Dyce traveled to Bught Park, Inverness on the back of a close encounter when the sides last met back in February. In the warm April sunshine, the pitch was in a great condition for running rugby.

Kicking off into the sunshine, Dyce seemed to have the better of the opening skirmishes with winger Edmund Barnard, making this debut for the club, carrying powerfully in midfield. Unfortunately his debut was cut short with him exiting the pitch injured within the first 10 minutes, despite his positive early contribution. An early penalty opportunity from Craig Dunain misdemeanors was missed by David Hay from wide on the left from just outside the 22m.

This early let off seemed to spur on the home side who went up the other end of the pitch to score the games first points; a try on the 9th minute score by number 5. A second 7 point score was quickly added to the scoreboard for the red and blues coming from direct running round the fringes of the ruck. A massive hit by Phil Horsfall on CD's Adrian Pavel was penalised by the referee for a dangerous tackle; the Dyce man lucky to escape further punishment with the tackled man's legs horizontal as he hit the ground. With a poorly functioning scrum, Dyce managed to stable the ship with through a solid line-out and David Hay's good kicking from hand to clear the danger when Craig Dunain gave away penalties.

Dunain's forwards continued to exploit Dyce's weak scrum and tackling around the fringes of the ruck to make big gains in the away side's half. Fraser Craig again caused havoc with ball in hand. He crossed the Dyce try line in the 21st minute to score the first of his two tries. Big hits from the CD forwards peppered the Dyce ball carriers in the centre of the park; none was felt more keenly then by CJ Thomson who went off with a shoulder injury in the middle of the first half. With only one sub available and two injuries this meant Dyce dropped to play with 14 men. A try shortly after secured the home team's try bonus point within half an hour played. As Dyce began to find solutions to combat the powerful Inverness scrum, the half time whistle blew.

HT: Inverness Craig Dunain 28-0 Dyce RFC

Replenished after the interval, Dyce went straight on the attack from the kick off, returning the kick off and pushing into the homes side's territory before winning a penalty on the 22m in line with the posts. Fly half David Hay stepped up to slot the kick and get Dyce's first points on the board in the 42nd minute. Any chance of a comeback was snuffed out immediately when the home side crossed the whitewash for their firth try two minutes after Dyce's points were scored. A third injury reduced Dyce to 13 men; the beginning of a try fest for Dunain started on the 50th minute as big line breaks in the defensive line from set pieces were capitalised upon. The mazy running of the Fujian players helped exacerbate the existing big overlaps created by the unequal team numbers. Six tries were conceded by Dyce in a frantic 20 minute period between the 50th and 70th minutes as the away side tried to plug the large gaps with only four in the back line. Following his HIA assessment Keiran Esson returned to the pitch to increase Dyce's numbers back to 14. Tries included an excellent front peel from a 5m line-out to score in the right hand corner, as well as ICD #5 breaking down the left-hand touchline from his own 10m line before unselfishly offloading when across the try-line.

With the game well won, Dyce came back to life in the last 10 mins of the match and scored three well worked tries as the ICD structure began to break down. Finally being able to secure some possession and finding a solution to their defensive frailties, 'Pushgate' ensued, with Callum Robertson leaving Graeme Lowe on the deck with only the winger to beat from a scrum 5m out. After recycling, Phil Horsfall snuck through the middle of the ruck to strech out and place the ball over the whitewash for 5 points. David Hay missed the conversion, but the confidence rippled through the team and Dyce went straight back on the attack after receiving the restart. Big breaks in midfield by Graeme Lowe, Callum Williamson, Andrew Clarke and Phil Horsfall gobbled up the territory to get Dyce back within striking range of the ICD try-line. After distributing from 10, David Hay fed Rob Haden who ignored the Dyce overlap but instead found an outside shoulder and powered over for a well deserved converted try. Graeme Low capped off a fine display with ball in hand, scoring his second for the team since his January arrival at the club with the last play of the game. David Hay kicked the extras.

FT: Inverness Craig Dunain 76-22 Dyce RFC

On the back of a comprehensive defeat, Dyce managed to recover a some sense of dignity through showing bucket-loads of heart with their late performance beyond the 70 minute mark, although significant improvements will need to be made before the crunch match next week against league basement rivals Fraserburgh. Best of luck to ICD for the rest of their 2017-18 campaign.

MOTM- Graeme Lowe
DOTD- Keiran Esson

Thanks to the supporters who traveled with us! We'll see you again next week as we take on Fraserburgh at home with a 3pm KO.

#MonTheDyce