Currie Chieftains 47 pts (t 7, c 6) v Stirling County 17 pts (t 3, c 1)

As a full clubhouse tucked into the annual Christmas pre-match lunch, the outside conditions were getting more windy and darker by the minute, with a distinct hint of the rain that had been forecast to arrive just as this vital league match got underway. The ground was already very soft from the deluges of the previous days, a situation that the Chieftains did not want, especially after their experience at Mansfield Park 7 days ago, and the reputation of County’s strong, young pack that has been ‘pulling-up trees’ to provide a solid foundation for their recent successes. On paper, this had all the prospects of being a close-fought difficult encounter in the testing conditions. In fact, it was a thoroughly entertaining match with both teams playing adventurous rugby, but Currie always held the upper hand.

With some professional weight added to the Chieftains pack, the first scrum shunted County backwards and caused them all kinds of trouble. In the panic, some wayward Stirling passing saw Robbie Nelson expertly pick up the loose ball on the 22 line and slip it to Michael Vernel; his run avoided the fullback’s tackle and he careered in under the posts. With only 3 minutes gone, Gregor Hunter had an easy conversion, which was nearly doubled in the next 3 minutes, when a passage of classic rugby ended with Joe Reynolds’ exquisite pass to Ben Robbins for a try in the corner; this was Gregor Hunter’s only missed conversion of the afternoon.

It was still early in the match, and the visitors had plenty of time to get their act together, which they tried to do without much success. A couple of soft penalties were kicked deep into Chieftains’ territory, and the County pack used the catch and drive to rumble towards the goal line. Currie turned them over, and from the resulting scrum, the home team immediately set up another attack. Charlie Shiel’s long accurate pass gave his backs space; their speed and accuracy did the rest. The move had started in the Currie 22, and when Joe Reynolds linked with Jamie Forbes 30 metres out, the race to the line was a formality; the converted score stunned Stirling, who had started to look dangerous.

The visitors’ confidence was clearly draining as proceedings moved towards halftime. Even though the cold drizzly rain did not help their ambitions, the Chieftains’ work ethic and rugby skills were quality product, and if the sharp referee had not spotted a couple of slight errors, there would have been several more tries added to the scoreboard; it was all one-way traffic. Even so, there was still time for the exceptional skills of Joe Reynolds to deliver the try bonus point with two more scores before the break. From halfway the alert centre picked up a loose ball and accelerated forward; his inter-passing with Fergus Scott ripped the opposition apart. Moments later, Charlie Shiel timed a pass to perfection for his colleague’s angled run to the posts; Gregor Hunter converted both Joe Reynolds’ tries.

Halftime score – Currie Chieftains 33 pts, Stirling County 0 pts

Some stern words from the visitors’ coaching staff must have stung the team’s ears at halftime, for they made an explosive start to the second period that nearly delivered a try, but the chase for a hacked-on kick was won by the covering Currie defence. At least County were getting more possession as the game wore on, but play was mainly confined to the middle, or their half of the pitch, and it usually came to a halt through a handling error or excellent Currie tackling. Despite the early promise, it was the Malleny team who got the scoreboard moving again. On 50 minutes, a well-executed line-out drive crabbed its way over the line for a Kiran MacDonald touchdown and try number six for his team; Gregor Hunter converted.

Stirling appeared unable to cope with the strength of the Currie scrum, which disrupted their put-in, and was dominant throughout the match. Also, the lineout was largely under the control of Vince Wright,

Michael Vernel and Kiran MacDonald; they all carried well and constantly punched holes in the County defence to establishing a solid platform from which Currie could advance. Tevita Tameilau, Scott McGinley and AP McWilliam did their share of hard graft as well.

Into the final quarter, with a substantial lead and ground conditions becoming increasingly sticky, the Chieftains emptied their bench. To their credit, the visitors continued to play with determination, and some flair whenever possession came their way. The result was an exciting finish to a game that nearly gave the visitors a consolation bonus point, but despite a penalty try, for which Currie had a player sent to the sinbin, and two more tries from Ewan MacGarvie and Ali Mackie, the outcome of the match was never in doubt; especially after Joe Reynolds scorched in for his try hat-trick and the Chieftains’ seventh.

This was a good day at the office, and no doubt the coaches will be telling the team that a comparable level of performance is now required every weekend if a play-off place is to be secured; only a handful of league points separate four teams. The Chieftains are on the road again next Saturday, with a fixture against old rivals - Glasgow Hawks. Kick-off time is 2.00 pm at Hawks new Balgray home, just off Great Western Road. I.J.S, 9.12.18.

Currie Chieftains Team v Stirling County – 8.12.18.

15, Jamie Forbes. 14, Ben Robbins. 13, Joe Reynolds. 12 Robbie Nelson. 11, Matthew Hooks.

10, Gregor Hunter. 9, Charlie Shiel*. 8, Tevita Tameilau*. 7, Scott McGinley. 6, Michael Vernel.

5, Kiran MacDonald*. 4, Vince Wright. 3, Matias Argiro. 2, Fergus Scott. 1, AP McWilliam.

16, Graeme Carson. 17, Reece Patterson. 18, Greg Peterson*. 20, Gregor Christie. 22, Marc Kelly.

*Draft professional player

Match Highlights - HERE

Photography (c) Fraser Gafney