Shetland took on league leaders Garioch at Clickimin last Saturday in their latest encounter in Scottish Hydro Caledonia Division 2. With a fresh wind blowing straight up and down the pitch, this was always going to be a game of two halves, to use an old clichéé, and so it turned out on the day.
The Blues welcomed back John Roy Nicolson and Phil Manley into the front row, with Robbie Hall moving in to hooker. Matthew Nicolson also returned to the back after his sojourn out in the backs in Huntly the previous week. Craig Mann and Peter Robertson formed the second row, the latter making his debut for Shetland. The pack was completed by Stewart Mouat and Stuart Jamieson on the flanks.
The backline saw Callum Williamson return at scrum half, shunting Jon Pulley out to stand off again. Maurice Williamson and Pete Sidgwick formed the centres, with Pete’s Dad Martin pulling on the full back shirt. Nathan Coote and Brett Haining played on the wings.
Garioch won the toss and elected to play against the wind in the first half, so Pulley got the game underway for Shetland. A good chase from the forward pack put the visitors under great pressure, and in the opening minutes Garioch could not get any territory. From a line out in the right hand corner, Shetland won the ball and spun the ball wide through the back line. Pete Sidgwick was able to beat a number of Garioch defenders to score on the left hand side of the posts. Pulley went close with the conversion, but the score remained at 5-0.
Shetland reclaimed the kick off and worked their way back downfield again, using the collective boots of Pulley, both Williamsons and Haining to put pressure on their table-topping opponents. Eventually the pressure paid off, as Shetland were awarded a penalty within kicking distance of the posts. Pulley made no mistake with the boot on this occasion, and extended the home side’s lead to 8-0.
Garioch were beginning to realise that they would not be able to kick the ball up field and resorted to using their powerful runners to gain some ground. Shetland defended well against this tactic, setting well around the rucks. Eventually though, Garioch were awarded a penalty, but fortunately for the home side the kick was missed and the Blues could clear their lines.
The pattern was to be repeated however, and again the penalty was missed, and Shetland kicked downfield again. This time, the kick was fielded by Garioch, who launched an audacious attack from deep in their own half. Shetland did not get any sort of defensive line set, and the Garioch centre waltzed through to score under the sticks. The stand off nailed the conversion to leave the score at half time 8-7 in favour of the hosts.
Although the home side had thoroughly dominated the opening period, their one defensive lapse had cost them dearly and let the visitors back into the game. Shetland knew they had to tighten up at the back, and also that they would need to work harder to get in positions where they could score points. Ramsay Hogg was introduced for Martin Sidgwick, and Manley went off to be replaced by Thomas Meadows, which saw a slight reshuffle in the pack.
As expected, Garioch did use the wind and turned to the boot in the second period in an attempt to pin Shetland back in their own 22. The home side were able to work the ball back up field on a number of occasions, and their defence held firm against sustained pressure from the visitors.
The Blues could not hold out forever though, and from a Garioch kick, Pulley found himself isolated at the back for Shetland, and tried to play a low kick into the wind to gain some ground. The kick was charged down by the Garioch flanker, and despite a valiant defensive effort he was able to score, and with the successful conversion Garioch took the lead 14-8.
Shetland heads appeared to go down at this point, and Garioch added another score as their forwards managed to barge over to the right of the posts, after exploiting around the edge of a ruck close to the line. The conversion was missed, leaving the score at 19-8.
Shetland kicked off again, but were penalised for having men in front of the kicker, giving Garioch an opportunity to pump the ball back down into the Shetland half, and again this put pressure on the home side as they tried to battle their way up field. Another penalty for infringing at the ruck saw Garioch’s lead extended further with a successful kick making the score 22-8.
Shetland really upped their efforts at this point, and once again tried to launch an attack from the kick off. However a lack of support saw this peeter out, and after a long kick, and a few quick phases, the visiting stand off dummied and stepped his way through some poor defensive cover to score a fourth try for Garioch. The conversion was missed from out wide, and the score was 27-8 to the visitors, and so it remained until the final whistle.
The home side can be justifiably proud of their display, particularly in the first half, against the strongest team in the league. Garioch certainly knew they had been in a game, and were surprised by how much the Shetland team has improved in the last year. In the main, the Shetland defence was very strong, although a few moments of poor organisation had once again cost them dearly. A major positive for the Blues in this match was the greatly reduced penalty count, which had been costing them valuable points and field position in previous matches.
Best on the day for Shetland were Peter Sidgwick and Maurice Williamson in the back line, whilst Craig Mann and Matthew Nicolson stood out in the forwards. Peter Robertson’s debut match was also highly encouraging, as he continues to improve. The Northwards Man of the Match award was presented to Brett Haining after the match, following another solid display from the newcomer.
Shetland’s next match is against league newcomers Aberdeenshire 2nds tomorrow at Woodside in Aberdeen. Kick off is scheduled for 12 noon and any Shetlanders in the area are invited to come along and show their support. As always, training for new and old players, continues on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Clickimin, starting at 6.30pm. Anyone interested in playing the game is invited to attend.