Bulls bank first victory
Selkirk are put to the sword
Hamilton Rugby Club bagged their first win of the Tennent’s National Division One season at home to Selkirk.
Facing Borders opponents for the second successive week, the young side knew the task that faced them and but rose to the challenge.
From the start, Hamilton showed their intention to play with real attacking style and got the scoreboard ticking in four minutes.
Following a midfield line break by lock Josh White, the ball was moved right and a smart interchange of passes between fullback Ethan Aitken and Craig Skilling saw the latter dot down between the posts,with Owen Mcleish converting.
Similar smart handling almost resulted in a second try but Selkirk’s winger just won the race to touch down Craig Inglis’s chip ahead.
Selkirk stand-off Rory Banks missed a penalty attempt in 11 minutes, but in 22 minutes their forwards played some accurate
Hamilton ..... 23 Selkirk ......... 14
National League 1 phases, resulting in Hamilton’s defence giving away a succession of penalties.
The Bulls’ defence was breached by hooker James Bett, who forced his way over under the posts, with Banks adding the extras.
Hamilton kept the pressure on and it was Selkirk whose discipline cracked next, offering Mcleish the chance of a longrange penalty attempt which floated between the uprights for Hamilton to retake the lead.
The hosts simply didn’t look back after that.
Full-back Ethan Aitken was next on the score-sheet, finishing off a slick handling move set up by the midfield break of flanker Gregor Brodie.
Mcleish’s conversion attempt from out wide fell just short, but Hamilton led 15-7.
Hamilton started the second half with the same attitude, securing possession from the kick-off and swinging the ball wide to clear the way for Craig Inglis to crash over out wide.
Despite Selkirk’s attempts to reduce the leeway, Hamilton trusted their defence and their attacking style to hold sway.
This resulted in some scrappy play, but the Bulls edged this nervy period when Mcleish knocked over another longrange penalty to open up a 16-point gap. Injury to Inglis saw Neil Kennedy made his debut and come into the fray and his first task was to repel Selkirk’s determined attack.
Keeping the ball tight in the forwards, they punched their way to the Hamilton five-metre line.
A clever crossfield kick let full-back John Welsh cross the whitewash, with Banks’s conversion reducing the deficit to just nine points with 15 minutes remaining.
Hamilton continued to press and breaks by man of the match Robert Brown and Kennedy resulted in two quick penalties.
On both occasions, however, Hamilton unsuccessfully opted to go for the posts from long range.
Despite those misses against the breeze, the young Hamilton side looked after possession well enough to hold on for their first league win of the new season after two games.
Coach David Gemmell acknowledged the efforts of his players.
He said: “I thought we looked after the ball much better this week and still showed the attacking flair that these guys are capable of.
“There will be no easy matches in this division but I am confident that the boys have a game-plan and the skills to bring it on to the pitch.”
Hamilton are next in action at home to Cartha Queen’s Park on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.