RDVC RFC vs. Walkerburn Away 25 – 13

Dick vet come out with full intensity, guns blazing and hungry for a win in the scenic border setting of Walkerburn. Good play from the backs led to Tom Turner crossing the try line in the corner for the first try of the game. Unfortunately he was unable to convert the try #poorchat. Poor hands throughout the backline, especially Tom Turner (#poorchat2), let them down time after time. The one time the ball made it along the line, Tom crossed for his 2nd try of the day. The pack was competing well against the considerably larger Walkerburn pack. The backs sorted their act out, and constant pressure on the opponents line led to their flanker losing his teddies, kicking the ball away and receiving a yellow card in the process. This appeared to be a blessing in disguise for the home side, as a combination of overconfidence from the vets, and some good defense from Walkerburn resulted in no points being scored while they were down to 14 men. Dick vet then upped their game, only a cynical knock-on stopping more points being added to the score-line. Strong running from Captain Dave took play close to the Walkerburn line, allowing Gregor (like a ferret) to crawl over the line to take the score to 15-0. Then came the low point in the game, House showing his soft side yet again, having to come off injured due to a tiny little bit of blood. The vets were playing well, spreading the ball through the hands, making the overweight home pack move from one side of the pitch to the other. Only further dirty play prevented further tries from being scored, with the home captain then losing his teddies as well, assisted by team manager Perth’s superior rugby knowledge. A lapse of concentration by the Dick vets finest, gave away a penalty in a kickable position, which the Walkerburn 10 duly converted, taking the score to 15-3. This spurred the vets back into action, with good play from Rory allowing Andy to cross under the posts, securing the first bonus point of the season. Tom finally manage to convert, putting the vets 22-3 in the lead. It wouldn’t be RDVC RFC game without comedy of one kind or another, and it was Gregor to provide, having to take a quick break to empty his stomach contents onto the side of the pitch.

HT 22-3

The vets made a good start to the second half, scoring a penalty to take the score to 25-3. Sadly the students then took the foot of the pedal, due primarily to a lack of fitness which will have to be addressed! This allowed the home side to come back into the game, with their huge weight advantage beginning to show. After several pick and goes in vet territory, the line was eventually breached, with poor tackling being partly to blame. This took the score to 25-8. Handling errors crept into the visitors play, not helped by poor decision making by Andy, attempting a cross field kick which was best described as horrific! Walkerburn then upped their game, putting pressure on the Dick vet line. However some tremendous tackling and counter rucking from the pack seen off the challenge. The quality of the game then fell greatly, with both teams making many mistakes. A cheeky kick towards the in goal area from the home team, let to Andy panicking, needlessly carrying the ball over his own line when he had all the time in the world. The home pack used their experience and sizeable beerbellys to drive the resulting scrum over the vet line, however the grounding was controversial, with it being clear to everyone except the referee to see that Frodo got to the ball first. The home flyhalf, then incredibly missed a kick from in front of the posts that even our one-legged team manager could have landed. This took the final score to 25-13, earning both the captain and vice captain a historical swim in the River Tweed.

MAN OF THE MATCH: TOM TURNER
TACKLE OF THE MATCH; GREGOR HEPBURN
DICK OF THE DAY: ROB WARD (HOUSE)
WORST DRESSED PLAYER: IAIN PASHBY

© PERTH & PASHBY ®™