Lochaber RFC 13
West Division 3
Lochaber travelled to the southside of Glasgow on Saturday for their second away game of the season to play a Shawlands team who had won their only game played so far, writes Douglas MacRae.
"attachment_1028359" "" "300"] Photograph: Calum Sandison.
Following two wins, the Banavie men were looking to keep their great start to the season.
After the highly attritional game at Banavie last week, there were a few necessary changes to the starting 15 with three new players making their debut in black and yellow.
A glorious day overhead was contrasted with slightly soggy conditions underfoot, but Lochaber went into the match with confidence.
A strong start saw an early chance to take the lead with a penalty but the shot from Ryan Davies slipped wide of the post.
Shawlands came back into the game and took the lead with a penalty of their own.
Despite continuous pressure, the boys from Banavie stood firm.
"attachment_1028362" "" "300"] Photograph: Calum Sandison.
As the game ebbed back and forth, neither side made the most of their opportunities. Strong runs from Josh MacKay and Hamish White saw the Shawlands defence scrambling, but good work at the breakdown helped repel promising attacks.
Lochaber went further behind after concerted pressure on their line saw Shawlands squeeze over from short range for the first try of the game.
Lochaber narrowed the gap just before half-time with a well taken penalty from Davies to make the score 8-3 to the hosts.
At the beginning of the second half, it was still anyone’s game but Lochaber fell further behind after strong work from the Shawlands pack led to their second try and an added conversion.
Lochaber worked their way back into the game and saw another penalty opportunity miss the mark.
Much like the previous week, a myriad of opportunities came to nothing following a series of handling errors.
Lochaber were reduced to 14 players as the result of an injury and uncontested scrums set the scene for the remainder of the game.
A defensive lapse allowed the Shawlands scrum half to scamper through for an easy score under the posts.
A second such lapse in defensive concentration allowed the Shawlands stand off to dive through for the hosts to score a bonus point. The try was converted.
The tiring visitors rallied and direct running on the wing from Hamish White saw him burst through the Shawlands defence with an unconverted score and with seconds left, Chris Simpson burrowed over to close the gap further.
Lochaber remain joint second in the table with two wins from three games and host newly-reformed Mid Argyll RFC this Saturday, September 23, at Banavie. Kick off 3pm.
Featured image: Scrum action from the game. Photograph: Calum Sandison.
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