Following last Saturday’s victory at home to Bannockburn, a confident Harris squad were on their travels again to take on close rivals Carnoustie at a wet and overcast High School playing fields which had spent the morning being drenched from above, leaving the conditions slippery and somewhat unpredictable for both teams.

Harris kicked the game off through their stand in Stand Off, Adam Wood but his initial kick fell just short of the 10 meter line and the ball was returned to the centre for a Carnoustie scrum, which they won before shipping out to their backs and allowing for the customary kick forward, which was duly returned, with interest.  Both sides then succumbed to the slippery conditions with a string of handling errors being the order of the day before the game started to settle down.

Carnoustie through forward some early pressure to test the Harris back line  but everything was well covered and when the opposition broken through putting their backs in to space there was plenty of cover there in Joe Abbott, to force the ball out in to touch for a line out.

Then it was the turn of Harris to try some initial pressure, and when in 6 minutes Carnoustie were penalised on the halfway line for obstruction Harris chose to kick in to touch and try from the lineout.  The attack was pressed forward with the Harris scrum releasing the backs to try moving up and down the Carnoustie line but it came to nothing and with a sliced kicked by Carnoustie the game moved back in to the middle of the park.

An early substitution was required on 10 minutes as a broken Lewie Fyall had to leave the field after aggravating an old injury.  He was replaced in the forwards by Andy Quinn.

Andy was straight in to the action as a lineout formed on the far side of the pitch, a great Harris take released the backs to have another run at the opposition and as Mike Dalrymple moved in to the line he released the ball to Marc Wilson who took the ball over half way before being smothered and put to ground.  A ruck formed over the top but before the ball could be released Carnoustie were penalised for coming in at the side, Harris penalty.  Joe Abbott stepped up but his strike fell wide of the posts ……. only just!

Harris didn’t have to wait long for a second attempt, as on 13 minutes Carnoustie were penalised again for handling on the ground.  Joe tee’d up the ball in roughly the same position as the first attempt but was unlucky again.  The swearing let you know he wasn’t going to miss a third time!

Harris soon tried to upset the balance again.  A lineout to Carnoustie well inside the Harris half was penalised by the referee for not adjusting quickly enough for his liking, and Phil Yeaman wasn’t slow in grabbing the ball, taking the touch and moving off like a scolded cat / rhinoceros, back down the far touch line.  The ball was off loaded but a handling error gave the advantage back to the opposition with a scrum.  Carnoustie then attacked from the back of the scrum and a subsequent kick took play right back to where it had started on the Harris 22’.

As we reached midway through the first half Harris continued to push with further penalties being exchanged by both clubs.  This was end to end rugby which was testing both lines of defence, and much to a cold crowd’s disappointment they were both holding firm!

Another Carnoutsie error opened up for Harris’s best spell of play in the first half.  Harris had won a penalty from the opposition coming in at the side, the scrum was solid and held for Rory Wares to pop to Adam Wood who unleashed a kick down field to inside the 22’.  Richie McIvor took the subsequent lineout with a clean catch, but the ball was turned over and kicked in to the Harris back line who returned it at pace.  Some great handling by Callum Roy and a fantastic off load back in to the forwards kept the drive going and when it started to slow Mike Dalrymple was there with the boot to plant the ball well in to the Carnoustie half.  The ball was returned but with the referee spotting some crossing going on, on the halfway line both attacks faltered.

As the clock moved passed 26 minutes Harris tried to move the ball forward again with the forwards, led by Phil Yeaman, driving though at any opportunity and it worked, Carnoustie were penalised and as the opposition (16) voiced his disagreement to the referee’s decision, the referee showed that he was the boss by marching the ball forward another 10m, which caused the opposition voices to fall silent.  This march brought the post in to the range of Joe Abbott’s boot and he coolly slotted the ball between the post to open the scoring, 0 -3.

Carnoustie needed no invitation to come right back at Harris from the re-start and following and exchange of kicks they forced a lineout 5 meters out from the Harris line, the pressure was right back on.  The ball was snatched by Colin Gourley and was downed inside the Harris area for a 22’ drop out.

Carnoustie piled on the pressure as the clock ran down, with some big breaks, and good hands, but the Harris line held on and with an exchange of scrums and kick it looked as if it was going to be a quiet run in to half time…….. not!

At this point silly season broke out with ….. you guessed it, your favourite hard man, the one we love to hate, Peter ‘Snakey’ Bruce being yellow carded for a finest example a ‘slappies’ seen on the East Coast since Phil tried his own ‘push me pull you’ trick in the Fife Southern game!  Harris were down to 14 men with 38 minutes gone.

