Berwick 1^st XV played their final 15 aside match of the season against Selkirk on Saturday in the BSPC sponsored Border League. The Blacks, with one or two key players unavailable, put up a brave fight but were not a match for the robust Selkirk side who showed why they had completed a very successful season, winning promotion to Premier 1 next season.

The Berwick forwards in the set piece competed well, but struggled much more in the loose, with Selkirk’s superior fitness and strength giving them the edge. With a score of 29 – 5 to Selkirk at half time the game was won. The second half followed a similar pattern and a final score of 51 – 5. Selkirk’s two large second rows were particularly strong on the burst and caused many problems for the Berwick side. The Berwick backs tackled vigorously but were unable to prevent the relentless Selkirk pressure. Overall the Black’s spirit was good, but their lack of fitness was the telling factor.

Kings of the Sevens action at Gala 7’s on Sunday saw the Black’s field a very well drilled side, with  much young Berwick blood to the fore. The team, captained by Robert Haggerstone, and pulled into very obvious great shape by Ronnie Tait, were drawn against the home team of Gala in the first round. Both Gala and the Radio Borders commentary team were clearly looking for a very easy game against Berwick, but both had to very quickly eat their hats. The young Blacks squad put considerable pressure on Gala from the start, and the home side got nothing their own way. There was never more than a point in it through the first half.

The second half saw the Blacks take the tie by the scruff of the neck. In the last minute however, Gala managed to draw ahead with a one point lead, and only in the very dying seconds did they manage to pick up on a loose ball and score to finally win 25 – 17 -  much to the very clear relief of the home crowd. Nick Law made his first appearance for the Berwick squad and put in an extremely good personal performance. Feedback around the ground was that the Berwick 7 looked the best drilled side of the day.

The Berwick 7 rest this coming weekend, but turn out at Hawick on the Saturday 19^th , and again on Sunday 20^th at the Berwick 7’s, where they will definitely be looking to put points on the board.

Back to top^

Blacks win but a point short.

Berwick played their last SHE Premier 3 league game of the season on Saturday against Morgan Academy FP. The match was sponsored by Stephen Monks Electricals, and the Ball was sponsored by Andrea Gilchrist and Bryan Spiers. A pre match lunch was held with record numbers, boosted by a substantial past players turnout – excellent to see, and well organised. The boisterous crowd turned out however into miserable wet conditions. These conditions from the kick off didn’t make the Blacks’ task of needing to win, with four tries to gain the vital bonus point to have a chance of avoiding relegation, any the easier.

The Blacks set off at pace however, playing downhill, and immediately pinned Morgan into their 22. Winning two quick penalties Berwick elected to attack by kicking for position and the lineout, rather than kicking for what might have been reasonably easy points. The try didn’t come immediately, but the Berwick pressure and determination was a breath of fresh air, and there was no doubt the Blacks had got themselves together for this crucial game. They attacked with fervour and kept Morgan inside their own 22 for the whole of the first 20 minutes of the game.

A Berwick 5m scrum finally produced the break, allowing the ball to be passed out right for Ben McCreath to scramble a try near the corner. An excellent conversion in the conditions and given the distance   saw the score go to 7 – 0. From the restart a short period of play actually arose in the Berwick half, but a long clearance by Ben remedied that and saw the ball chased by the Berwick backs, to only very narrowly be denied a try from the chase. A poor clearance to touch by Morgan kept Berwick on the the attack, and persistent infringements by Morgan began to cause much frustration. Finally a yellow card was produced, reducing Morgan to 14 men.  Half time blew with the score still on 7 – 0

The second half started briskly, with Aaron Hall having come on and injecting some strong running in the forwards. A break by the backs looked like a scoring opportunity, but a good Morgan tackle knocked the ball into touch on their 5m line. A further similar attack also just failed with a knock on at the last minute, just taking the edge off what had been a very positive passage of play for the Blacks.

Play began to revert slightly to the Berwick ‘over frantic style of play’, often in evidence earlier in the season, largely due to the frustration of just not quite managing to cross the line for tries. A scrappy spell continued, and a Morgan penalty saw the Berwick lead reduced to 7 – 3. A further careless penalty against Berwick, in easy kicking distance looked like the Berwick lead was going to slip further, threatening what had been looking like a comfortable although not high scoring win for Berwick. Fortunately for the Blacks the ball hit the post and bounced away. The pressure grew worse however for Berwick with another opportunity for Morgan and this time they did convert the penalty, taking the score to 7 – 6.

