Try bonus, but Dundee High fail to threaten Goldenacre men

They may have come close to turning over the Ayr club side in the cup last week, but when Dundee High Rugby faced the side who were runners-up to Ayr in last season’s Tennent’s Premiership and Cup they came a distant second.

The Heriots club side travelled to Dalnacraig and came away with a 47-24 win in the first week of Tennent’s National 1.

Although the hosts managed a try bonus, they never came close to threatening the Goldenacre men.

Certainly they can take some consolation in that bonus point from four tries. Ruaridh Hood nabbed a couple, while Danny McGinn and Duncan McIntyre scored one each. With Paul Kerr’s two conversions it made for a respectable performance, but Heriots laid down a marker.

Oisin Quinn had a couple of tries from full-back, wings John Rae and Scott Robertson finished off clinically for their scores, prop Ross Hutchison, flanker Martin Hughes and center Fin Hutcheson took the try total to seven and veteran Graham Wilson, deadly as ever with the boot, slotted six conversions.

Dundee know they will have few more difficult games in the league and will have to build on the positives that come from that try bonus point.

There was a certain irony in the fact that Dumfries kicker Allan Birdsall spent 10 minutes on the naughty step but it was his penalty which was the difference between themselves and Kirkcaldy as they headed back to the south west with a 29-26 win under their belts.

Honours were otherwise even in the National 2 clash at Beveridge Park with Josh Laird, Jacob Ramsay, Danny Jennings and Greig Wallace all crossing for Kirkcaldy and Craig Letham slotting three from four before he incurred the wrath of the referee and earned himself a red card.

Jack Steele nipped in for a brace of tries for Dumfries, Lewis Young and Ewan Miller had one apiece and Birdsall added three from four as well but nailed the key penalty for the win.

Both Berwick and Saturday’s visitors Howe of Fife find themselves new to National 3 this season, Berwick having been promoted while Howe dropped down, but it was the home side who were on top early.

At 19-7 ahead at half time there was little chance of Howe getting back into the game, and a disjointed-looking Duffus Park outfit were finally outmuscled 36-7.

Lasswade were itching to get into their first league match after thumping West 61-14 in the League Cup last week, but Strathmore travelled to Hawthornden to give a pretty useful account of themselves and were unlucky not to get a couple of points rather than the zero which came from the 27-17 defeat.

Dale Robertson, Russell Gladstone and James Elliot had Lasswade’s tries, with Matt Smith and Andy Hall putting over three conversions and two penalties.

Strathie matched them try for try, Blair Butchart, Glenn Feighan and Ewan McGuire each crossed and Buchart added a conversion. This performance will be a boost to Strathmore against one of the fancied sides in National 3.

It was not the opener that Perthshire wanted as they found themselves at the wrong end of a 25-19 defeat against Greenock at North inch.

They scraped a losing bonus but the try bonus eluded them with only three tries from Jay Pettie, Ross Goodison and Andy Jack, while Callum Bryce landed a couple of conversions.

Colin Bradley, skipper Leigh Tyley and Pete Lavelle had the tries but the 10 points from the boot which won it for Greenock came from former Perthshire favourite AJ Guthrie.