The second half kicked off with Carnoustie lobbing the kick midway in to the Harris half, Harris collected well but the Carnoustie line were up quickly and as the ruck formed the referee blow for a handling error, apparently a knock on, and the subsequent scrum went Carnoustie’s way.
From the rear of the aforementioned Carnoustie scrum Rory Wares was making a newsense of himself and forced his opposite man to knock on and the scrum was re-set for the Harris put in.  Taken again by Rory the pass came out to Adam Wood, who saw what was coming and shipped quickly through to Dave Wright who was hit by a monstrous tackle as the Carnoustie defensive line moved up, the ball was driven out for a lineout.

Even though the second half was only moments old you got the feeling that this half was going to go the way of the previous as again handling errors and penalties becoming the order of the day.

With no changes to the back row at half time, Colin Gourley and Richard McIvor were still in position at 2 and 4 in the line and their continued authority saw the ball come back on the right side of the line allowing Adam Wood to kick clear and start a game of punt return with the Carnoustie rear guard.

On 48 minutes Carnoustie won a penalty after Harris were penalised for handling in the ruck but thankfully it was pushed wide.  At this point Peter Bruce was allowed to re-join the action following his minor indiscretion before half time and Harris were back up to a full compliment.

Kenny Clarkson joined the action on 55 minutes as a straight replacement for Adam Wood who had taken a couple of big knocks shortly before and he was soon in the thick of the action along side Andy Quinn as they tried a snipping move around the side of a ruck before off loading to the wing.  That move was stopped and the ball was kicked then returned but Carnousties second return landed inside the Harris 22’ where the backs found that 2 heads going for the same ball is bound to end in disaster and it did as Dave Wright and Joe Abbot collided, knocking the ball over the line where it was touched down by a supporting Kenny Clarkson.  Both men remaining on the pitch battered and bruised.

The game moved on and in the 60th minute Carnoustie got back on level terms but it came from a complete turn over of the ball.  Harris started the play with a scrum midway inside their own half, which they won releasing Richie McIvor to pick up at No.8 and drive forward to try and punch a hold in the Carnoustie back line, but it held firm.  The ball was recycled back to Kenny Clarkson who placed a well weighted kick out to touch and gave the forwards a chance to shine again which they did when Callum Roy gathered the ball and it was once again shipped out to the backs for a further kick.  Carnoustie gathered and came start back in to the Harris defence and as a maul formed around the ball the referee blow for a penalty, but to who, only he knew? Harris though it was their ball, Carnoustie thought it was theirs and once the pushing and shoving had finished the referee gave it to the opposition, much to the amusement of the travelling support.  Then it got worse, as thing were being calmed down Carnoustie tried to take a quick tap, messed it up, did he tap it or didn’t he? And the arguments started again.  This time the referee was decisive and Carnoustie were not going to make the same mistake twice…… they kicked for the posts and scored.  3 – 3.

Kenny Clarkson restarted the game for Harris with another deep kick which was taken well by Carnoustie and was returned back up the park on foot but was slowed by the Harris defence.  A knock on allowed both sides stop for breath as the scrum was formed, Carnoustie ball and play continued.

The game rolled on with a period of scrappy play where both sides gave way penalties and kicking came to the fore again.  Some good lineout play saw Harris put some pressure on with good back running and the use of a couple of well worked moves.  Carnoustie also had their turn, but for a forward pass as the ball was shipped out they also made little of their chances

As the game moved in to the last ten both team sensed that the game was there for the taking and that the next score was going to be decisive!

Carnoustie had their final try at the Harris line as from a scrum well inside their own half, the clearance landed midway in to the Harris end.  The tackles went in and from a resultant scrum and kick they found touch 10 metres out from the try line.  The line was taken and driven forward but Harris defence held again and the attack petered out.

The game continued with scrum and lineout’s going the way of both sides, some big tackles continued to go in even at this late stage in the game but it didn’t look as if anything was going to change the result.

Harris took their last drive up field by way of a break from Kenny Clarkson and Dave Wright.  As the ball was shipped out from a Richie McIvor take in the lineout, the aforementioned Clarkson and Wright combining with the Wing and Full Back to push on up the touch line.  A rolling ruck started to move up the park with the forwards driving on as best they could but it was to no avail.

The game came to a close with a final exchange of kicks which say out the final minutes.

Both teams made the best of the conditions in a game that spend a lot of it’s time in the centre of the park with only sporadic breaks and an abundance of kicking.  For the visitor it was felt that team has started to gel, and the players are now playing for each other.  Today was a game that Harris would have lost 3 or 4 matches ago.