Helensburgh/ Loch Lomond – 17
Bishopton – 30
Tries; Hunter, Douglass, Adams, McGowan
Conversions; Duncan, Bates
Penalties; Hogan, Duncan
Yellow Cards; Baird
On a Sunny September day, Bishopton travelled over the Clyde and down to Helensburgh to take on the combined team of Helensburgh and Loch Lomond who have joined force this season as neither club has a full team able to compete in the league.
It was with this in mind that Bishopton were cautious and ready to take up a strong challenge not knowing what would be in store for the men from the village. But it was with this and many changes to the Bish line up that there was an excitement in the air in the week leading up to the game.
Kick-off finally came round and Bishopton wont the coin toss and were set to start the game, Duncan returning to the Bishopton starting lineup. The Bish got firning early on with several quick penalties going there way and before long they were withing kicking range and Hogan turned his sights on goal, he easily slotted the kick and Bish took an early 0-3 lead.
But it was Burgh/Lomond that would take advantage and cross the whitewas first, with Bishopton making life hard for themselves with poor tackles being the order of the day the home side were able to punch several gaps in the defence. Allowing them to work the ball out wide very quickly and the Fullback being able to slide through over the line and get the ball down. The conversion coming off the post was a slight let off for the visitors. Puting Burgh/ Lomond 5 – 3 ahead.
From here the game started to settle and both teams had phases of the ball with Bish keeping the home side on the back foot and it showed as Burgh/Lomond knocked the ball on several times. This came the the advantage of the Bish when a scrum was awarded on the touchline, giving Bish the platform to send the ball to the opposite wing letting Hunter unleash his pace and run in from 50m to score under the posts. Hogan knocked the conversion wide and Bish regained a slight lead 5 – 8.
Bishopton continued to keep Burgh/ Lomond on the move and pushed them back with several penalties and dominating in the lineout, however a Bish knock on brought this to an end. Though the scrum didn’t give the hosts any advantage, Bish drove straight through them, with Baird picking and going out the back crashing within metres of the try line for Bish to receive a penalty. The Penalty was tapped by Duncan who swung a 20m pass out to Robertson on the wing who was able to pitch the ball to Douglass to cross over easily with no man to cover him. Duncan took over kicking duties and slotted the conversion pusing bish ahead 5 -15.
In the run up to halftime there was a lot of good rugby with both teams taking a crack at each other’s lines. However before halftime things turned ugly. As a wayward tackle on Baird which saw him upside down and reacting against the perpetrator. Both were shown Yellow cards and set to miss 10 minutes, however after the fact the Burgh/ Lomond player had more to say and the referee upgraded this yellow to a red. Meaning the hosts would be down to 14 permanently. The penalty came Bishoptons way and we opted for the points with Duncan securinging the additional 3 moving Bish forwards and bringing the first half to a close. HT Helensburgh/ Loch Lomond 5 Bishopton 18.
The second half got off to bang, as the hosts kicked off and Doak was on the end of it releasing the ball to Neil who made 20 metres back to halfway before popping to Adams, who ran the length of the opposition’s half to score under the posts, giving Duncan an easy conversion, however it is always the easy ones that you miss! The conversion went wide giving Bish a lead of 5 – 23.
With the try coming early doors this seemed to ignite a fire in the home side as they started to put a lot of pressure on the Bish with several close calls and keeping the pressure on in the 22. Getting close and giving Bish a goal line drop before the Drop goal was attempted from the kick out, it went wide but the resulting ball behind the posts was charged towards with Wallace managing to just get the touch down as the home player charged in.
The warning signs had been there for Bishopton and Burgh/ Lomond were there to pounce as they managed to score two quick tries, The first came through the forwards as they bore the brunt of the work picking and going before taking advantage of a lax Bishopton defence, the conversion was good from right in front of the posts. 12 -23 still in Bishoptons favour.
The second came from a lineout arguably Bishopton’s stronger area, with the ball stolen from a loose knock down Burgh/Lomond dragged Bish across the pitch before working the overlap on the far side and pouncing with a long pass out wide for the winger to power home. The conversion from out wide was missed bringing the score ever closer to 17 – 23.
Bishopton were now in full defensive mode have conceded twice with an extra man on the pitch, the Gervais came to the front and led with several turnovers and a trademark cything run as he was able to avoid four defenders before being cut down with a high tackle, with Bates now on the pitch the player come coach lined up the long penalty only to see if drift wide.
Bishopton looked to have the bit back between the teeth and started to gain ground once more. Gervais again managed to steal a turnover. Burgh/ Lomond soon forced a lineout and Bish were deemed to be reaching across, giving the home side a penalty they sought to claw back some more points and go for goal. The shot sailed wide and Bates was able to clear the ball long, as it dropped short.
The resulting lineout was not straight by the homeside and Bish managed to get a series of scrums and from there they were able to work the ball through several phases getting closer to the try line at each attempt. One final burst from Baird got the team within inches of the try line allowing the ball to be pitched to McGowan standing with acres of space between the posts to crash over, Bates secured the extras and Bish were again clear at 17 – 30.
The game ended with Bishopton securing a lineout and Carey clearing the ball into touch. Full Time Helensburgh/ Loch Lomond 17 Bishopton 30.
The Ingliston Country Club & Hotel Player of the Match was Boab Moore, who was a force today come scrum and lineout time. Keeping the opposition on the back foot all day.
And the Hampton & McMurray Glue player was David Adams who came into the team at a last minute call off after a few years away. Grabbing himself a try in the process!
Another strong win from Bishopton as rugby looks to return to Holmpark this week with Moffat returning to Bishopton for the first time before the pandemic.