Berwick seemed sparked by this however and deciding  to keep the ball in the forwards, drove the ball repeatedly towards the Morgan line. Again with Morgan infringing, the Blacks continued to elect to drive forwards from the penalties, pushing  for the try, only being adjudged to be held up when finally Mark Laidlaw took the ball over the line. A clearance by Morgan for a further Berwick attack ran out of time on the final whistle, leaving a close score, but a win for the Blacks at 7-6, the tightest score of the season.

The Blacks more than deserved their win, and would undoubtedly not have found themselves second bottom of the table by this stage of the season had they played like this in the earlier games. Not gaining the bonus point saw their chance of survival in Premier 3 disappear. To fall behind Livingston by only a point – what the p[layers and supporters  would have given for just one more win during the season or a couple of bonus points! Berwick must look forward to a fresh campaign next season in National 1, going there with a strengthening and enthusiastic squad, now gaining in experience and confidence.

With the 1^st XV winning, the Bears delighted at notching their first win of the season against Westoe, and the Badgers only very narrowly losing, the Berwick senior teams were relieved to have had a much more positive day, having generally found the season very hard going, and often with little success to show for much hard work.

This coming weekend sees the Blacks back in BSPC Border League action, with Selkirk coming down to Scremerston. Selkirk will be on a high having gained promotion to Premier 1 next season, and congratulations go to them, so it will be a good chance for the underdog Blacks to catch them off their guard!

Back to top^

Scottish Hydro Electric Cup 5^th Round

Berwick RFC 0 Currie 98

Vindaloo performance leaves Berwick gasping.

Two leagues separate these two teams and in this match it showed.

Currie ran in 16 tries in the afternoon and only missed out on breaking the 100 points mark due to Currie having a patchy day with the boot.

Currie’s Taggart, Binikos, McMahon and Caldwell each claimed 2 tries with the rest being spread round the team.

Looking at the teams warming up it was apparent that Currie had come to make sure there would be no “giant killing” in this Cup match. Rugby is a simple game when played properly and Currie gave a lesson to Berwick on how the game should be played.  The visitors looked physically stronger and fitter and when this physical superiority was combined with direct running, sharp passing and proper use of angled runs then Berwick faced an up hill task to keep in touch.

Scremerston has not seen the standard of rugby shown by Currie for a long time. No doubt it will have shown many of the Berwick team the standards needed to play Premier rugby. Currie’s forwards by no means dominated in the early stages but they looked dangerous every time the ball came past the scrum-half. The  Berwick tackling around the set piece kept parity for the most part but as soon as the ball was put wide the difference in pace and fitness between the teams showed. Berwick did not help themselves by kicking a lot of ball back to the opposition with the Currie fullback making a number of dangerous counter attacks. All of the players looked comfortable on the ball with forwards and backs happy to interchange passes and they were always willing to support each other to allow the offload when the Berwick tackle came.

Berwick’s tackling has at times been poor in other games this season but on Saturday it was perhaps the best it had been all season. It would have been easy for the Blacks to give in completely but Captain Colin Young didn’t allow the team to give up and it is to their credit that they continued to try their best right up until the final whistle.

The Blacks must put this game behind them as soon as they can because the club’s Premier League survival depends on the team showing that they deserve to stay in the league. Currie in this game showed that hard work off the field gives the players the necessary tools on the field to dominate the opposition. The strength, fitness, handling and angles of running needed to win games comes from the training pitch and the Currie team certainly showed that Berwick need to work harder on the training pitch if they are to make the most of the talents they undoubtedly have.

This coming weekend sees the Blacks return to BSPC sponsored Border League action, in an away fixture at Duns, early KO tba.

Back to top^

Berwick 43   Glasgow Uni 10

Berwick travelled to Glasgow for their first tie in the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup competition to play Glasgow University . The University got the cup tie under way kicking off into a slight breeze and under a clear blue sky. After 10 minutes and a good flowing movement, a penetrating run by Gaz Riddell sent Nathan Trotter over in the corner for a try.  The try was well converted by Ben McCreath to take the score to 7-0. With the Blacks continuing to dominate they gave a penalty away which Glasgow failed to convert. After more Berwick pressure and our forwards giving the backs good ball, Colin Young on his reappearance after a long injury lay off, made a good run and passed well to Andy Tait which led to our second try. This was unconverted  - 12-0. After the kick off Berwick once more camped in the Glasgow University 22 where they were awarded a penalty. This was taken quickly and the forwards took it on and the final move was finished with Duncan Budge scoring, unfortunately also unconverted - 17-0.

