Lochaber edge past Shawlands to go third
Shawlands’ forward pack proved a tough match for Lochaber, who eventually overcame the dogged visitors in a close encounter at Banavie.
Lochaber were looking to turn around last week’s disappointing result but knew they would be in for a tough game after losing to Shawlands home and away last season, and it was the visitors who were first to get points on the board with the first try of the game.
Lochaber quickly got three points on the board through the boot of Jonathan McCook, however, as the game went back and forth with both teams evenly matched. Shawlands’ pack gave Lochaber’s scrum the biggest test of the season so far.
Conor Taylor got his first try in the left corner after sustained pressure from Lochaber’s forwards, with Jonathan McCook converting the try. Shawlands did cross the line again but Campbell Wilson and Matt Murray were able to stop the ball being grounded. Taylor got his second try of the afternoon after Lochaber had worked their way down the right hand side, stopping just short of the try line. After several pick and goes, Taylor was able to force his was over the line with McCook converting to make it 17-5 at half-time.
Not long in to the second half Lochaber were reduced to 14 men after captain Callum MacDonald was shown a yellow card for team infringements after the referee did not know which player had committed the penalty. Soon after, Shawlands got their second try to make it 1712 and get back in the game.
Lochaber thought they had their third try when William Stewart broke a tackle to cross the line. Initially the referee seemed to award the try before changing his mind as he couldn’t see the grounding. A few minutes later, the same thing happened when Taylor crossed the line for the third time and once again the referee changed his mind, saying he couldn’t see the grounding.
The final few minutes would be a tense affair as Shawlands got their third try with around 10 minutes remaining bringing the score to 17-17.
With less than two minutes remaining, Lochaber were awarded a penalty right in front of the posts which McCook kicked to make it 20-17. Shawlands looked to hit back straight after Lochaber gave away a penalty with time up, which meant Shawlands were able to kick for touch to gain territory. From the line-out Lochaber were able to put pressure on the Shawlands forwards who knocked on which brought a tightly fought game to an end.
The win moves Lochaber up to third in the league. The Banavie club have no game this weekend but are back in action on Saturday October 27 at Banavie where they will welcome Glasgow University Medics.
The kick off is at 3pm.