Rampant Reds go top of the class after resounding victory
Linlithgow 92 – 7 Stewartry
Saturday 11 October 2025
Report by David Mitchell, photos by Graham Black
Stewartry were the visitors to a sunny Mains Park on Saturday in Arnold Clark National League Division 4. Having had a few close battles in recent years, the Reds were expecting another tough encounter with Stewartry with them arriving on the back of a good victory last week. There was a large home crowd looking forward to seeing the Reds maintain their excellent start to the season in perfect playing conditions.
The home side kicked off towards the clubhouse and took the lead in the very first minute. Jack Frame’s opening kick-off eluded the Stewartry defence, and they were forced into conceding a line-out on the 5 metre line. The usual effective link between thrower Kyle Ormond and receiver Oscar Davies functioned well and the ball was passed along the back line where full back Ross Tulloch powered over the line to touch down.
The next 10 minutes were evenly contested with the Reds conceding a few cheap penalties and allowing the visitors some easy territory gains. Lewis McGill was an early casualty and was replaced by Eioan Magee who quickly showed his liking for the dry ground with some telling drives. The Reds were looking dangerous out wide in the backs and it was no surprise when Luke O’Hara crossed for a try after receiving the scoring pass from flanker Jamie Tulloch.
The outstanding performance was built on a powerful display up front
The home side scored again straight from the Stewartry restart. Jack Frame threw a long pass to Ruaridh Stewart who burst past his opposite number and continued down the line before passing infield to Ross Tulloch who in turn found Ewan Curran sprinting alongside him and the latter went in under the posts for a very well worked try. The flood gates were beginning to open, and it was no surprise when the 4th try was scored. Flanker Euan Mochrie found himself loitering in the middle of the Reds’ back division and after receiving a pass, he ran over the top of the away team player and rampaged over the line for a well-deserved reward.
There was no stopping Euan Mochrie once he had set his sights!
Number 8 forward Oscar Davies made a searing break in midfield and offloaded neatly to the supporting Euan Mochrie who made ground into the Stewartry 22 metre area before being collared. However, the ball was recycled quickly, and Jack Frame made the scoring pass to Alfie Muir who trotted round towards the posts for the try. Eventually the visitors got on to the scoreboard with some help from the Reds who overplayed in their own half, conceded a penalty and then allowed a score under the posts.
The home response was immediate when Jack Frame dummied his way past 2 defenders before releasing Ruaridh Stewart to cruise in unopposed for a try. This was quickly followed by a near miss by the Reds. From a scrum inside his own half Archie Rusack found Jack Frame with a pass and the number 10 who had spotted an opportunity to attack down the narrow side. He called Ross Tulloch to attack the space and the full back thundered down the touchline exchanging passes with Luke O’Hara who was caught just short of the line after some excellent defensive chasing by the visiting winger.
Eioan Magee scored the next try, following some fine interplay between forwards and backs, being in the right place to dive over.
Euan Mochrie shows his delight as Eioan Magee powers over for a try
The 8th and final try of the half was a thing of beauty. After powerful ball carrying by Eioan Magee and Jamie Tulloch the ball was recycled to the back line where Jack Frame, Oscar Davies, Euan Mochrie (twice), captain Fraser Mochrie and Ross Tulloch combined to release Luke O’Hara who was tackled but still managed to pop a pass to the skipper who scored one of the many very good tries of the day.
Jack Frame, having missed his 1st conversion attempt. Proceeded to slot the next 7 to make the half time score to 54-7.
A breathtaking half of rugby by the home side and with the prospect of a high final score. The Reds introduced Aiden Mochrie, Kieran Cochrane and Murray Johnstone from the replacement’s bench and they all contributed strongly during the second half. In fact, Kieran made an instant impact following a great steal by Fraser Mochrie at the front of a Stewartry line-out. The rest of the pack set up clean ball for Archie Rusack who found Kieran in the backs, and he cut a nice line through the midfield defence and scored beside the posts and Jack Frame added the extra points.
The bench all made an impact, none more so that Kieran Cochrane
The next Reds’ try was extremely simple. Instead of a kick for touch, Jack Frame took a quick tap penalty and passed to Murray Johnstone, and he sent Ruaridh Stewart careering up the left wing to go in unopposed for the try with the home defence posted missing.
