Kelso RFC (29) vs Peebles RFC (3) - RBS Premier 2 - Stage 2
Pre-Match Report
Coming Soon…
Match Report
At 9 am on Saturday morning, a game on Poynder Park was very unlikely after a second night of frost. However, by 11 am, by which time Peebles had requested a definite answer, the frost was coming out of the ground and, by kick off time, the pitch was in good playing condition.
The targets for Kelso were quite simple: a win; a win and preventing Peebles from getting a bonus point; a win , preventing Peebles from getting a bonus point , and scoring 4 tries. The course of the game saw all of the targets being achieved.
Kelso scored an early try with Gregg Minto driving over in the corner. The possession had come from a lineout followed by a ruck and good accurate passing along the line to Gregg. Kieran Wilkinson missed the conversion but soon after, he redeemed himself with a successful penalty in front of the posts after a Peebles offside.
Although the first scrum did not come until the 7th minute of the game, there were plenty more to follow. It was a case of ‘death by a thousand scrums’. Well, not quite but there were 35 scrums in the game! This showed the number of handling errors throughout the game but also the pressure, Kelso exerted on the Peebles line as there was an abundance of 5 metre scrums as result of the number of times the Kelso pack was held up over the Peebles line. Credit to the Peebles defence has to be given here.
After the Wilkinson penalty, Peebles had their own period of pressure which eventually ended in their youthful stand off, Greg Raeburn slotting a penalty from in front of the posts after a Kelso offside.
A series of scrums on the Peebles 5 metre line almost produced a try from a heel against the head by Kelso but Kevin Utterson was recalled for a forward pass. The second try, however, was not far away as Number 8 David Lowrie picked up at the base of the scrum and following a ruck Ian Wallace barged over for a try which Wilkinson converted for Kelso to go to the half time break at 15-3 ahead.
The second half was much of the same with Kelso holding the upper hand and continuing to challenge the Peebles line. It took a long time for the next score to come. Peebles had to spend 10 minutes short handed after their centre Walsh was adjudged to have made a dangerous tackle. Kelso scored no points during that period of play as they even missed the resulting penalty in front of the posts.
The try came after 66 minutes when Gareth Riddell finished off a good move involving Donald Seed, Ewan Ford, who had come on for the injured Mark Chester, and Frankie Robson, who seems to be growing into first XV rugby with another accomplished performance. Kieran Wilkinson converted the try. Kelso’s task was now to grab the bonus point. This was finally achieved in the last minute of the game but not before there was an injury scare to Ian Wallace and the referee had spoken to both captains after a succession of penalties for negative play. The try came from Gregg Minto again after yet another pick up from the base of the scrum by David Lowrie. Wilkinson converted to give himself 9 points and a kicking record for the day of 4 out of 6.
All in all, a good win in three competitions, which must be a first for Kelso and another win under their belts as they continue in their quest for Premier 2 rugby next season.
The next league game is against West of Scotland on 28th January with a 2pm kick off.
Team: Kieran Wilkinson, Frankie Robson, Richard Minto, Kevin Utterson, Gregg Minto, Mark Chester, Andy Tait, Kieran Cooney, Chris Riddell, Ali Marsh, Donald Seed, Ian Wallace, Gareth Riddell, James Stevenson, David Lowrie.
Replacements: Stuart Lowrie, Allan Frame, Lewis Mallin, Ewan Ford
