Dyce took to a blustery Westhill pitch determined to make a good account of themselves against a strong North Police Scotland squad storming the completion and still undefeated sat second in the BT Caley 3 North table.

Photo credit: Andy Fowler

Despite being aware of how slow starts had put them on the back foot in previous matches, Dyce were caught napping at the kick-off as the Police drove over a maul directly from a lineout 15m out to score a try within the first minutes of the game. Blustery conditions meant that their conversion attempt from the sidelines went wide.

Dyce instantly fought back and ran straight back at the opposition with a fire and intensity that was obvious to the supporters on the touchlines. Dyce moved the ball through the phases with the forwards catching the bobbies offside. A quickly taken tap-and-go penalty saw Openside Flanker Phil Horsfall crash through tackles to score a try against the base of the post. Duncan Scott converted to take Dyce into the lead after 5 minutes of play. The Police hit back by scoring a brace of tries in quick succession after two line breaks from within their own half before the game began to settle down. Dyce held pressure on the Police but suffered setbacks as a number of Dyce players suffered injuries with Ruari McAlister requiring to be replaced.

Photo credit: Andy Fowler

Dyce again responded well and piled on the pressure catching the home side by surprise and forcing them to give away numerous penalties. Duncan Scott used one of these to put three points on the board for Dyce and take the team back within touching distance of the in form coppers with the score at 19-10.

Dyce then lost their Stand-Off Rob Haden to injury and again had to reorganise around the kiwi’s replacement. Winger CJ Thomson soon followed Hadden off the pitch following a knock received as the Police ran in their fourth try (unconverted) of the game to seal the Try bonus point.

Photo credit: Andy Fowler

With replacements on the field Dyce fought their way back to the Police's 22' time and again, Dyce battled away trying to convert their possession into points. With the penalty count rising against the hosts, the men in blue failed to make the final break for the try line. Frustration towards the end of the half saw Dyce begin to vent their anger towards each other; tiring legs and the Police's superior physicality told as they ran in another brace of tries to take the game away from the visitors.

HT: North Scotland Police 45-10 Dyce RFC

Following Half time the score stayed static for 15 minutes of play as both teams slogged it out in the relentless wind. Again Dyce fought back having composed themselves during the interval and battled hard to put the home team under pressure. Despite the Police penalty count rising no cards were issued and the referee let both teams contest in a full blooded affair. Unfortunately Dyce found themselves unable to take full advantage and despite some great passages of play just could not break through the robust police defence. After 56 minutes the Police again broke the Dyce defense and ran in their fifth try and their kicker added the extras.

Photo credit: Andy Fowler

At the hour mark the difference in fitness between the two teams really started to tell and despite some valiant running in defence from Gregg Jack and Phil Horsfall and great chasing from Jack Gray on the wing, the Police ran in the second of their seven second half tries. The direct style of powerful running of the forward pack was too much for some; Sean Broadley seeing his feet before landing on the turf after an unceremonious hand off of epic proportions. The ruthless bobbies rang the changes in personnel and upped the tempo and exposed the lack of size in the wide areas for Dyce. The pace and power too much for Dyce RFC, the coppers continued to exploit the mismatches to clock up a big score with four tries in the final 10 minutes. The final play of the game was a fitting end for the Police, as a rampaging Tighthead Prop broke three tackles on the 10m line to run in and score under the posts.

FT: North Scotland Police 90-10 Dyce RFC

MoTM: Gregg Jack
DoTD: Keir Liddle

Dyce can look back on the game and reflect that while they might never have been in contention for the win, they were certainly worth more than the ten points they put on the board on the day. Attention now turns to focus on the upcoming home fixture against Gordonians 2nd XV (The Jolly Boys), a re-arranged fixture from gameweek 8.