Caledonia Dreaming or Ian38018 Sporting Travels: Dundee High Rugby

Sunday, 23 March 2014

Dundee High Rugby - Mayfield

22^nd March 2014

Dundee High 20-17 Selkirk

Although Bryce Hosie’s last-minute (last-second, in fact) penalty won this one for Dundee, the day really belonged to flanker Chris Cumming who was playing his last ever match for the club, after over a decade of service at Mayfield.

Playing into the stiff breeze, I felt Dundee looked second best for much of the first-half, but two tries in quick succession just prior to the break allowed them to turn around with a barely-deserved narrow lead.

Selkirk’s Rory Banks popped over a penalty early in the second-half, taking the score to 17-17, and it looked for much of the remaining time that that was how things would end.

For although both sides put plenty of effort into trying to get a winner, play was littered with knock-ons, misplaced passes and poor decision making. A needless penalty given away by Selkirk deep into stoppage time, proved their undoing, although Hosie was far enough out for it to be far from a foregone conclusion he would score.

Alex Pratt, I imagine one of very few female rugby referees, officiated this afternoon; and a fine enough job she did. Although, I did hear one (perhaps short-sighted) chap on the touchline shout “Haw Ref. Get a grip on yourself, man!”