Isle of Mull are pipped by a point

THE disappointing start to Mull rugby team’s season continued, as they lost out to Cowal by one point.

Both teams were piped on to the field by Fionnphort’s Cameron Anson, which set the Muileachs up for a great start. A superb driving maul allowed Angus MacLennan to score in the far corner. A defensive error by the Muileachs allowed Cowal to even up the score shortly after to make it 5-5.

A fantastic break from Sean Black then allowed Andrew MacLennan to feed the ball to brother David to make the score 12-5, after a successful conversion.

With 20 minutes gone, Tober mory’s David Downham jumped to receive a kick- off and was tackled illegally in the air. Downham was taken off with a dislocated shoulder.

Recent changes to the laws have been specifically introduced to protect players in the air and help prevent this kind of serious injury. No red card was given, much to Mull’s disbelief.

The boys in black and white got back to business, and soon found themselves 19-5 up. Another great break from Sean Black led to a second try from the MacLennan brothers, Andrew scoring this time. The try followed by another successful conversion from Salen’s Donald ‘Budgie’ McIvor. A Cowal try after the Muileachs lost their concentration saw the score at 19-12 going in to the half-time break.

The second half saw the sun come out, and also the beginning of a very frustrating 40 minutes for Mull. Two penalty conversions for Cowal and one from Mull made the score 2218, and saw Mull increasingly frustrated with the referee’s handling of the game.

Tempers began to flare in the last 10 minutes and Mull’s misery was compounded with a Cowal try.

With five minutes to go, Mull had lost the lead, the score sitting at 22-23. Then, with the last kick of the game, Mull had the chance of victory with a penalty. Devastatingly for the islanders, the ball slipped narrowly past the post and the final whistle was blown.

Mull’s next game is this Saturday against Hyndland in Glasgow.