Moray Rugby Club fight back from 15-point deficit to edge out Arnold Clark National League 4 hosts Hamilton Bulls
Moray Rugby Club mounted a late comeback to secure a thrilling victory at Hamilton Bulls on Saturday.
The Elgin club has taken well to life in the Arnold Clark National League Division 4, and picked up another bonus point with their last-gasp 28-27 success in South Lanarkshire.
Injuries and player unavailability had resulted in many changes in the Moray squad both in personnel and positional but this was not obvious as the visitors began the game confidently, playing their usual brand of attacking rugby.
They were rewarded in the 10th minute by scoring the first try of the match when following a lineout five metres out, lock Alex Matthews powered his way over the line.
In the blustery conditions kicking was never going to be easy and indeed as replacement kicker Connor McWilliam prepared to take the conversion the ball was blown off the tee. With quick thinking and no little skill he picked up the ball and drop kicked it over the bar for a 7-0 lead.
The home side took longer to find their way into the contest but after 21 minutes the scores were tied when clean lineout ball allowed Hamilton’s hooker to touch down under the posts for a converted response.
Although Moray had the lion’s share of possession in the second-quarter they failed to capitalise due mainly to lineout inaccuracy and a high penalty count. In the 40th minute another penalty saw Hamilton move into a 10-7 lead.
The second half began badly for Moray as they continued to find themselves on the wrong side of the referee’s interpretation of the ‘high tackle’ law, resulting in a yellow card for Cameron Hughes playing out of position at wing forward. This left the visitors’ pack a man short and the home side scored almost immediately when, after a couple of missed tackles their No. 8 crashed over for an unconverted try and 15-7 advantage.
Hamilton were using the extra man to their advantage and a few minutes later took scrummage ball ‘against the head’. With the ball spread wide their centre romped in unopposed for a 22 points to 7 lead.
With almost three quarters of the game gone Moray reduced the deficit when a penalty in front of the opposition’s posts was tapped and run for Hughes to dive over.
Hamilton responded almost immediately. Opting for a scrum at a penalty on Moray’s 22, the ball was spun wide to their right winger who squeezed in at the corner for 27-14.
A turning point in the match came in the 71st minute when it was the Bulls turn to receive a yellow card for persistent high tackles. Moray kicked the resulting penalty to five metres and good driving by the forwards allowed Hughes in for his second try. Undaunted by the conditions McWilliam landed the tricky conversion for 27-21.
Given the travelling and the many changes in the squad Moray might have been forgiven for accepting a bonus point defeat. However, as always, they showed remarkable resilience and determination and in the final minute of the match sustained pressure and slick interpassing led to a try under the posts for centre Connor McWilliam who rounded off a perfect kicking performance by converting his own try for a 27-28 win.
This was another exciting and nail biting match played in difficult conditions.
This second win ‘on the road’ will give Moray great confidence going in to their next three league fixtures which are all at home. The first of these is against league leaders Ardrossan Academicals on November 9 with a 2pm kick-off.
