Oban Double Whammy
Clydebank 1st XV played Oban for the second time
in two weeks, this time in the National Bowl competition and
away from home.
Clydebank travelled with a much changed squad from the one
that beat Oban at home and with the Bowl competition being
more of a distraction than an attraction the minds may not
have been as focused as much as they should have been. Fortunately, the adrenaline rush at the start of the
game soon focused the Clydebank player’s attentions and Oban
knew they were not going to have an easy day of it.
In the end, Clydebank overcame the travel fatigue and team
changes to win 13-15 and progress to the next round of the
National Bowl Competition.
Clydebank settled quickly into the match and kept the eager
Oban team at bay in the early exchanges.
After eighteen minutes with no team taking overall control
it was a slip by Clydebank that gave Oban an easy three
points to take the lead.
Clydebank came back and forced Oban to defend in their
twenty-two metre area.
Strong support running by the Clydebank forwards and backs
saw Clydebank recover possession in a sequence of rucks that
tied in the Oban defence. A break down the right side by Graeme Kyle set up
David Smart who headed for the corner flag and a certain
try. The Oban
winger stopped David from touching down with a high tackle
which the referee judged to be illegal and awarded Clydebank
a penalty try and an easy kick for Ross Moffatt who duly
obliged to put the score at 3-7.
This time Oban raised their game and controlled the play
back in the Clydebank half. Clydebank absorbed the pressure running up to the
half way mark and looked to be going into the break with a
narrow lead. As
the ref played extra time Oban were attacking well and after
several phases of play fed the ball to the large
wing-forward who crashed through several weak Clydebank
tackles in front of the posts and touched down. The added conversion gave Oban the advantage at the
turn with a 10-7 lead.
The second half gave Clydebank a slight edge with the slope
of the park and a breeze that would carry the kicks that
little bit further.
Clydebank once more looked comfortable from the start
although another penalty after fifteen minutes gave Oban a
13-7 lead. Clydebank replied five minutes later when Moffatt narrowed
the gap with a penalty to take the score to 13-10. The next ten minutes saw both teams fail with penalty
attempts.
Oban tried to use their large back row to punch through the
Clydebank midfield defence but Clydebank sliced them down at
every turn. The
standoff turned to kicking behind the Clydebank line but the
Clydebank back three absorbed the pressure and returned the
ball consistently back into the Oban half where Clydebank
controlled the play.
Several penetrating kicks led to lineouts near the Oban line
which Clydebank used to good effect. The dominant Clydebank lineout returned good
possession to the backs who sucked in the Oban defence at
the second phase. On thirty-five minutes this worked to good effect as
Ross Moffatt fed the ball out from a midfield ruck to Graeme
Kyle on the wing. Kyle slid in at the corner for the second try and the
lead 10-15.
With five minutes to play Oban tried to get back into the
match. A penalty
just before the end looked like it would snatch victory but
the kick fell short. Clydebank closed off the match after winning the
final scrum of the match and progress to the next round of
the tournament.
Team Photo
The 2nd XV did not play this weekend when Loch
Lomond failed to raise a team.
The U17 squad played Lenzie at home but after a spirited
first half they lost their focus and allowed Lenzie to run
in a number of tries in the second half to win 48-0.
The mini section once more combined with Loch
Lomond to travel to Cumbernauld where several matches were
played.