Immediately after kick off Berwick gathered the ball and a stunning run by Nathan Trotter led to yet another unconverted try 22-0. After some brief Glasgow pressure, Berwick tidied up well, and some good moves between forwards and backs led to a Gaz Black try, this time converted by Ben McCreath, taking the score to 29-0 at half time.

The second half was not so exciting from a Berwick point of view and after a brief stop to retrieve the ball from over a large fence Jamie Young was replaced by David Ord, Nathan had moved to standoff and Mike Barr had replaced Ben McCreath at full back. Chris Riddell came off and Charlie Pyle came on as replacement.  Not long after this the Glasgow University backs were now starting to show their pace, and went over to take the score to 29-5. After kick off with Berwick in Glasgow’s half Nathan picked up and kicked across field where Gaz Hill gathered and stretched his legs to show his turn of speed and score between the posts, for an easy conversion for James Patterson, who had also taken over as scrum half from Andy Tait  - 36-5. At this stage our forwards were starting to wilt from playing ‘restricted push’ scrums,  giving quicker ball, and accelerating the pace of the game.Glasgow were starting to dominate and scored from a line out move which took the score to 36-10. Once more Berwick found themselves pinned down on their own line and Glasgow seemed sure to score when Nathan Trotter once more found a gap and took off with the backs, to finish off with a try between the posts, which was once more converted by James Patterson, taking the score to 43-10,  and a hat-trick of tries for Nathan.

This game was the proverbial ‘game of two halves’, and the second half showing Berwick’s lack of fitness. We are lucky at Berwick to have an excellent gym facility at the Club and it certainly doesn’t appear to be being used enough. Against stronger opposition we might have struggled to maintain the 1^st half lead due to our fitness. An away win is always good however, and although Glasgow University play well below us in the leagues they have been unbeaten up until now this season. Well done the Blacks, and we look forward hopefully to a home draw in the next round.

The players must take the spirit gained from this win into the next home game, this coming Saturday, for the third time rescheduled League fixture against Perthshire - KO 3.00 pm at Scremerston, with the match being sponsored by Ian Grieve, Painters and Decorators.

Back to top^

Berwick 7   Hawick 31

Kicking off with an early start to fit in with watching the Six Nations International on Saturday afternoon, both teams produced an entertaining game of rugby. This was Berwick’s first game in this year’s Border League competition, sponsored this season by the Border Solicitor’s Property Centre.

Hawick were not at full strength with several of their team playing elsewhere, or supporting Scotland down in Cardiff , which gave some of their younger players the chance to play at a higher standard.

Berwick started the stronger with some good handling between backs and forwards. From a five metre lineout Berwick opened the scoring with a forward drive which saw Grant Younger go over to score, and acting captain Ben McCreath converting from the touch line. Hawick were fortunate to draw level when the ball was knocked forward in a forward drive but the referee waved play on to allow a score under the posts.

The Blacks continued to take the game to the Greens, with several phases of good play. Patterson was running well from deep, with Riddell  cutting through the middle, and McCreath drilling the ball well down into the corners from the boot.

From one of these plays Berwick were penalised on the ten metre line, and from this tap and go a weak defence allowed Hawick to score an unconverted try. Berwick did not learn from this and gifted a further converted try for a half time score 7-19.

Berwick stuck to there task with Moody in the forwards winning good line out ball and the front row of Richard Ayre, Chris Riddell and Jamie Young giving the Hawick front three a torrid time.

Berwick should have scored several times but a combination of a lack of continued penetration after a few phases in attack, and the referees interruption of the tackle situation, saw the Blacks penalised for handling on the ground, rather than the Greens be penalised for holding onto the Berwick player. Two further tries were scored by the Greens, one converted, to give them a flattering victory at the final whistle.

Overall, and despite the result, this was a good performance from the Blacks, and shows they have the quality to put a good game together and to stay up if they can only remain focused on the remaining games of the season.  

Back to top^

Kirkcaldy 31 Berwick 0

Kirkcaldy moved to the top of the table with comfortable victory over the Blacks, but unlike other trips away from Scremerston so far this season the Border team put in a spirited and gutsy performance against a robust home team.

