At the weekend, 23 Accies travelled down to Bristol for what would be the last pre-season fixture for the 1st XV. Spirits were high and the boys were looking forward to testing themselves against top quality opposition as well as enjoying some team bonding over the course of the days down South.
On Friday, after an early flight, the boys went out to explore their new surroundings. Following that came an intense Grand Prix of Go-Karting at Absolutely Karting, culminating in a dominant performance by Rob McNaught with Head Coach, Ryan Grant, and Max Hutcheon finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The worst two drivers of the day went to Phil Farren who finished last overall but also captain, Kane Greggain, who managed to crash multiple times resulting in one of the most boring races as the safety car never came off the track.
After a chilled Friday night with a team feed at the Beefeater, game day came around and the boys were up for their first test of the season. Arriving at Dings Crusaders it was clear that a very professional looking outfit were picked to face Accies and they came out of the blocks fast with an aggressive brand of rugby. The boys traded blows for the first 10 minutes with Accies staying in the game contesting very effectively at the breakdown before Dings’ 13 picked off an interception, running in under the posts.
7-0 to the home side.
Accies look to spread the ball wide
This really swung the momentum in their favour, their large pack took the opportunity with both hands and started hammering away at the Accies gain line and with two tries in quick succession from driving mauls, the boys found themselves 21-0 down in about as many minutes.
Unfortunately, the pressure refused to cease and after a number of minutes of battering on the Accies 22, the Dings second row found himself somehow out in the three-quarter line with an acre of space to crash over between some lacklustre defence from Accies. 28-0 after 30 minutes, lots of work to be done.
Following a grilling from Head coach Granty at half time and an intrinsic look at themselves, Accies rallied after the break and with a few substitutions, fought back into the game. With some new found aggression in the carry, the forwards won a couple penalties in a row and Accies found themselves on the Dings 10m line. A pre-planned strike move saw some slick hands through forwards and backs, ending in a trademark Ross Cowan outside break gliding outside the fullback and over the line. 28-7.
Jack McCready put under pressure to clear his lines
After trading scores, taking the game to 33-12, Accies took the game to Dings and after a period of pressure on their line, Jack McCready crashed over the line reducing the deficit to 33-17. At this point, the boys’ tails were up and continued applying pressure however the third had to be called to a hault prematurely due to an injury to a Dings player who we wish all the best to.
The third set of 30 minutes started in a similar fashion to the first, with a lot of Dings pressure however the Accies defence remaining strong. A clear strength that Accies intended to use was their prowess at the breakdown which kept them in the game, however, at times could be a bit overzealous resulting in a couple penalties taking them down to their own line where they were kept for much of the last 30. Following conceding a penalty at a driving maul, it was clear Dings intended on using their strength at scrum time where they asserted dominance throughout the game culminating in a walkover try. 38-17.
“Hoodie” distributing from the base
The score would remain at that, leaving it a comfortable win for Dings however not all was lost for the Accies boys. Despite some lessons to be learned, there were some positives to be taken from the game with the boys sticking in and competing at a very high level. Notable performances from Ross Cowan, Harry Briggs and Connor Simmons stood out, however, the whole team could be proud of how they bounced back after the first 30.
Attention now aims towards the first game of the season as both 1s and 2s take on Newton Stewart and Marr, respectively, at New Anniesland.
