AFTER the previous week's disappointment at Blairgowrie, Garioch were determined to put things right against a Kinross side that had travelled needing a win as badly as the Garioch men, writes Stuart Archer.

On a clear, sunny day, both teams took to the field, with Garioch playing with the sun at their backs in the first half.
Straight from the kick-off, Richard Ettles carried the ball strongly back to the Kinross side, sending a defender flying such was the force of his run.

This was looking promising, however it appeared to be a false dawn a few minutes later, when a mistake in the midfield allowed Kinross to burst through the defensive line, touching down for the first try of the game on the left hand side. The kick was missed, leaving the score at Garioch 0, Kinross 5.

Gradually, Garioch began to force their way back into the game, with the forwards upping their game and giving Jamie Waterston a good platform to feed the backs. With a strong and skilful backline, led by Ev Donaghue, the Garioch boys showed their confidence with some fine handling moves that saw steady progress down the pitch.

A tactical change was made after 20 minutes, with player coach Rob Donaghue replacing the impressive Richard Ettles. Unfortunately for Rob, a back injury at the start of the second half put paid to his game.

From good possession, the ball was moved quickly to Raeper at outside centre. With a bit of space, he made to switch with wing Euan Moir, but dummied the pass, sending three Kinross defenders chasing the wrong man. Raeper calmly rounded the remaining defender and scored under the posts.

The try was converted by Moir, and finally Garioch were off the mark, playing the kind of rugby that had been promised through training, but had seldom seen the light of day to date.

Play ebbed back and fore, with neither side seemingly able to take control. Cue Duncan Ross, the Garioch full back. From a move that seemed to be going nowhere, Ross stepped up and set off on a mazy run, bamboozling several Kinross players before touching down near the posts. Again Moir converted, leaving the score at 14-5 in favour of Garioch.

Garioch were now running their full range of backs moves, thanks to consistently good possession given by the forwards. In particular, Stewart Morrison was proving to be a real thorn in the side for Kinross, getting himself all over the pitch and disrupting possession they had.

Kinross were by no means out of the game though, and after steady progress up the pitch, the referee spotted a Garioch player infringing, and from the resultant penalty, Kinross reduced the deficit by three points.

Garioch immediately responded, and from a scrum in centre field, just inside the Kinross half, the ball was fed to Ev Donaghue. He had a look to his right, but the planned move was not available, with players out of position, so Ev simply decided to run himself.

Picking his line, the Kinross players almost seemed to step aside to let him through. Gratefully accepting the Kinross defence generosity, the younger Donaghue sped over the line and scored Garioch's third try, again converted by Moir.

Just as the ball landed, the referee inexplicably blew up for half time, a full five minutes early. Both sides protested, however the referee stuck to his decision, advising it was 35 minutes each side, and not the full 40 both teams had played all season to date. With Garioch in the ascendancy at this point, it was obviously disappointing to stop so early, with the score at 21-8 in Garioch's favour.

The second half began with Kinross clearing their lines kicking into the Garioch half. The ball was safely gathered by Imrie on the left wing, and he took off upfield. With his opposite winger to beat, he made the wrong choice, stepping inside and into the tackle.

The ball was dislodged in the contact, and Kinross gladly swooped on this error, charging downfield to score under the posts. The try was converted, and the score now stood at 21-15.

Garioch continued to run the ball at every opportunity, but the free flowing confidence of the first half seemed to have disappeared. As a result, Kinross became more and more confident, though there was little creativity in the back line.

They did, however, use the kick and chase to good effect, and the bigger forwards began to leave their mark on the lighter Garioch pack, forcing the home side down to 14 men for ten minutes, when Ross Watt was spotted infringing by the referee.

Concentrated pressure on the Garioch line resulted in a try for Kinross, when strong forward driving saw a close range try. The conversion was missed, leaving Garioch holding on to their lead by a thread.

Once again, the home players pressed the self-destruct button, and a defensive error gave the visitors possession, from where the ball was swung wide, and a try scored on the right. The conversion was missed, leaving the score at Garioch 21, Kinross 25.

Despite pressure at the end by the home side, the score remained unchanged, leaving Garioch only picking up a losing bonus point for their efforts for the second week running.

The Garioch players should take heart from this fixture however, as some of the running rugby and support play of the first half was top drawer. What they now have to do is keep their concentration levels up throughout the whole game.

Man of the match for Garioch was flanker Richard Ettles, who brought a hard edge to the home pack. Once he improves his fitness levels and gets more games under his belt, we should see even more from the tough tackling player.

Garioch welcome the students from Stirling University to Kellands next. Having already lost out to St Andrews University, Garioch will be looking to stop the rot with a much-needed victory. Kick off time is 3pm.