Saturday morning at Picky saw an unbeaten Kirkwall side take on a determined Westray who were looking to put some points on the board and recapture the form that took them to second place in the Currie Cup last season. 
The first luck of the day in what was to prove a very competitive match fell to Kirkwall who won the toss, taking the option to play with the wind in the first half. This allowed Kirkwall to take control of the early stages of the game and sensible kicking from stand off David Campbell cleared the Kirkwall lines well whenever the larger Westray pack rumbled up field.
Both packs played a tight first half attempting punching runs to breakdown their opponents. Direct running from Westray forwards Calum Rendall and Neil McCartney troubled the Kirkwall pack. Despite sustained pressure Kirkwall held their own with debut boys Alan Brown and Chris Guthrie tackling well above their weight. Front row Rab Muir was also on ferocious form to keep the battle between the forwards evenly matched. This meant that for the first half hour the only difference between the sides was Kirkwall’s use of the wind to get up field. Pressure from Kirkwall eventually resulted in a penalty being awarded after 32 minutes. David Campbell going for the posts and converting.  Kirkwall 3 – Westray 0.
After the restart both sides began to use the good ball provided by their forwards and the backs got their chance. Westray’s best 1st half chance came when Stand off Robert Moylan, who could be heard throughout the game(!), gave Colin ‘Rizzy’ Risbridger a nicely timed pass for him to run onto and burst the Kirkwall line. Rizzy looked to be in for a score under the posts but Kirkwall winger Amar Khadka put in an excellent covering run and a last ditch back of the shirt tackle took Risbridger down.
Kirkwall then went on the attack when scrum half Magnus Currie gave the backs some fast ball and good hands moved the ball wide to Amar Khadka who sped up the right wing. Amar’s pace however left him isolated when he was met by Westray’s covering defence. Kirkwall somehow managed to retain the ball and after some loose cross field play gained another penalty which Campbell again converted on the 38 minute mark. This was how it remained until halftime, Kirkwall 6- Westray 0.

The second half saw Westray with the wind at their backs and this began to tip the balance between the two teams, Westray now gaining the upper hand. The wind allowed experienced stand off Robert Moylan to take control and put Kirkwall on the back foot. Kirkwall’s young pack, which had held out superbly in the first half began to look weary. Hard hitting from Westray’s forwards opened up gaps and lead to Brian Hughes going over for the first try of the game after 54 minutes, much to the delight of the gathering supporters on the sidelines. Robert Moylan converted. 
This saw the start of a twenty five minute scoring spree for Westray, which shaped the game. Six minutes later Colin Risbridger scored a well deserved try after a characteristic strong run to make it Kirkwall 6 – Westray 10. Conversion missed.
Kirkwall now brought on their only sub of the day in the form of new boy Graeme Hamilton, playing his first game since a brief sevens appearance some years ago. Despite attempts from the Kirkwall captain to add a sixteenth man to the game, David Campbell left the field. Westray too made several changes at this point along with one of their players moving to the wing for Kirkwall, after being generously donated by Geordie Drever. Cheers Geordie !
Further Westray tries then came through Keith Rendall who powered over the line on 68 minutes, after threatening to do so all day. Robert Moylan converted.
Westray continued to drive their way up the pitch with Colin Risbridger gaining his second try of the day. Moylan kicking consistently to make it Kirkwall 6 – Westray 26.
With time ticking away Robert Moylan finished off with a well earned try , taking a good angle on a run and skipping through to score. Final score Kirkwall 6 – Westray 31.

Despite the final score line showing an easy win for Westray, both teams would have to agree that it was a much more closely fought match. Credit due to Kirkwall’s young pack who raised their game to compete with a larger more experienced opposition. Thanks to Geordie and the Westray boys for making the journey in and Knighter for refereeing.

Ging