Big Win for Linlithgow against Excellent Hawick side
Linlithgow 16 Hawick YM 3
Photos - Courtesy of John Preece unless otherwise identified
This was a cracking match played in reasonable conditions, compared with other parts of the country, between two well-matched sides. Prior to the game, both sides had only suffered one league reverse - Linlithgow's defeat being at the hands of Hawick YM, while the visitors had been beaten at home by current league leaders Whitecraigs.
Linlithgow ran out led by Ruaridh Stewart (see above) a member of the Wee Reds. Linlithgow were in their change strips, as Hawick YM also play in Red. Home supporters, used to cheering on "the REDs", had to modify their exhortations to "come on the BLUES"!
The Linlithgow team was:
Matt Dixon (c); David Goudie, Gordon White, Mark Green, Andy Birrell; Tim Meadows, Chris Bredin; Billy Edment, Kevin Hope, Euan Gunn; Stuart Jamieson, Charlie Gillanders; Andrew Archer, Euan Richardson, Ross Martin.
Subs (all used) - Stuart Gordon, Nikki Cowan, Mikey Walker.
Much of the match was played between the 22s, with both sides showing strong defensive qualities. Not for the first time this season, the Reds back row was superb in both first -up and cover tackling. Open-side Euan Richardson is seen below closing down the Hawick stand-off.
Over the piece, Linlithgow had the edge scoring the one try of the game from Charlie Gillanders in the second-half, and having two other cracking efforts (Gordon White from 50 metres and Andy Birrell from a kick and chase) chalked off. Charlie's try was just reward for another great performance and stemmed from an initial break by Charlie himself, offloading to a supporting runner, before getting the ball back and pirouetting (is that how you spell it?) passed two defenders before surging away and going in under the posts. The sequence of photos below from Jonathan Forbes and John Preece captures Charlie's try well.
Jonathan Forbes
Jonathan Forbes
John Preece
Linlithgow's other points came from the boot of Matt 'the welly' Dixon, who chipped in (or rather wellied in!) with 3 penalties and 1 conversion (that actually was a chip!).
Hawick YM earned the respect of the home crowd by their all-round display and it's easy to see why they have such a good league record. However, it was Linlithgow's pack that sealed the match with their strong second half performance. Ross Martin (below) is getting better every game and emerging as a very good no. 8. His coverage of the park, his natural ball skills and his line-out play were all on show against Hawick.
In truth, the man-of-the-match award could have gone to any Linlithgow player from numbers 5 to 8, but the match sponsors eventually settled for Linlithgow open-side Euan Richardson (seen below recounting the match with his team-mates).
(Photo courtesy of Paul Birrell)
It was also good to see David Goudie (see below) back after a lengthy time out for injuries. He stepped back into the side to cover wing for Stuart 'Chunk' Cunningham, who was missing on exam leave.
Link to more photos
Main sponsor: 