The opening play was even, with the Blacks’ pack being equal to the home side in both the lineout and scrum, and with the backs moving the ball we looked forward to an entertaining game. The only problem began to arise with defence at the break down when pushing forward in defence gaps were left in the middle, which the home team punished, resulting in two tries - one converted for a 12-0 home lead. The Blacks had several breaks from defence with Max Learmonth, Gareth Hill and Gaz Riddlell cutting through the Kirkcaldy defence. Unfortunately a lack of support at the crucial times saw the ball lost, taking the pressure off the home team. Berwick were unlucky to concede a further unconverted try from a five meter scrum as the ball looked to have been knocked on in the forward drive. Chris Riddell who was having another excellent game was forced to leave the field with an ankle injury to be replaced by an equally able Gareth Black.

At the half time turn around the Berwick team felt that the game was not beyond them but attacking from there own half resulted in a lack of direct pressure being applied on the home line.

Kirkcaldy gained their bonus point with a converted try, but all credit to the Blacks as they still tried to take the game to the hosts. Berwick were reduced to 14 players when Iain Moody was yellow carded after the referee adjudged a high tackle on a home player. The final score of the afternoon was yet another converted try to the home side, but this upset the Berwick players and officials as there was a clear illegal crossing in the midfield. With time running out Berwick still threw the ball around and from a forward drive near the home line Nathan Trotter went over to score, only for the ref to disallow any advantage and blow to give Berwick a penalty and not the well deserved try. From the resulting line out the visitors drove to the line only for the ball to be spilt over the line and the danger was cleared.  

On Saturday the Blacks play an absolutely crucial home tie against Irvine at Scremerston, kick off  2pm. With your support, and a performance similar to this, it will be an essential  stepping stone to stay in Scottish Hydro Electric Premier Three.

With the Six Nations Competition fast looming, the Club still has tickets available for Scotland ’s first home game against France on 3^rd February at Murrayfield.

Please contact the Club on 302141 to reserve these.

Back to top^

GALA 62  BERWICK 3

Gala beat the weather and Berwick for an easy win.

Berwick travelled to Gala for the return leg in the Premier 3 Scottish Hydro Electric league on Saturday expecting a very wintry game. After Gala had mustered over 100 people on Friday night to clear the snow, the game went ahead on Saturday with a pitch that did not look as if it had any snow on it 24 hours previously, let alone a huge 14 inches! This was a great effort by the Gala organisation to keep the fixture going ahead.

The game got off to a gutsy start with Berwick competing well but after about 10 minutes Gala scored their first try which was not converted. Unfortunately while trying to stop the try scorer Jamie Young received a kick to the head, and came off with a cut requiring 9 stitches. This left Berwick with only one prop, Richard Ayre, meaning the scrums became uncontested. Although Gala would say this was a benefit to Berwick it in fact suited them as it gave their backs clean quick ball. Unfortunately Gala’s backs showed our team a clean pair of heels and the score at half time was 29-3, with Berwick having scored a penalty, converted by Ben McCreath.

Gala came out for the second half and scored a try directly from the kick off, while Berwick players did not compete for the ball from the re-start. Gala then went on to take their tally of tries to 10 with only a scattering of conversions. Berwick senior players should be commended for the way they tackled and kept going against all the odds against a much better, quicker and fitter team. Gareth Hill should be congratulated particularly for the way he consistently gathered the ball at full back, never making a mistake. However some tackling practice for both him and the rest of the young squad would not go wrong.

Berwick’s next game is at Scremerston this coming Saturday, against Perthshire. The Blacks must pick themselves up and churn out another victory to keep their home momentum going. 

Back to top^

Berwick vs Dunfermline . 10 - 33

Berwick travelled to Dunfermline on Saturday to play in the Scottish Hydro Electric Premier 3 League, hopeful of a victory against the home side, given the great improvement in Berwick’s form of late. Unfortunately as has often been the case Dunfermline scored a quick try while the Blacks had barely got to grips with the game, with their right winger going over in the corner. An excellent conversion from their full back Stevie McColl saw a quick 7 points on the board. From the restart however Berwick strung together a good passage of interplay and threatened Dunfermline very aggressively, forcing them to kill the ball and give a penalty to Berwick. Ben McCreath slotted the kick to put the Blacks on the score board at 3 – 7.

