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Rams Come Out On Top In Regional Derby - Moffat Rams 9 Wigtownshire 5

Published on 06 March 2007 at 12:33:00

Moffat Rams 9  Wigtownshire 5

 

In the crucial promotion fixture at Holm Park, Moffat, last Saturday, Moffat Rams edged out rivals Wigtownshire in a tense but enthralling match.

The match started pretty evenly, with both teams cautiously sizing each other up.  The Rams, however, were first to start to show an upper hand in terms of possession , although no sustained pressure resulted.  An early penalty award gave the Rams an opportunity to open the scoring, but Kevin Jack, wearing borrowed boots after his gave up the ghost pre-match, hit the kick just wide.  Moffat continued to push, though, and a couple of good moves involving wing-forward Polly Smith and full-back Graham Gemmel were only thwarted by solid Wigtownshire defensive work.

Moffat's strong-running backs continued to cause problems for the Stranraer men, but the closest the Rams came to a score was a kick-through by scrum-half Mark Clark which was again stopped just short.  It took almost 30 minutes into the first-half for Wigtownshire to mount a serious attack, but sound Moffat tackling kept the visitors at bay.  The half ended with a flurry of pressure from the home side as Kevin Jack hit a penalty just wide again, followed by another period of sustained Rams pressure which tested but never breached the ‘Shire defence.

The second half started in a similar vein with Moffat pressing forward and Wigtownshire's defence standing firm to prevent any score.  The Rams then suffered a blow as stand-off Michael Lockhart left the field injured; centre Clint Smith moved up to take his place as replacement Calum Jardine took to the field on the wing with winger Andrew Wallace moving to centre.  A further Rams penalty was again pulled wide as Jack struggled to adapt to his new boots, but following a period of sustained Rams pressure right on the ‘Shire line, another penalty award gave him the chance to atone and he duly slotted the ball over to put the Rams 3-0 ahead.

As if stung into action, Wigtownshire moved straight up to threaten the Moffat line, but although they were stopped short, an earlier infringement resulted in a penalty to ‘Shire.  The Rams were let off the hook as the Stranraer kicker pulled his kick wide.  Back came the Rams with a charge up the left which although just failing to score nevertheless gained a penalty which Jack converted with a superb kick.  The see-saw pattern of this exciting game continued as Wigtownshire broke up the left to cross the line.  Although missing the conversion, the scores were now perilously close at 6-5 to Moffat.

It was now the turn of the Rams to exert pressure and following a scrum near the ‘Shire line, the ball was moved left and only a foot in touch prevented a try.  A further missed penalty by Jack saw the game stay precariously balanced before a further penalty to the Rams was converted by Jack to pull the home side further ahead by 9-5.  The last 5 minuted were frantic as Wigtownshire sought to score what would have been a winning try, but some excellent Rams tackling held them up well short of the try line before the referee blew for full-time much to the relief and delight of the Moffat fans and players.

In summary, this was a tremendously exciting game of rugby, played to a high standard on what was a very heavy pitch.  An exhausted Moffat captain Jamie McDowall was understandably delighted with the win: "I thought we showed excellent team spirit out there and some great defensive work helped us gain what were hard-earned points.  The win keeps us well in the hunt for promotion and ensures we're in the driving seat with only 2 matches to go".

Moffat:  G Gemmill, A Jefferson, K Jack, C Smith, A Wallace, M Lockhart, M Clark, S Jack, S Galloway, C Little, R Drennan, J McDowall (C),M Wennington, K Carter, P Smith. Replacements: C Jardine, A Tyler, G Dinwoodie.

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