Home win for Turriff RFC against Inverness Craig Dunain RFC, winning 37-31
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TURRIFF RFC are back to winning ways at home, after securing a bonus point win against a strong Inverness Craig Dunain side, writes Isla Jack.
After the previous weeks loss to an experienced Highland 3rd’s, the men were eager to get back to winning ways and show the home crowd what they could do.
Thanks to our friends from Fraserburgh RFC the game was able to go ahead, with them helping the opposition get the 15 and a couple extra and also offering bench support for Turriff.
A few last minute changes before kick off did not deter the Turriff side and, continuing on from last week, they started strong.
Three minutes in, Mark Blease got stuck in and ripped the ball in a tackle, which was scooped up and shipped through the hands to centre Liam Jordan who paced past the defence to go in under the posts.
Fly half Stuart Barron was back for kicking duties and slotted the ball straight through the middle.
It wasn’t long until he was calling for the tee again, after ICD were penalised for not rolling away and he added three more to Turriff’s tally.
ICD responded quickly and used the hands wide to race down the touch line and go over for a converted try.
Never one to shy away from running into a gap, Jordan received a pass in the middle and made several metres before a great last ditch tackle from ICD stopped him in his tracks.
Turriff were right on his heels and a quick ball from Daniel Chisholm out to Matt Baron allowed him to stretch the legs again and keep Turriff in the lead 15-7.
Doing well to exploit the space, ICD used those slick hands once again and their speedy winger touched down in the corner to bring them closer again.
Another penalty awarded to Turriff through ill discipline from ICD allowed Barron to keep points coming for Turriff, however ICD now recognised the space out wide and exploited it before half time to score and come within one point - a half time score of 18-17.
The second half was full of excitement and saw cards for both sides.
Hungry for more and chasing that top try scorer achievement was Liam Jordan, after great hands through the back line enabled him to hit at pace and go over for another converted try.
They came close to another, with Turriff’s youngsters Euan Crawford and Aaron Inglis putting on a show with explosive runs.
However, the ball was knocked on metres from the line.
Turriff’s next challenge of the game was to do one thing – defend.
Though ICD were organising well and looked sure to score on a few instances, solid tackling and hard work at the breakdown stopped them dead.
The ball was spilled close to the line and Jordan was quick as ever to gather and reach over for a hat trick.
Unfortunately, Turriff were caught sleeping around the breakdown near their own posts.
The ICD player noticed the gap and used a good old show and go to sneak under the posts.
A few changes in the back line saw new player John-Paul Deighan step onto the wing and he quickly asserted himself.
Turriff had some great phases and were moving up the park.
Finally going to the wing for Deighan to step back inside, straighten and outrun multiple defenders, the new Turriff man made his first ever try and earned possibly the best reaction from the crowd so far.
Turriff were unfortunately down to 14 for the last 15, after a red card was shown to Andrew Clark following foul play and ICD capitalised.
Faster than light was the winger who raced over and, despite exceptional defence from the Turriff back line that seemed to have stopped the ball short, the try was awarded.
ICD gathered the kick off and started to move slowly towards the halfway line.
The ball was shipped out wide to the winger, who did well to fight against the sideline.
However, a sliding foot and those pesky studs scraping the line saw the flag go up.
Not best impressed with this decision, his choice language for the line judge saw him sent off through the second red of the game.
Turriff gained possession until the full time whistle and could finally relax, with a full time score of 37-31.
Next up for the men’s team is an away game to Stornoway this Saturday – the first time the two teams have met and Turriff's first island trip, in what could be a great weekend!
Travel arrangements have been made for the team, however any supporters who might want to make their own way over to cheer the guys on would be very much appreciated.