The threatening Dunfermline backs replied quickly with a further try when their organisation and numbers out wide overwhelmed the Berwick back line, and allowed a clinical try to be run it at the corner. Again excellently converted with a huge kick from Stevie McColl. Dunfermline ’s heavy forwards began to push the Berwick pack around, both at the set piece, and in the maul, and gaining much ground. During this early onslaught however the Berwick side was settling down, and despite Dunfermline’s scoring advantage the game began to be increasingly played in the Dunfermline half, with Berwick getting the better of the possession. Beginning to pass the ball around with increasing confidence the Blacks fed the ball out to Max Learmonth who made several scything breaks through the Dunfermline line, gaining huge ground for the visitors, and only just failing to score on his second break.

A Gaz Riddle crash ball just failed to make the line, and the pressure was mounting against the home team. Some now slightly more desperate play from Dunfermline saw them forced away from their game plan, and their big No 5 received a Sin Bin for a high tackle on Chris Riddle. This gave some advantage to Berwick removing Dunfermline ’s main jumper from the line outs. Half Time blew at 3 – 14.

The second half started well for Berwick, with several good moves making a lot of ground. Unfortunately at the end of increasingly many of these good moves, Berwick managed to infringe and therefore lose the hard won advantage. Just a little more clinical discipline and patience will help. Dunfermline secured a push over try in the corner, converted also, to extend to a 21 – 3 lead.  A further break by the home side’s winger was excellently snuffed out with a great tackle by Russell Henderson, and from the lineout Berwick won the throw in giving a tidy feed out again to Max, who cut inside and ran for the corner. Just failing to make use of his support, he was bundled into touch on the corner flag. A ten minute spell of pressure and good handling from Berwick failed to add points – unfortunate as Berwick were now holding the majority of the possession, and especially in the home sides 22, where some of these opportunities must be turned into points.  Against the run of play the home side scrabbled a further try.

The Blacks ran further ball aggressively, with Nathan Trotter and Gareth Hill linking up well and just failing to make the line between them - and frustratingly again a steal by the home side saw the Berwick advantage lost. Continuing to string passes together however the Blacks kept the ball away from Dunfermline, and against lesser teams on the day there is no doubt the Berwick players would be running rings round their opposition.

The Berwick pressure finally told when Max burst through yet again, and this time made the score – well deserved by all, and converted by Ben, taking the score to 10 – 26. Fresh legs at this stage helped the Blacks with James Patterson and Lee Douglas coming on.

The Blacks performance and spark continued to grow and their play saw very little ball going Dunfermlines’ way at all in the last ten minutes. Another excellent backs run from the home side was brought to a halt when James Patterson brilliantly tackled, turned and held up the Dunfermline centre after he had crashed over the try line. The Blacks were on top in all departments now, and the home side were rattled. A great confidence boost for the Blacks. A lapse in concentration at a last minute penalty in the centre of the pitch saw the home side sneak a quick one and run in a final try, completely against the run of play, making the final score of 10-33 appear to flatter Dunfermline  - not what the score might have been.

Berwick had the bigger share of territory and possession in this game, against a strong Dunfermline side, with almost their full compliment of youth internationals and apprentice players, and particularly with Stevie McColl in exceptional form for them at full back. Perhaps a disappointing score line and result, but the performance really does show that the Blacks are more than capable of putting together a good game and have the potential of winning the remainder of their games against the teams in the lower end of the League.

A breather from league action this coming weekend, the Blacks can look forward to the annual derby matches against Alnwick on Boxing day, at Scremerston. The 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd XV’s will be playing at 2.00 pm, with the Colts starting earlier at 11.00am. Come along and lend your support and enjoy some festive spirit over the holiday season !  Seasons Greetings to all players, members and supporters.

Back to top^

Berwick RFC Vs Ardrossan Academicals

A convincing win continued the recent Berwick revival and moves them out of the relegation zone. The Blacks now sit a point ahead of Livingston who have moved down to second bottom of Scottish Hydro Electric Premier 3.

Frequently Berwick start games slowly allowing the opposition to get in front meaning they have to play catch up rugby. Well not this time! Match sponsors Peter and Susan Ayre certainly got value for money with Berwick five tries to one up before half time. With another two after the break the game provided plenty of scoring for the crowd.

The game was played in very wet and windy conditions but this did not affect the Blacks at all and they were able to dominate in the forwards, allowing the backs to show some very good handling in the sodden conditions. The Berwick players got stuck into Ardrossan straight from the kick off and the first score came from good forward play with Duncan Budge touching down inside the first 5 minutes. Golden Oldie Ben McCreath added the conversion. The next score came along a few minutes later when good handling following some good forward play allowed Gareth Hill to run in to score.

