Solid Reds maintain 100% win record before Champion’s trophy presented
Linlithgow 35 – 5 Langholm
Saturday 27 January 2024
Report by David Mitchell; photos by Graham Black
The Reds overcame Langholm 35-5 in their final home fixture of the season in East Region League Division 1. The large home crowd were treated to a workmanlike performance from the home side and a resolute effort from the visitors who also carried a decent support with them. On a very busy day at Mains Park, rugby was the winner with morning matches involving school teams and the Tiny Reds session, 2 senior games in the afternoon, 2 trophy presentations and a 21st birthday party in the evening for 1st XV centre Ewan Curran capping off a fabulous day in the Club.
The pitch was in very good condition but there was a strong westerly wind for the teams to contend with during the whole game. The match sponsors were the Club’s Vintage Reds, basically a group of older guys trying to relive their youth, and they were joined by President Jean McKeown and 2 guests from Scottish Rugby who were present to make the trophy presentations after the 1st XV game concluded. Murdo Gillanders (Lismore) is the East Regional representative on the Scottish Rugby Club Rugby Board and was there to present the trophies assisted by Simon Flinn (Corstorphine) who is the East Region Competitions Administrator.
After a narrow 24-21 win in the earlier fixture at Langholm it was always expected that the visitors would be keen to put it up to the Reds in typical Borders style and they duly delivered a few challenges on the day. However, after a steady start, the home team scored the opening try after 10 minutes when scrum half Archie Rusack linked with Jack Frame and he switched the ball back inside to a charging Ross Plenderleith who evaded all defenders to score a fine try under the posts which Jack Frame converted. Although they were pinned back by a decent Langholm kicking game, the Reds’ line was never seriously under pressure for any sustained periods but it was difficult to make ground up field into the strong wind. Slowly they asserted some control over possession but tended to be a bit over ambitious when off loading the ball and also too many players were a bit greedy and the team was regularly penalised for holding on or double movements near the Langholm line.
Eventually the Reds won a penalty in front of the posts and elected not to kick it but to take the scrum. This allowed Mark Caddle to make his usual pick up from No 8 and his power and pace sent him over the line for a try, his 4th against Langholm this season as he scored a hat trick against them in the away fixture last September. Jack Frame again added the extra points to make the half time score 14-0.
The second half saw the Reds playing with a strong wind at their backs and the home crowd was expecting a few more tries but Langholm were determined to fight hard when other sides might have capitulated entirely. The tendency for some players to go it alone when the final pass was on probably kept the score tighter than it should have been but there was no surprise when Luke O’Hara was released on the right wing and he neatly stepped inside the covering defenders and strode over for another great finisher’s try. The home side rang the changes in the 2nd half with Stuart Cunningham and Cammy Murrie joining in addition to welcome returns for the ever reliable pair of Fraser Mochrie and Colin Devlin.
Langholm eventually scored a well worked try out wide through one of their centres which was no more than their efforts deserved. This made the score 21-5 and the Reds were never really in any danger after that as they looked for more scores. These duly arrived through Ross Plenderleith with 2 very different efforts. Firstly a typical storming break by Jamie Tulloch set up great field position and the ball was moved left to Mark Caddle who threw a long pass which Ross gathered at pace and he outstripped the final defender in a 50 metre run to score. His final try came after another solid line-out and a surge by evergreen Stuart Cunningham that took play up to the Langholm line and when the ball was passed to Ross he fought his way over to touch down between the posts. Skipper Jack Frame added the extra points to give him 5 conversions from 5 attempts on the day.
Final score – Reds 35 – Langholm 5
Another great win for the Reds as they chase down a 100% win record in the Division although it seemed for much of the game that they were not in top gear. Their final league fixture is away at Leith and currently scheduled for 30th March however this may be brought forward if an alternative date can be agreed between the clubs. Despite an unusually high number of penalties conceded by the Reds, it was still a 5 try win with only 1 for the opposition. The defensive improvement in the 2nd half of the season has been great with only 4 tries conceded in the last 5 games.
The forward pack again looked very strong at scrum, line-out and in loose play with noticeable performances from Jamie Tulloch and Oscar Davies both playing with real drive and determination. The line-out was again dominated by the Kyle Ormond/ Mark Caddle connection and the level of consistency they have achieved has been a joy to watch all season.
The back line now operates as effective units within an overall package. Archie and Jack have developed into a useful partnership, Murray and Ewan have built up a great understanding of each other’s game and the back 3 of Ross, Luke and Ross have grown into an effective combination. However, the real bonus has been the ability of the 3 units to operate in such a combined and cohesive manner shown to be so successful in recent weeks. A great achievement for a group of players with an average age of 22.
The 2 trophy presentations were made immediately after the final whistle. The first presentation was made by Murdo Gillanders to the Young Reds Under-15 squad who won the inspiresports U-15 East Region league trophy. The second presentation was also made by Murdo Gillanders who handed captain Jack Frame the East Region League Division 1 trophy. Both presentations were accompanied by huge applause and cheering from a large number of friends, family, club supporters and a very gracious Langholm team and supporters.
No senior rugby next week as Scotland play away in Wales.
On Sunday 11th February our regular French visiting team from Plaisir will play a Reds’ select team.
On Saturday 17th February, the Reds are at home to Forrester in the National Shield Competition and the 2nd XV are at home to Penicuik 2s in East Reserve League 1.
Linlithgow
Calum McKeown, Kyle Ormond, Andrew Graham; Ross Martin, Kieran Cochrane; Oscar Davies, Jamie Tulloch and Mark Caddle; Archie Rusack, Jack Frame (c); Ross Plenderleith, Murray Johnstone, Ewan Curran, Luke O’Hara and Ross Tulloch.
Replacements: Stuart Cunningham, Colin Devlin, Fraser Mochrie and Cammy Murrie