Ruaridh Stewart had a fine day, scoring two tries
The tries continued to flow and after a series of moves involving most of the team, Archie Rusack scored in the corner. Archie gets through a power of work every game and his contribution often goes unnoticed especially in the tackling effort he puts in and the defensive cover he provides.
Despite Stewartry never giving up, it was now becoming all too easy for the Reds to score. A planned line-out saw Euan Mochrie move to the front where Kyle Ormond picked him out with a hard flat throw. Euan then laid the ball back and the impressive Number 8 that is Oscar Davies quickly gathered the ball 30 metres from the line and took off at pace to score a try unopposed. Murray Johnstone added the extra points.
The penultimate try was another nice effort with unselfish play by Euan Mochrie giving an inside pass to Ross Tulloch who had a clear run in. Murray Johnstone added the conversion. The final try was another long-range effort after the home pack had gained a turnover in front of their own posts. The ball was shipped to Ruaridh Stewart who reached the home 10 metre line before releasing Ewan Curran who set sail for the try line, and he threw a nice dummy which helped him to plunge over near the corner flag to complete the scoring.
The final few minutes saw the visitors determined to score and the home defence equally committed to denying them a score. There was no further scoring action and the game finished Reds 92 – 7 Stewartry. Gordon Dixon had one of his busier afternoons on scoreboard duty and he would have appreciated the end to the back bending. He would also undoubtedly have been contemplating the challenge if the Reds had achieved 100 points.
Captain Fantastic Fraser Mochrie was named MoTM by the match day sponsors
Full time: Linlithgow Reds 92 – 7 Stewartry
Reds Team
Front row: Calum McKeown, Kyle Ormond, Colin Devlin
Second row: Lewis McGill, Fraser Mochrie (captain)
Back row: Euan Mochrie, Jamie Tulloch, Oscar Davies
Half-backs: Archie Rusack, Jack Frame
Centres: Alfie Muir, Ru Stewart
Back three: Ewan Curran, Luke O’Hara, Ross Tulloch
Subs (all played):
Aiden Mochrie, Kieran Cochrane, Eioan Magee, Murray Johnstone
Comment
Another great performance from the Reds without the customary dip in concentration that has happened a few times already this season. 11 different try scorers with 3 scoring a brace of tries, i.e. Ewan Curran, Ruaridh Stewart and Ross Tulloch. 11 successful conversions out of a possible 14. The Reds showed great composure and patience alongside good decision making and excellent execution.
The forward pack provided an excellent scrum platform with Calum McKeown, Kyle Ormond and Colin Devlin all very secure, Fraser Mochrie and Eioan Magee working hard in the engine room and the back row of Euan Mochrie, Jamie Tulloch and Oscar Davies covering miles during the afternoon and always on the front foot.
The line-outs were equally worthy of praise with great accuracy from Kyle Ormond and an array of jumpers in Lewis McGill, before his early injury, Fraser Mochrie and main jumper Oscar Davies all delivering clean ball. A special mention for the 3 forward replacements who seemed to really relish the dry conditions with more aggressive carrying of the ball which was a sign of the growing confidence in their own games and their fight for places in the team.
The backs had a field day and were especially dangerous when the ball went towards the wings. Ross Tulloch made some great incursions and both Luke O’Hara and Ewan Curran look very keen to be involved all over the field. Centres Alfie Muir and Ruaridh Stewart have formed a very sound midfield pair in defence and attack, and replacement Murray Johnstone is very dependable and makes great decisions on the field. The half backs are really settling into a solid partnership with Archie Rusack still developing his choice of options and beginning to use the kick as an option and making effective positional decisions. Jack Frame has a real air of composure at 10 and is very effective at spotting opportunities and communicates constantly with the back line. Having a points accumulator is important in league rugby when so many games can be close encounters, and he is filling that bill well.
Stewartry never gave up and credit to them for trying hard till the end but on the day the Reds looked really on song from minute 1 and did not let up.
Next week the Reds are at Hamilton with a 3pm kick-off and will be hoping to repeat the result of last year’s season opener.