Lochaber up to third in table
Lochaber 51 Isle of Mull RFC 17
Lochaber hosted Mull on Saturday before the break for international fixtures.
Unfortunately Mull were not able to field a full team so Lochaber agreed to a development game which would get the fixture fulfilled and give Lochaber a 28-0 bonus point win.
The game would also be played to the new ‘game on’ rules. Instead of the usual 80 minutes, it was agreed the game would be played in three, 20-minute sections. Lochaber gave two players to Mull for the start of the game meaning both teams played with 13 players. The game also started with uncontested scrums with Mull not having a front row.
Lochaber broke the deadlock when a training ground move came off for the backs with Koni Johnson shrugging off several tackles to run in to score by the posts with Ryan Davies converting.
From the restart, Conor Taylor took the ball and set off swatting aside would be tacklers before eventually being dragged down by three defenders.
The ball was then passed to Callum Boyd who dummied before giving the ball to Euan Larter who first used his pace to run free before showing his strength to get the ball down after being tackled on the try line.
Lochaber were almost in for their third try minutes later when Boyd made a looping pass out to Christopher Simpson to score but the referee deemed the pass had drifted forward and brought the play back.
Lochaber got their third after a scrum when they spread the ball wide and after a few phases Jonathan McCook found himself in space out wide to run it in under the posts, with Davies converting.
In the second third, from the re-start captain Callum MacDonald and Conor Taylor dragged Ally Weir, who was playing for Mull, into touch.
MacDonald took a quick lineout and some quick hands put Larter in space and he made around 35m before being tackled five metres out, but Jack Hamilton was there in support and got the pass from Larter to run it in and score with Davies converting.
From the restart, Lochaber worked the ball out wide, stretching the Mull defence. The ball came out to captain MacDonald and Simpson was calling for a kick ahead to chase with no defenders back.
MacDonald chipped the ball over the top and Simpson got there first ahead of the Mull defender with Hamilton in support.
He kicked the ball onwards over the goal line then touched it down to score.
Mull came back into the third with two tries of their own, with the same player scoring from close range before breaking free and running it in for his second.
Lochaber responded to that second try with Simpson in for his second try, running it in before spinning out of the tackle of Lewis Morrison who was playing for Mull at the time.
In the final third, Mull were first to score, after Lochaber cleared the ball from their own goal line with a kick.
Hamilton, now playing for Mull, found himself in space and ran into score his second of the match making him the only player to score one try for each team.
Lochaber won a turnover to regain possession. Calum
Sandison almost scored after breaking free but was tackled five metres out but Larter was there in support to score.
Captain MacDonald was then in after a quick tap penalty seven metres out. The Mull defender stepped to the side as MacDonald ran at him to go through and score unchallenged.
Lochaber worked it up the pitch just over the half way line and MacDonald found a hole in Mull’s defence to run in to score under the posts from almost 50m out.
Hamilton chased hard and got the tackle in, but MacDonald was already crossing the line.
MacDonald then converted his own try with a drop kick and the referee brought the game to an end.
With the score 51-17, the win moves Lochaber up to third in the table with three games in hand over Cumbernauld who are seven points ahead and one game in hand over Glasgow University Medics who are eight points ahead.
Lochaber are scheduled to host old rivals Ross Sutherland this Saturday for a friendly game before getting back into league action on November 27 away to Bishopton. Kick-off, 2pm.