Dyce don’t give up despite demolition

Report by Craig Philip

Saturday 23rd November saw Dyce RFC host the Ellon 2nds at Central Park. Conditions were typically challenging for Aberdeen with rain falling throughout the game on an already sodden pitch. Dyce were looking to restart their season after 4 weeks off having not played a game since 19th October. Ellon’s last played on the 9th November when they were on the receiving end of a very uncharacteristic thrashing from Deeside, so they were also looking to get back to the form of mid-October; something which was looking increasingly likely as their 15 plus subs took place against a 14 man Dyce team.

The game began with Dyce kicking downhill and putting on a good chase and big hit to state their intensions. Dyce briefly came to 15 men as their last man arrived, but were soon back to 14 as Lliam Williams was forced to leave the field of battle with a calf injury. Despite the one man deficit Dyce were playing some good looking rugby and after working the fringes through multiple phases they shifted the ball out wide with pace leading to a first ever competitive rugby try for winger Keiran Esson (Congrats!) after 14 minutes of play. Duncan Scott was on kicking duty in place of the missing David Hay and despite a good effort the 2 points weren’t to be.

The rest of the first half was a very close back and forth between the teams with Dyce playing some excellent power rugby in both attack and defence. The “down their throats” style of running and pressing seemed to be giving the visiting players some real difficulty at times, but the open play and slick hands from some of Ellon’s key men lead to an away try from, number 19 after 20 minutes. Number 13 then added the conversion by the slimmest of margins after a surprisingly athletic leap from Craig Philip lead to it whistling past his fingertips and no more.

The battle around the breakdown continued to be the key feature of the first half due to the wet conditions but the two point lead seemed to put wind in the Ellon sails slightly as they added a second try out wide; this time from number 2 after 28 minutes. The widened angle proved to be a degree of difficulty too much for the kicker as it flew wide right leaving the score at 5-12. The end of the half slowed slightly as players from both sides fatigued and the score remained static going into half time.

HT: Dyce 5-12 Ellon RFC 2XV

The second half began with similar game plans from both sides but the Dyce intensity and focus seemed to have dropped slightly. The wet conditions meant handling errors were rife leading to many, many scrums in which Ellon definitely had the upper hand. A mixture of poor footing/boot choice, being one man down and having players well out of position including a front row organised less than 10 minutes before kick-off meant that 90% of scrums went to the visitors. This allowed the visitors to turn the screw and add a third try from number 7 after 42 minutes, a fourth and fifth from number 9 after 52 then 57 minutes, all of which were converted by number 13. Number 10 then added a sixth try after 60 minutes although the conversion was missed on that occasion leaving the score at 5-38.

Despite the one-sided scoreline, Dyce picked themselves up and were once again playing some good aggressive rugby. Dyce had a good chance to score from a kick-off caught and returned up the side line, but this was curtailed by a contentious refereeing decision – something which had become a theme of the game (acknowledged by players on both sides of the ball). This however seemed to fuel the Dyce players with a bit of anger in their souls and despite the lack of points on the board they continued to play hard and enjoyed some good field position in return. This was eventually rewarded with a great break from Rory Shepard which saw Dyce advance right up to within inches of the Ellon try line. The ball came to the back of the ruck and Graeme Lowe’s eyes lit up as he envisaged himself falling forward for the score, but a good presence of Ellon players around the fringes convinced him to give a little pop outside to Craig Philip. The defensive press came up at lightning pace but a beautiful dipped shoulder and pirouette combination saw the Dyce man dive down for the score just outside the righthand post. Duncan Scott once again stepped up to take the kick but sliced it wide; it just wasn’t to be with the conditions as they were. Not contempt with the win as it were, the Ellon lads rallied once again and had the final say in the match, shipping the ball wide to score their final try in the 73rd minute from a man unknown, before their kicker also fell foul to the weather on the conversion attempt.

FT: Dyce RFC 10 – 50 Ellon RFC 2XV.

MoTM: Jack Gray
DoTD: Craig Philip

A closer match than the lopsided scoreline suggests, however Dyce will need to learn quickly ahead of next week’s match on the road against Deeside at Woodend, Banchory (2pm KO). Congratulations to Ellon, and good luck with the rest of your season. We look forward to avenging the defeat early in the new year. Thanks also to all the supporters who braved the elements to cheer on both teams

#MonTheDyce