Marr’s unbeaten home run finally at an end
MARR ............................ 15 GHA .............................. 17
Marr’s 1st XV saw a near two year unbeaten home run ended on Saturday as they were made to rue missed chances at Fullarton.
The club’s long run of wins, which stretches back to January 2018, came to a halt as some determined defensive work by GHA thwarted repeated efforts to breach the try line.
And Marr’s usually precise goal kicking was a bit off song, albeit many were left scratching their heads as what seemed to be a successful conversion by Colin Sturgeon was not agreed as such by the two assistant referees.
Marr dominated the first half but were unable to convert the pressure into points.
GHA’s defence was impressive and unyielding and they made their chances pay on the break.
Their first came on 10 minutes when an interception on halfway by James Edgar saw him race to the line and touch down in the corner for a converted try.
For the next 25 minutes Marr continued to hammer home repeated attacks but couldn’t make the final breakthrough.
Just before half time GHA got back into Marr territory and won a penalty that was converted to open up a 10 point lead and close out the half.
After the break, with the strong wind on their backs, Marr’s players tried to lift the tempo but in the third quarter they continued to find GHA refusing to buckle.
After 10 minutes of pressure Marr’s scant reward was a Colin Sturgeon penalty.
GHA extended their lead with a converted try and as the wind and rain picked up, what little light there had been faded and the day started to look bleak for the home support.
On 62 minutes Marr finally got some cheer and reward for their efforts.
Winning a lineout close to GHA’s line it was a rolling maul that managed to trundle over the line and as it collapsed Mackenzie Pearce was able to touch down with Sturgeon converting.
Ten minutes later Marr’s pack bulldozed their way through the GHA defence and Robert Brown claimed the try but the conversion wasn’t awarded.
This generated a furious final five minutes of play as GHA stubbornly held on while Marr threw everything they had left to in a desperate attempt to get a winning score.
In the final play Marr were awarded a penalty on halfway but the kick slipped past the upright leaving GHA’s celebrations to begin.
Meanwhile, on the top pitch Marr Rugby’s 2nd XV were narrowly edged out by the league leaders GHA 15- 12.
It was a good effort in difficult conditions and GHA managed to withstand a determined attempt by Marr to rescue a win in the closing stages of the match.
Despite the loss coach Keith Dunsmuir was heartened by the performances of his squad and in particular 18 year old Scott Rodger, making his senior rugby debut and putting in a tremendous shift.
This season Scott has been captaining the successful Marr College 1st XV.
In Reserve League 2, Marr lost 29- 5 at Annan.
This weekend, Marr’s 1st XV are at Currie ( 3pm), the 2nd XV host Stirling ( 2pm) and the 3rd XV are away to Dalziel ( 2pm).
We learnt that the guys are willing to dig in for each other