed his versatility with a trademark busy performance around the field.
The early part of the 2nd half was dominated by Strathmore in terms of field position and possession, but the Reds fought gamely and denied scoring opportunities for a good portion of the half. The visitors had many attacking weapons in their armoury including a strong driving front 5, an aggressive back row and very competent outside backs. It was no surprise that they eventually ran in a further 3 tries as the Reds began to slide off tackles and some players visibly ran out of steam. Despite deploying the full bench of Murrie, Jonny Pegg, Eioan Magee and Aidan Wan, the home defence were stretched throughout the 2nd half, but they stuck gamely to their task and were rewarded with a period of possession and good territorial position in the last 10 minutes. Fraser Mochrie had one memorable rip of a ball and Ross Tulloch made ground with a couple of determined charges at the opposition. However, Strathmore, despite having a 24 point lead, denied the Reds a consolation score. This just demonstrated their strength of character and determination to deny points which is part of why they remain deservedly unbeaten in Division 4.
Final score Reds 12 – 36 Strathmore
This was a tough shift for the 2nd week in a row, but an improved performance on last week. After creditable performances in defeat against the top 2 teams in the Division, the focus now turns to the remaining 7 fixtures in the new year. Although sitting 7th in the Division, the remaining fixtures present several opportunities to move up rankings, but only if we regain the winning way, ideally starting with the trip to Elgin on 11th January to face Moray.
Despite having no 1st XV fixtures for 4 weeks, there is plenty to work on at training in order to be fully tuned up for the rest of the season and to consolidate our Division 4 status. Strathmore presented the biggest challenges so far this season, but we improved on our performance from September by conceding only 36 points against a team that is averaging 46 points per game.
The forward pack stuck to their task well, particularly in the scrums and loose play, with young Aiden Mochrie standing up solidly against his experienced tight head opponent who was the Strathmore player of the match. All of the forwards put in huge efforts but eventually the power of the visitors prevailed.
The back division defended well against their opponents until the latter stages where a few lazy arm tackles allowed the visitors to score a couple of soft tries. However, the early play was encouraging with some straight running by Murray Johnstone and Ruaridh Stewart and the back 3 tried hard to break the defensive line without much success. The talent is there and will get the opportunities to create and score more tries in the games to come against weaker opposition.