Murrayfield
ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY 33 points, DUNS 10 points. Duns faced Aberdeen University on the hallowed turf of the national stadium at Murrayfield last sunday to contest the final of the Scottish Hydro Electric Plate competition. Despite losing the match by 33 points to 10 Duns never gave up and finished much the stronger of the teams, deserving more than their solitary try. Preparations for the final had been in full swing since the semi-final victory against Dunbar two weeks previously, with much work going on behind the scenes to sell tickets for the match and to arrange transport for the hundreds of Duns supporters who were expected to attend. The club would like to thank Jayne Ainslie of Cool Cuts, and Romanes Pharmacy, for acting as ticket outlets, and also committee members Lois Renton and Shirley McCraw for their tireless efforts in making many of the ticketing and travel arrangements for the day. The playing party set off at 7.30 am and arrived at Murrayfield in time to soak up the atmosphere generated by Finals Day. Four finals on the same day meant that the Duns match had to kick off at 10.30 am, but with it being the first match there was an opportunity to stroll around inside the stadium and take a first look at the pitch. Duns had been allocated the away International changing room, used this season by Wales, Ireland and Italy in the 6-Nations Championship. The fleet of supporters buses left Duns around 8.15, and a large number had travelled by car, so that there were several hundred Duns supporters inside the stadium by kick-off time. The Scottish Rugby Union have admitted to being disappointed by the overall crowd size, with less than 4000 attending all four matches, but the Duns support was quite simply superb, and their vocal encouragement was a great support to the team. There are some mums in Duns who should know that their shouts of support to their sons on the pitch were heard clearly all around Murrayfield ! At the end of the match the Duns squad showed it's gratitude to the supporters by giving them three cheers, a very touching moment. The Duns team was lead onto Murrayfield by captain Jamie Renton and mascot Rory Hamilton, a member of the Duns mini section, who thoroughly enjoyed his day. After the match he was presented with a runners-up medal by one of the coaches as a memento. The ball-boys were due to have been provided by both clubs, but as the University obviously has no youth section all 8 ball-boys were provided by Duns, 4 from Berwickshire High School and 4 from the Colts. Aberdeen University had won the Plate last season, and with 13 of that squad returning this season they had the advantage of being less nervous about the whole day, and settled into the match better than their opponents. Duns, perhaps not unexpectedly, were unsettled by their surroundings in the early stages of the match, making many uncharacteristic errors, but gradually came onto their game as the match wore on. Aberdeen opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a penalty kick, and despite being encamped inside the Duns 22 for a long spell they were unable to increase their lead. When Duns did eventually manage to win some ball they were pressing just outside the Aberdeen 22 but an intricate backs move lead to an intercepted pass and a try in the corner. An excellent conversion made it 10 - nil. Midway through the half Scott Lindsay was yellow-carded for persistent infringement, and the students took advantage of their numerical superiority to add two further tries in his absence. Their captain Dom Dunnett, an excellent open-side flanker, took advantage of an overlap to score on the right, and their second row powered over in the left corner. In between those tries Dale Robertson opened the Duns account with a cleanly-struck penalty from just outside the 22. Disaster was to strike for Duns on the stroke of half time. After soaking up a period of relentless Aberdeen pressure, the students knocked on and Duns were awarded a scrum. With the clock showing only 10 seconds of the half remaining Duns took the ball up the blind side but the move broke down and the loose ball was gathered up by the University centre Paddy Traylor who galloped over from 40 metres to extend the lead at the interval to 25 - 3. Into the second half there were many who thought that the students might run riot, but the resilient Duns squad had other ideas. Despite Ged Lamb being sin-binned after only three minutes of the half Duns had the lions share of possession and made much more of a fist of things. However, a second interception saw Paddy Traylor race up the left touchline to complete his hat-trick of tries, despite a valiant cover-tackle by David Hutchison on the line. Duns then had a number of very near misses, with both Niko Pelasio and Kobus van Wyk coming within inches of scoring from lose range. The first try eventually came courtesy of a fluffed clearance kick from the students' stand off - he horribly sliced the ball which was gathered by Kevin Aitchison on the right wing and he dotted down despite the attentions of two tacklers. The cheer which greeted his score was probably the loudest at Murrayfield all afternoon. Dale Robertson kicked a fine conversion from the touchline. To round off the scoring, Aberdeen kicked a penalty in the dying minutes to seal their deserved victory by 33 points to 10. At the death, Duns had an excellent opportunity to score a second try, but Richard Darling unfortunately knocked on with the line at his mercy. Jamie Renton then lead his team up to the Royal Box to receive their runners-up medals from SRU President Jim Stevenson, before the Duns team showed their gratitude to their supporters with three cheers. There were tears from supporters and players alike as the enormity of the occasion finally told. A few hours were then spent in and around Murrayfield, watching some of the other finals taking place and having a couple of beers. The playing squad then made it's way back to Duns where many of the supporters had gathered in the Clubrooms to welcome the team home - a gesture which the players very much appreciated. The Duns squad of 22 players is very young, and they will surely learn from the experience of the day. Half of the squad is 21 years old or younger, and they must be keen to get back to Murrayfield as soon as possible to pick up winners medals next time. After the trials and tribulations of the last three seasons or so, a Cup final appearance has well and truly steadied the ship, and the club can now look to the future with optimism. The Duns team was :- Dale Robertson; David Hutchison, Danny Lamb, Scott Lindsay and Kevin Aitchison; Max Nimmo and Ged Lamb; Allen Whellans, Cammy Hill, Chris Archer, Jacobus van Wyk, James Thorburn, Chris Blaikie, Niko Pelasio and Jamie Renton ( captain ). The replacements were Richard Burns, Keith Davidson, James Murphy, Barry Hamilton, Marco Crolla, Euan Reed and Richard Darling. The coaches were Peter Gallagher and Allan Paterson, who very bravely took his place on the touchline despite suffering a heart attack earlier in the week, and Carol Brown was team physio. A trip to Murrayfield, and all of the arrangements which require to be made in the days leading up to it, does not just happen all by itself. There were many people working hard behind the scenes to make the day as successful as possible, despite the result, and Duns RFC would like to thank every single one of them. Too many to mention individually in these columns, but nevertheless vital to the overall success of the day. Main sponsor Francis Furness, of Cheviot Rentals Marquee Hire, should also be thanked for his very generous assistance to the club, including the acquisition of new tracksuits especially for the day. Thank you, too, to Kenneth Oliver. The players now take a well-earned break after a season lasting 9 months, but there will still be activity at the Club over the summer months, beginning tomorrow ( friday ) with the Annual Dinner. There may still be some spaces available, so anyone wishing to attend should contact Derek Simpson ( 01289-308718 ) or Tom Thorburn ( 01361-882484 ). Those who have already booked should arrive at 7.30 pm for an 8 pm start, and tickets are priced at £15 - pay at the door. |