Bishopton 1st XV were the visitors as the 1st XV teams met for the first time at Annan last Saturday

The visitors were in 2nd bottom place but had won their last 2 matches and had beaten Annan up at Bishopton so a close match was expected.

For Annan it was the start of 5 matches on consecutive Saturdays with the team still able to end the season as high as 3rd or as low at 9th in the league!

It was a lovely day at Violetbank as the teams took to the pitches, and from the outset the Annan lads took the game to Bishopton.

In the first half the heavier Bishopton pack had the upper hand in the scrums but the nimble Annan back and forwards had the speed to get past the Bishopton defence and as a result the home side ran in 5 tries to lead at half time 35-7

First up was Ryan Armstrong on his first start since last September crashed over from short range after a number of phases starting from a lineout inside the Bishopton 22.

Not long after a quick tap and go from Vice Captain Josh Whiteside caught the Bishopton defense napping and he sauntered through to make it 10-0.

Next up, Aitken Render crossed the whitewash after the ball had been passed across the pitch and a lovely dummy by the centre made it 17-0.

Aaron Carmichael was next with an almost carbon copy of Aitkens try, minus the dummy!

The teams first up tackle and line speed was a lot better than their last outing against Cambuslang which caused Bishopton to knock on numerous times. This, combined with the backs playing a lot deeper, enabled Annan to to get the ball through the hands to our faster guys on the outside.

Next up was Captain Kieran Warrick who crashed over from short distance after the away side have been penalised for numerous infringements.

That concluded the first half scored which ended 31-7 with Bishopton nabbing a converted try between Aarons and Kierans tries. Josh was successful with 3 conversions

It was probably Annan’s best 1st half performance of the season so far

Into the 2nd half and the the forwards work hard against a heavier pack and eventually got on top of them as the game and half went on.

The scoring slowed down as numerous personal changes interrupted the flow as the game as usual happens but Annan were still on top and Aaron Carmichael got his 2nd try of the match mid way through the half and at the death James Kirby dashed over to make the final score 43-14. Bishopton getting a late penalty try for a deemed high tackle. Josh with one more conversion.

All in all a fine Annan performance who were worthy winners on the day and keeps them on track for a top half finish but with 4 tough matches to come, the players and coaches know they will need to keep up this level of intensity for the next 320 minutes of rugby action to end the season on a high