Waid Academy FP's Away
29th October 06
Pre-match
Orkney travelled to the north east Fife community of Anstruther to play the 2nd round cup fixture against Waid Academy FP. The National Division 5 Midlands team fulfilling the match despite being offered a postponement by the SRU on compassionate grounds. This was due to the tragic events of three Anstruther men being lost in the North Sea on the Fife-registered trawler Meridian which hit national news last week. I'm sure all in Orkney would wish to pass on our sympathies to the Fife fishing village.
Selection
Orkney were on the back foot before the game started with 19 players unavailable due to either injuries or work commitments. It was late into Friday before captain Al Watson secured a 19-man squad to travel on the Aberdeen-bound MV Hrossey.
1st Half
A heart-lifting pre-match talk by the Orkney captain ensured a tenacious start to the game by Orkney. Flankers Scott Couper and debutant Brian Inkster tackled everything that moved. Orkney's backs also looked dangerous early on, Al Watson surged through taking the ball from deep a couple of times and Orkney came close to scoring within the first 15 minutes, Roger Hall broke the gain line and off-loaded to the ever-present stalwart monolith Rodney Spence, his superb run took Orkney into the Waid 22. Further Orkney pressure saw lock Rob Thomson unlucky to get stopped on the Waid try-line and Orkney also missed a tricky penalty within the first twenty minutes.
The constant drizzle of the early morning seemed to ease off, although the greasy ball still made attractive rugby difficult to execute. Waid Academy had a much bigger and stronger pack and a more expansive game would have probably suited Orkney who had the likes of flyer Scott Milne in the back division. Orkney defence was marvelous, touchline heroics by the entire XV stopped an almost certain Waid try late into the 1st half. Particularly pleasing was the way everyone went out to meet and not only tackle, but more often than not, knock over his opposite man. Robust Orkney defence and a high penalty count against Waid, for mainly handling on the deck, saw the 1st half end 0-0.
2nd Half
Orkney started extremely well in the second half scoring in the first five minutes. A much needed quick ball from the back of the scrum to Roger Hall, his, as usual, faultless pass found Rodney Spence who then quickly passed the ball on to James Linkelater Jr. Young Linky showed great confidence taking on his opposite man for pace to score an excellent try, fast handling and a resounding finish by young Linkelater made the score look effortless. Orkney made a couple of changes in the back row with Westray Auk Stewart Rendall coming on and putting on a fine display. Young Andrew Cuddihy capped a near try (he was held over the line), with a man-of-the-match performance. A remarkable achievement for someone playing less than half the game and being less than half-the-age of some of his on-field contemporaries.
Waid responded later in the game with a penalty, before James Linkelater restored the lead to 7 points with a penalty of his own. 10-3 to Orkney. More solid tackling, centre's Trevor Spence and Raymond Moodie, in particular, putting in a couple of bone-shakers. Orkney held on to go through to the next round of the cup. Captain Al Watson was elated after the game, jubilant to get the away win after having to make so many changes. He would like to thank all players who made the trip, some at very short notice, and also congratulations to Stewart and Donna Rendall on the birth of their baby daughter. Thanks to Donna for allowing Stewart a few hours away from the bed side to come and play an important role in the victory.
Post-match
A solid front row display from loose play specialist, Erlend Drever, ageless Derek Sutherland was inspiring as pack-leader, and Garry Coltherd, who seems to specialise in coming-out-of-retirement. Garry again announced his retirement from rugby after the game, so, we look forward to seeing him play again in just a few weeks time! Steven Patterson dominated the line-out and it was great to see young Chris Guthrie and East star Erik Laughton involved.
A highlight of the day was the Calcutta Cup on show at the Waid Academy clubhouse. Roger Hall, coincidentally, the only non-Orcadian in squad, was deliriously happy, and seen grinning for ear-to-ear, to be the only one of his countrymen to get so close to the Calcutta Cup this season.
Team: R.Spence, S.Milne, R.Moodie, T.Spence, J.Linkelater Jr, A.Watson, R.Hall, E.Drever, D.Sutherland, G.Coltherd, R.Thomson, S.Patterson, S.Couper, B.Inkster, I.Smith. Replacements:- E.Laughton, C.Guthrie, S.Rendall, A.Cuddihy.
Smither
Next week the firsts travel to RAF Lossie for a bottom of the table match that will hopefully see Orkney build on this weeks win.