ANNAN 1ST XV v OBAN LORNE 1st XV
WEST DIVISION 1
19TH OCTOBER 2024
Match Report from: GUS ROBERTSON
On Saturday day the 1st XV hosted Oban Lorne 1st XV for their latest West 1 league match.
It was a lovely day up at Violetbank for some rugby and with Oban in 3rd spot and Annan in 4th a great match of rugby was expected.
And a great match was got – albeit a bit one sided by the end thanks to a rampant Annan team that ran in 8 tries.
The game kicked off and it was Annan who came out firing and they were 17-0 up after just 10 minutes. Number 8 Ryan Hetherington crashing over the try line after beating numerous defenders on the back of numerous phases of rugby from the home side. Josh Whiteside with the conversion
Oban were struggling to contain the home side and conceded numerous penalties in the build up to the first try and then again shortly after. Josh Whiteside kicked this penalty and it was 10-0.
Straight from the restart, Oli Ferdinand collected the kick and burst through the Oban defence, popped a pass to a speeding Aitken Render who after making great ground, chipped the ball which was collected after a kind bounce by Josh once again who touched down. Josh converted and it was 17-0.
Oban found their feet and got themselves back into the match with 2 well worked tries, with 1 converted.
However the home side were still putting on the pressure on the Oban defense and 2 more penalties thanks to the boot of Josh once again, made the score to 23-12 deep into the 1st half.
And just before half time, a mistake from the Oban Lorne backs who were trying to run the ball from their own 22 was pounced on by Josh once again and the ball was kicked on football style all the way to the try line and Josh flopped on the ball and it was 28-12 and that’s how the half ended.
The 2nd half started a bit like the first with Ryan Hetherington grabbing his 2nd try shortly after the restart after numerous phases on the Oban try line. Josh converted and it was 35-12
Ryan completed his hat-trick try not long after after a pick up and go from a scrum, a wee blindside run,a side step or 2 and a couple of flailing defenders beat. 40-12
Stand off Fraser McMillan was next on the score sheet as he crashed over the whitewash after a wee chip from Josh was gathered by Fraser who touched down. Josh converted and it was 47-12.
Next up, Aitken Render who managed to get on the end of a mistake by the Oban backs caused by strong Annan defence which was pounced on by Josh who kicked the ball onwards, which Aitken managed to use his soccer skills to guide the ball over the tryline. 54-12. Josh with the conversion
The final Annan score was from player/coach Juan who collected a pass from man of the match Ryan Hetherington after Ryan had broken though numerous tackles, 61-12. Josh once again with the afters,
Oban did have the last say though as they managed to get themselves a try bonus point as the Annan defence was finally breached again twice as the match clock ran down.
The match ended at it was 61-24 to the home side.
A great result from the lads who consolidated their 4th placed position with a great display of attacking rugby and a solid defensive performance that caused numerous turnovers throughout the match.
Coach Juan
“Started really well and excellent performance…Great to get the first try for the 1st time in 4-5 weeks…great bond and camaraderie between everyone
Can’t really fault them but… only thing that let us down was we let them get the bonus point….…all I can say as all were phenomenal otherwise.
Stand outs were another great performance for Ryan “Wiz” Hetherington who will sadly be missing this weekend away to Bishopton
Oli Ferdinand as well great work in in 2nd row and in the loose, missing Oli as well this weekend.
Josh controlled it well from 9.
There’s just 3 but everyone put in a shift”
The team now move onto their 9th match of the season and the halfway point in the league as they travel to Bishopton.
Bishopton are a team the 1st XV have never played before in a competitive match and despite being at the bottom of the West 1 table, the Bishopton side have been improving each week, culminating in their 1st win at the weekend against Cambuslang so the lads know they will have to be at 100% to come away with 4 or even 5 points come 4.30pm on Saturday afternoon.
Annan 1st XV squad: 1 Ryan Glass 2 Murray Forbes 3 Kieran Warrick 4 Frazer Hope 5 Oli Ferdinand 6 Stewart Livingston 7 Willie Grey 8 Ryan Hetherington 9 Josh Whiteside 10 Fraser McMillan 11 Alex Jones 12 James Kirby 13 Aitken Render 14 Max Thorburn 15 Aaron Carmichael 16 Callum Taylor 17 Mason Watret 18 Ben Latimer 19 Wallace Alexander 20 Eben Le Vin 21 John Glendinning 22 Juan Phyfer
MATCH PHOTOS
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Individual highlights
FULL MATCH
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