The Berwick pack was dominating the scrum with the front row of Richard Ayre, Chris Riddell and Jamie Young dominating their opposite numbers. This lead to a very solid platform for the Berwick put in and ensured Ardrossan had no clean ball at all. With the Berwick line out also competing very well the play was all in the Ardrossan half. After a series of Berwick drives, Berwick vice Captain Robert Haggerston was awarded a try as he emerged from the bottom of the heap. Ben McCreath was able to slot the difficult conversion to make it 19-0 to Berwick, before twenty minutes had been played. Ardrossan tried to respond but they just could not break the grip Berwick had on the game and Duncan Budge doubled his tally of tries when he crashed over after sustained Berwick pressure. McCreath again converted to make the score 26-0.

The Berwick backs were not to be outdone and they scored through a tremendous effort from Max Learmonth. Ardrossan were paying a rare visit to the Berwick half and after the ball was hacked clear, Max set off in hot pursuit. He showed commendable composure to continue with kicks ahead before finally collapsing over the line after holding off the Ardrossan defender. The conversion made the score 33-0. From the restart and with Berwick perhaps thinking of half time Ardrossan winger Robert Hunter was able to score. After Berwick gave away a stupid penalty, a clever cross-field kick saw Hunter catch the ball and touch down with limited opposition from the Berwick side. The conversion was missed and the half time score was 33-5.

Almost predictably, the second half was a more routine affair. Ardrossan restored some parity in terms of possession but were unable to do very much with it and Berwick were able to add further tries from Russell Henderson, who finished off superbly after the ball was played along the backs following some good work by Gareth Riddell, and Gareth Hill stripping the ball from Ardrossan. The last Berwick score came from Max Learmonth who was able to touch down after fine play by both backs and forwards. Ardrossan had the last word though when they scored through their prop Kenny Blair to finish the scoring at 43-10 to Berwick. Importantly Berwick ensured that Ardrossan did not pick up any bonus points and this may prove very important as the remainder of the season unfolds.

Overall, this was an excellent game from the Berwick team with both forwards and backs doing very well in testing conditions. Berwick play their last League game before Christmas on Saturday, away to Dunfermline, and with this performance they are more than capable of continuing their winning results. The next Home game is our annual derby against local rivals Alnwick on Boxing Day. Always a great day’s entertainment, come along and support the Blacks

Back to top^

Blacks Suffer Heavy Defeat

Berwick travelled to the Gytes on Saturday to take on Peebles in what was always going to be a tough encounter against the second placed team in Premier 3 and the task was not made any easier as result of a number of calls off due to prior commitments. Despite this the Berwick team that took the field all had previous first team experience and it was felt that they all had nothing to lose and they would hopefully take the opportunity that was given to them.

From the kick off however it did not take the home side long to get on the score sheet when some poor tackling by the Berwick inside backs led to a try for the Peebles inside centre inside the first 5 minutes. Things did not improve for the Blacks and a flurry of tries followed and after only 20 minutes of the game Peebles had gained the bonus point for scoring four tries. Berwick struggled to gain possession during this period and the ball that they did have they appeared to by trying to many things with that were not on instead of taking the simple option and retaining the ball.

Peebles went on to add a further three tries before interval making the half time score 43-0 to the home side.

The second half marked a vast improvement for the Blacks. They began to take Peebles on and as their ball retention became far greater they enjoyed more possession and as a result they began to grow in confidence.

It was however Peebles who opened the scoring in the second half when their second row shrugged off some tacklers before crossing the try line. Berwick’s defence as this time was becoming more solid and with the introduction of Tommy McEwan and Chris Riddell from the bench this seemed to add a greater enthusiasm to the visitors cause.

Berwick then went onto score their only try of the game when after constant pressure on the Berwick line was met by fierce defence Peebles decided to spin the ball wide and a gamble by Gareth Hill paid off when he intercepted the pass to go the length of the field for a score converted by James Patterson.

Berwick continued to compete well with Peebles and it was only in the last ten minutes of the game when Peebles added more tries as the number of tackles that the Berwick players had put in appeared to be showing. The home side went onto score a further five tries to make the final score 79-7.

Peebles were certainly an outstanding side on the day and the constant support running by their players off the ball and the depth that they came at was certainly greater than any side that Berwick had faced this season. Berwick must however learn to go onto the field with the correct attitude and be prepared to work for each other as they certainly have the players to compete against any team in the league.

