Reds save the best till last with dominant win at Moray
Moray 14 – 57 Linlithgow
Saturday 05 April 2025
Report by David Mitchell, photos courtesy of Graham Black
Having started their Arnold Clark National League Division 4 campaign with a superb win at Hamilton last September, the Reds went to the next level with a truly dominant performance at Moray with a thumping win by 14-57 in their final game of the season. A large travelling support saw a fired-up Reds team blow away their opponents with a 1st half performance to remember. Unlike last season at the same venue, they did not allow their hosts to get a foothold in the game and in fact rounded off the match with a final 3 try flourish.
After excellent work by 2nd team supremo Des Martin, the coaching staff and referee secretary Ally MacLennan, the Reds also fielded a 2nd XV on the day, and they fought out a hard earned 10-10 draw against Moray 2nds. A great level of commitment was shown by the players who made the 170 mile trip on Saturday morning for what was an unscheduled fixture.
Unfortunately, the VEO filming resource was not available (left on the bus!) so this report hopefully reflects what took place in the 1st XV game. The Reds fielded a strong side with only 2 regular starters not available namely Conor Findlay and Luke O’Hara who were both unavailable through injury. Jack Frame moved from full back to number 10 with Calum Lindsay taking the left wing role and Ross Tulloch moving to full back.
The Reds played down the slope in the 1st half and were soon dominating possession and territory with severe pressure being applied to the home defence. The first try arrived early following the usual secure lineout work of thrower Kyle Ormond and main catcher Oscar Davies. The ball fizzed through various pairs of hands culminating with Fraser Mochrie plunging over the line for the try. Jack Frame added the conversion.
The next try followed swiftly after Ross Tulloch fielded a wayward kick from the home team and he fairly steamed into the opposition defence to set up a great platform to attack. Ross Martin carried the ball aggressively to put the home side on the back foot and the backs created an overlap with Ru Stewart giving a scoring pass to Cammy Murrie. At this stage the Reds were flying, and Moray didn’t have any answers and it was no surprise when the 3rd try arrived. This was the pick of the day for creativity with a planned move by the forwards being rewarded with a try.
The Reds’ pack set up for a quick tap penalty and all shifted to their left as Andrew Graham picked up the ball and drove towards the line. When he was stopped, the home defence were caught napping by the Reds’ forwards folding around to the right side creating an easy try for Euan Mochrie. A great score because of the planning and the execution being well rewarded with a try that was converted by Jack Frame.
By this time the alarm bells were ringing for the home side and in their panic, they conceded a penalty try when one of their players deliberately knocked on what would have been a scoring pass for the Reds. The conversion was automatically added to the score to make the score 0-26. Moray did finally respond with a try but even that was as a direct result of the Reds conceding a penalty in their own 22 metre area.
The scoring machine went into action again with a fine try by Ross Tulloch who was relishing his run out at full back. After good clean possession was won, Jack Frame found Ross with a neat inside pass and he needed no 2nd invitation to power through the defence and score near the posts. Jack Frame again added the extra 2 points.
Next to score was Calum Lindsay who finished off some excellent handling by his teammates with a score in the corner. The pace and accuracy of the Reds’ handling was a joy to watch as they tore the home defence to shreds at will with a 6 try effort in the 1st half.
Despite a commanding 7-38 scoreline, many of the travelling support remember the Moray comeback last year when they overcame a 22 point deficit to snatch a late win. As the 1st half neared its end, the home side did threaten the Reds’ goal line but with some fantastic aggressive effort the visitors kept them out and the half ended with the score at 7-38.
The 2nd half started with some scrappy play with Moray trying to bully the Reds’ forwards, but this was unsuccessful. The Reds held out comfortably and in fact it was no surprise when they notched up the next score. After the introduction of all 4 replacements, namely Aiden Mochrie, Stuart Cunningham, Kieran Cochrane and Ewan Curran, the game began to move back in the Reds’ favour and after some excellent work by forwards at a line-out, the ball was shipped along the back line and Ewan Curran surged between 2 defenders to score the try that reestablished the dominance of the visiting team. Jack Frame added the conversion,
The Reds did concede 1 more try when the home number 6 plucked a long Jack Frame pass out of the air and ran fully 70 metres to score a try that was converted. Thankfully the Reds did conclude proceeding with a further 2 tries. Firstly, after some great tidying up by the impressive Fraser Mochrie in his own 22 metre area, Jack Frame spotted a gap and ran 50 metres before releasing Murray Johnstone to trot in for an easy score as the home defence disintegrated. The final try of the season was scored after many players handled the ball in a move that left Ross Tulloch held up just short of the line and Euan Mochrie somehow emerged to dot the ball over the line.
Final score – Moray 14 – 57 Linlithgow Reds
Overall, a stunning performance by the Reds with arguably their best league performance of the season. There was plenty of ambition on show along with some first class aggressive defence, some excellent creativity, real speed of play and some magnificent finishing.
This performance was obviously planned meticulously by the coaching staff and players particularly during a busy training/coaching week and the rewards were there for all to see. The home side fought hard, but they had no answer to this highly competent group of players from Linlithgow.
So, with a record of 8 wins 7 losses and 1 draw, the Reds can be proud of their 1st campaign in the National Divisions for many years. It is difficult to highlight individuals but suffice to say that there are many contenders for the upcoming Player Awards across all the categories. The team that won last year’s East Division 1 title supplied the foundations for the current season and the team has developed individually and collectively and next season should bring even more progress if the squad can remain largely the same with maybe a few additions in key positions.
Finally, the bus journey home on Saturday had all the makings of a messy one and I believe that was the case. The 1st XV and 2nd XV “Beach Boys” embraced the fancy dress theme enthusiastically and there would have been a few sore heads on Sunday.