County keep play-off hopes firmly on track
Stirling’s scrum leads to victory
Stirling County 27 Currie Chieftains 24 The question for Stirling all through the opening battles of the season has been: are they real top–four contenders, or a side destined for another midtable season?
Beating the team that has got to the play–offs every season since they were introduced must prove they can be the real deal, though there were enough glitches and wobbles in the course of the game to leave that question mark pencilled in.
The big worry for Eddie Pollock, the coach, has got to be how they will fare when they come up against sides that can match their formidable pack. Currie couldn’t and that proved decisive.
It took only four minutes for the home side to get themselves on the board with Grant Hughes, the centre, breaking from the 10–yard line to spark the attack with Andrew Goudie, the fly half, jinking over to finish it.
With the momentum firmly in their favour, Stirling continued to find holes in the Currie defence, wing Andrew McLean grabbing their second try as Grant Hughes, the centre, off–loaded to create the space.
A third quickly followed when a line– out maul got over the line with scrum half Peter Jericevich on the back of it to touch down.
It should have been the platform for a cruise, but instead the momentum suddenly changed 180 degrees. It was Currie who were finding holes in midfield, whose forwards were running to the ball at pace and putting their side on the front foot.
They started to win penalties, kicked for the corner, and when Ross Bundy, the Stirling lock, was sin–binned for pulling down a maul, they got a chance to turn the pressure into scores.
Gregor Hunter, the former Edinburgh fly half, showed how easy it could be as he sold an outrageous dummy and sauntered over. Jamie Forbes and Ben Robbins then produced a counter attack off a loose kick, the ball was recycled and AP McWilliam surged over.
The second half saw the home side restored to 15 men, and, just as they had in the first, they were able to use the power of their scrum and Currie never got a look-in again.
It took a while, but Stirling soon increased their lead with the Currie defence drifting wide to hand Goudie a hole for his second try. The visitors did hit back through Steve Hamilton, but County were soon back on the attack, turning the screw through a series of scrums and line out mauls until they had run down the clock enough for Johnny Hope to eventually take the penalty points that moved his team two scores clear.
It turned out to be an important kick as Ben Robbins brought the visitors back within three points of their opponents with a last–ditch try. There were only seconds left on the clock, however, and that was where it finished.
Stirling County – J Hope; A McLean, R Tagive, G Hughes, C Jardine; A Goudie, P Jericevich; R Chies, R Kennedy, M Walker, J Pow, R Bundy, G Arnott, H Burr. Subs: B Robertson, B Dinesen, A Grant-Suttie, H Henderson, A Vipond.