The Blacks return to Scremerston this Saturday for what is another must win home game against Ardrossan and if the players show the belief that they all should have there is no reason why they cannot take the points and start to climb off the relegation zone.       

Back to top^

BLACKS SHOW DETERMINATION AND WIN VITAL GAME

Berwick 17 Livingston 9

Berwick got off to their normal start by allowing the opposition to put early points on the board with a penalty after five minutes (0-3). Not to be deterred however, Berwick showed from early on they had the beating of this Livingston team, filled with experienced heads, but then went down quickly with another 3 points from a penalty against them in the same spot, giving Livingston an easy 6 - 0 lead after only10 minutes.

Berwick continued to pressurize and produced some good runs, only to see the last pass be dropped at the critical time. On 18 minutes another penalty against them saw Livingston go 9 points up – very frustrating as the home side was by far the better side, with the forwards disrupting all Livingstone scrums, and winning their own comfortably.

Within 5 minutes of Livingston gaining their last points James Patterson had two kicks at goal but unfortunately missed with both kicks into the wind. Not to be fazed Berwick came back into form from the 22m drop out, to score their first try, well taken by Gareth Riddell in the corner. This was unconverted and saw the h/t score at

 5 - 9.

The second half saw Berwick come out well fired up and after pressure on the Livingston line saw the visitors’ No 20 sin binned. With a scrum on the Livingston line the Blacks had a push over try peculiarly disallowed for being ‘held up’. This was a bizarre decision under the circumstances and one of many poor decisions by the referee. 15 minutes into second half Livingston had another penalty awarded to them but like Berwick in the first half could not convert this one into the wind. The Blacks then went through a spell of play with Livingston camped on the Berwick line and trying to run penalties, but the Berwick defence was up to the task.

 Berwick finally came away with a break from Nathan Trotter who slipped the ball to Gareth Hill to cross the line in the corner, but cleverly run round to score between the posts, providing an easy conversion for James Patterson, and a vital extra two points to finally take the Blacks ahead to 12-9. Berwick continued to pressurize and it seemed it would only be a matter of time before we scored again, and this came from some good running by Max Learmonth, to score in the corner which James Patterson unfortunately failed to convert. This took the score to a safe 17-9 with five minutes to go.

Livingstone were desperate to try and recover a losing bonus point by getting another score, while the Blacks were furiously looking for their fourth try for the bonus point – a vital one in their efforts to close the gap in the table between the two teams. The final whistle went, and both the home players and the crowd were relieved to see a win, having been 9 points behind after 18 minutes, and behind until only ten minutes from the end of the game.  An exciting game from the spectators point of view however.

Berwick as a whole played much better, and with enthusiasm, but still need to be able to keep the ball whilst attacking. Too many frantic passes failed to go to hand, making life unnecessarily difficult for the Blacks, with often well won possession being lost. Tackling was much improved and Gareth Riddell was a stabilising force in the backs. Jamie Young received the well deserved Man of the Match award, presented by Mrs Frew, from Match Sponsor Cheviot Trees. The ball for the match was sponsored by Andrea Gilchrist in memory of her late husband Kevin, and the ELTTC Mascot was Stuart Gilchrist.

The game this coming weekend is away to Peebles, before the Blacks return to Scremerston on the 8^th Dec. to play Ardrossan at home, another must win.

Back to top^

Berwick 31 vs Murrayfield Wanderers 6

Blacks win at Murrayfield.

Berwick travelled to Murrayfield for an absolute ‘must win’ game on Saturday, in positive frame of mind, and on the back of a much improved performance the previous weekend.  The match got off to a quick start with the Berwick backs looking snappy, and a quick feed from Ben McCreath saw Max Learmonth make a strong run down the left side. A quick penalty to Murrayfield saved them from what looked like an early Berwick score. A subsequent penalty to Berwick however saw Ben McCreath slot his first kick of the day for a 3 – 0 lead. From the restart a long upfield kick, with the strong breeze behind it, saw Max wrestle the Murrayfield defence into touch with the ball, gaining considerable ground, and a throw in to the Blacks. Winning the lineout well, quick ball out to Nathan Trotter, coming into the line from fullback, saw Murrayfield give another penalty away for not releasing the player on the ground, and a further penalty in front of the posts , 6 – 0 to Berwick. The rapid exchange of penalties seemed to continue, with a penalty to Murrayfield on the 10m line, and an excellent conversion into the wind from the Murrayfield fullback taking the score to 6-3.

