On Saturday Garnock made the trip to face North Berwick in their first fixture of 2024. The squad was along usual lines however Rory Dominy and Rory Walker returned having both missed the last game.
Prior to kick off there was a minute applause to mark the tragic passing of Aiden Hoenigmann, the Ross High RFC captain.
The game started in dry and chilly conditions on a sticky pitch with Garnock playing down the slope toward the clubhouse. For the first ten minutes North Berwick had the majority of possession and territory laying siege to the Garnock line. The visitors were taking a little time to get the bus journey out of their legs however robust defence kept the line intact and Garnock began to exert pressure on the North Berwick pack through their big ball carriers.
From the initial exchanges it was apparent that the lineouts would be evenly contested however Garnock had a significant edge in the scrums. With 20 minutes gone Garnock were pressing in the North Berwick 22 however the ball was knocked on. At the resultant scrum the home pack went backwards and scrappy ball for their 10 allowed his kick to be charged down and a goal-line drop out awarded. The drop was sent long only to be collected by left-wing Shelton Ferreira and the young flyer hit the afterburners up the touchline to outflank the home defence and score under the posts. Conversion good 0-7
The match was littered with penalties preventing any real flow to the game. A midfield penalty to Garnock was kicked to the corner . The ball was secured and from the following maul No8 Ross Brocket crashed over. Conversion wide 0-12
With 10 minutes of the half remaining Garnock had another 5m lineout and were looking to repeat the dose. The lineout was taken by Jonny Watson and at the maul hooker, Richard O’Neill , tucked in at the rear and followed the rest of the pack over the line to score. Conversion good 0-19
As the first half was coming to a close Garnock were again in the home 22 when they were awarded a penalty. Skipper Matt Shiells opted for a scrum from which the best try of the half was scored. The home side were expecting to be driven back by the visitors however the ball was quickly released and a fine backline move allowed Gareth McCrorie to carve through for a try . Conversion successful 0-26 at half-time
The second half started in similar fashion to the first with North Berwick having plenty of possession but unable to make any significant headway. Garnock continued to attack through both the forwards and the backs but again the number of penalties awarded against both sides prevented any real flow.
Midway through the half Garnock had a lineout just inside the North Berwick 22 and their well drilled pack marched forward allowing Matt Shiells to break 5m out and crash over. Conversion good 0-33
At this point in the game scrums had gone uncontested removing a significant weapon for the visitors and allowing North Berwick some possession. From one such scrum in the home 22 the ball was given to the backs and Rory Walker neatly stepped inside his opposite man to score. Conversion good 0-40
Similar to the first half the best score of the half came with time running out. A break 30m out from the North Berwick line by Stuart Wilson saw him reach the 5m line before being stopped. From the ruck scrum half Keir Walker delicately chipped the ball over the defence and Rory Walker acrobatically caught the ball to score. Conversion missed 0-45
This was an excellent result for the visitors but a rusty performance following the festive period lay off. Doubtless the lads will continue to work hard at training and further improvement will follow
Garncok squad Shiells, O’Neill, Chapman, Watson, Miller, S Wilson, Ramsay-Millar, Brocket, K Walker, McCrorie, Ferreira, Dominy, Reekie, Wynn, Jacobson Reps C Wilson, McDermott, R Walker, Woods
Next week Garnock are on the road again to face Murrayfield Wanderers with 2pm k.o
