Shire shine in this try-fuelled thriller Perthshire side make it two victories in a row

Perthshire ........... 27 Murrayfield ......... 24 accused of being too soft in preseason but they scorched that myth by fronting up to everything Murrayfield could throw at them and giving as good as they got in attack.

The scrum was still a problem area though as once again Clow had to prove his athleticism in gathering the ball going backwards.

Wanderers spun the ball out wide and their winger dodged full back Alcorn’s despairing tackle which resulted in try number two and a visit to the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for Alcorn.

Shire had to reshuffle their backs and Jack McKintosh was brought on to the wing.

Wanderers piled on the pressure but both sets of forwards tackled and drove like demons.

The Edinburgh side had several scoring opportunities from lineouts close to Shire’s line but they were expertly repelled.

The pressure paid off on the half- hour mark when they won another lineout and this time spun the ball wide and scored try number three.

They lost their prop just after this and Shire began turning the screw.

Graeme Clow controlled the game majestically at stand off and brother Duncan had his best game of the season so far as he continually sucked in tacklers, driving holes in the Wanderers defence.

Clow and Bowater combined superbly and ‘big Dan’ demolished a few tackles as he powered through for Shire’s second try to bring them right back into the game.

All Shire’s forwards stepped up a gear and their powerful play was opening up gap. Matt Rae sliced his way through one of them for an inspirational try which Armitt converted to take Shire into the lead for the first time in the match.

Wanderers were in no mood to relinquish the game and they mounted attack after attack.

They scorned the chances of kicks at goal as they won several penalties but Shire’s defence remained steadfast and there was no way through.

Both teams were going for the four try bonus but when Shire won a penalty in the 22 they wisely opted for the kick and once again Armitt slotted over.

A further Armitt penalty meant that Shire could breathe a little easier as it meant that Wanderers had to score twice.

However, with the referee seeming to allow play to carry on and Wanderers scoring a late try it was a nerve wracking last few minutes as Shire formed a tough rear-guard to protect their winning margin.

After 10 minutes of injury time the referee finally blew his whistle and it was two wins from three for the Perth side.

Shire entertain St Boswells tomorrow (Saturday 22) at the North Inch.