Play-off for Fyne Tankard at Glenralloch
The second round of Tarbert Golf Club’s Fyne Tankard took place last Saturday in glorious conditions at Glenralloch.
Best net scores on the day were Lewis Preston on 70, Iain Macalister 71 and Andrew Henderson on 75.
When the results were added up it emerged that Lewis Preston and Iain Macalister tied on 142, meaning the boys will have an 18-hole medal play-off.
On Sunday the ladies gathered for the April Stableford in equally good conditions.
Mrs Frances Hardie emerged victorious with 39 points, next was Mrs G Dickson on 36 and third was Mrs S Ferguson on 34.
This Saturday the May Medal and first round of the President’s Cup will take place which will hopefully see a few more members venturing out.
On Sunday the ladies play in the Coronation Foursomes.
In a rearranged fixture away to LanarkClydeside RFC on Saturday April 27, Mid Argyll played their last game of the current season.
The travelling team were confident they could get that elusive away win but knew it was going to be a difficult task with a depleted squad missing a lot of regulars.
Conditions on the day were perfect and the home team kicked off and immediately the Boars had them under pressure.
Captain Stu Charnock returned to the starting line-up to pull the strings at fly half and had the ball moving wide to keep the home team guessing.
On 10 minutes, a move, started in the middle of the pitch, saw the ball go out wide from Neill Malcolm to centre partner Dougie Ritchie, who drew the defender in before releasing Ben Smith to charge home from 20 metres out touching down in the corner. Ali Peterson was just finding his range with this conversion attempt which drifted wide of the post.
The visiting forwards piled on the pressure determined to keep the impressive start going and when the ball went wide left, it found Ritchie again in full flight and the home team could only watch as he burst through beating three to score under the posts. Peterson was accurate this time for the first of his conversions.
Another two tries came quickly, the first for Elliot Lindsay - his first of the season. Great forward work had Lindsay on the line at the back of a ruck, a quick look and dummy and he crossed the line right beside the post. Again Peterson added the extras.
This was again quickly followed by Smith’s second of the day right between the posts and again Peterson added the conversion.
Smith was on fire now and it was only minutes before he once again crossed for his hat-trick with a carbon copy of his first try, this time the defence-splitting pass coming from Malcolm. Again Peterson was accurate.
Then came another one, this time from Ben Rusden. Great work from No 8 Daniel Broderick as the restart saw him battle 40 metres from in his own half up to the Lanark 10m line, when the home side eventually pulled him down, he offloaded to second row Rusden.
As the defence scrambled to restructure, Rusden saw his chance down the wing, a chip through beat the last defender and somehow he managed to beat everyone else to the ball to touch down for the Boars sixth try of the half. Again Peterson converted.
With the bonus point secured Mid Argyll allowed the home team back into the game. Two tries and a conversion before half time saw the Boars lead 12-38 when the whistle came for the interval.
The coaching team of Lee Buckey and Lewis MacFarlane made it clear what they expected in the second half and reminded the team how important this win would be. Robbie MacTavish, who made his first senior start in the game, was replaced by Kieran McCullough at the break.
Buoyed by their tries before half time, the home team came out determined to pull the score back and played some really good, hard rugby. This galvanised the visitors and soon had them on the attack once more.
A lineout steal from Gordon McLean set the stage for Daniel Broderick, who was going for a season best try tally, for his first of the day.
After some great work from the pack, Broderick powered over from 5m out. Broderick scored the next one as well for his 10th try of the season. Peterson converted both rounding off an excellent day from the tee for the full back.
Lanark-Clydeside got one more but it was all Mid Argyll as they were determined to finish the season on a high.
It wasn’t over for the visitors as they had one more try in them. Having waited all season for his first, Lindsay added another.
Liam Long collected a clearing kick in his own half before setting off on a mazey run leaving Lanark-Clydesdale defenders in his wake. As the try line loomed before him he was hauled down by the scruff of his neck, but was aware enough to pass to Lindsay who crossed the line with the opposition 10 trying to hold him up.
Robbie Herd was the first supporting player to arrive and smashed into the struggling pair sending them to the ground with Lindsay still in control of the ball and touching down for the team’s ninth try of the game.
This time Peterson handed the ball to Ritchie to try his luck from the tee and, luckily for him, he hit it straight between the sticks for the final points of the day.
A great finish to the season for the Boars and a very well-deserved away win means they finish sixth in the league.