Berwick tidied up their game after this, and a simple, but tidily worked passing movement to the right wing saw Gareth Hill score the first try in the corner for Berwick. With the conversion just going wide, Berwick increased their lead to 11 – 3. In reply Murrayfield spoiled well for the next ten minutes, their back line all being up very quickly in defence, but the ball was finally cleared downwind to touch by Nathan Trotter. The wind made throw in’s difficult, and after a very messy Murrayfield throw on the Murrayfield 22m line, Berwick won a scrum, and a break for the line by Gareth Riddell was only just stopped by the home side.  A confusing altercation with the referee and the Murrayfield defence saw the Murrayfield No 10 unexpectedly sin binned, giving the Blacks an opportunity with the extra man.

From the restart Berwick won the ball and a great pass from Ben McCreath onto a charging Gareth Riddell saw a second try for the Blacks, as Gareth stormed over the line for a score under the posts. With the easy conversion, Berwick took an 18 – 3 lead. A casual error by Berwick after the restart gave Murrayfield a second penalty, in kicking distance, and again a good conversion took the score to 18 – 6 on the Half Time whistle.

The second half kicked off with Berwick playing into the now strengthening wind, and a quick break by Max, to Nathan and a feed to Gareth Hill saw an excellent run to near the Murrayfield 5m line, where the home side killed the ball. An easy penalty opportunity to Berwick for Ben to convert tidily, taking the score on to 21 – 6. With Berwick now constantly pressing Murrayfield, but just failing to force the gaps in their three quarters line, Berwick got an opportunity when a knock forward from Murrayfield bounced kindly for once, and popped into the path of Gareth Riddell who seized it and leaving defenders in his wake for a full forty metres, crashed through the Murrayfield fullback for his second try, wide on the right. The conversion attempt fell just short but Berwick’s lead extended to 26 – 6.

Berwick’s forwards continued to assert themselves in the scrum, wheeling several of Murrayfield’s put in’s  An excellent steal in the lineout by Tim Sanderson allowed Berwick to clear a spell of sustained pressure from Murrayfield, with a break down the pitch to the Murrayfield 22. A quickly taken penalty to Berwick by Andy Tait saw the ball fed left down the line for a pass to Gareth Hill going tantalisingly just out of reach, when the overlap would have seen a certain try. With the drizzle coming in and a dark sky getting the better of the floodlights, Berwick pressed on in the gloom, looking for the fourth try for the bonus point. Slow to come, but eventually the opportunity came when a back pass by Murrayfield, looking for their fullback to kick clear from behind a scrum on the Murrayfield 5m line, was fluffed and bounced loosely. Andy Tait was fastest to the ball and dived over for the try, and with relief to all the much needed bonus point was claimed.

The home side never put their heads down however, and came back with a tidy move passing the ball out to their left wing for a well deserved score in the corner. Unconverted, the whistle blew and saw the final score at 31 – 11. This was a game that some would say should have been easy, but the easy ones never are – Murrayfield had nothing to lose and fought to the last.  Berwick played with a much greater enthusiasm and this won them many 50:50 balls. If the few unforced errors were avoided also, the Blacks would find the going easier still. With Murrayfield having an even more difficult season then the Blacks, the visitors were relieved to have another victory under the belt nonetheless, and deserved to come away with a respectable win.

This coming weekend sees the Blacks host Livingston at Scremerston, another vital game, as Livingston lie above Berwick in the table. It will be essential the gap is closed by 5 points to give the Blacks any chance of overhauling them in the League relegation battle. All supporters welcome for a 2.00pm kick off.

Back to top^

Berwick 6 – Ellon 22.

Ellon made the long journey to Scremerston on Saturday for Scottish Hydro Premier 3 action. Very fortunately the extremely wet morning weather cleared not long before the game, leaving a nicely softened and good surface to play on. The match was sponsored by Sanderson, McCreath and Edney, and the Match Ball was sponsored by Eleanor Young in memory of her late husband John, a stalwart of the club, known by everyone, and who sadly passed away this summer. Berwick fielded a changed side, once again with injuries and unavailability coming into play, and having upset and beaten a confident Ellon on their trip south last year, the Blacks were optimistic once again going onto the pitch.

Slow to wake up however, the Blacks gave away two quick penalties in succession, and, combined with backchat to the referee making the kicks easier for Ellon, found themselves 6 – 0 down after only five minutes. Quickly putting these errors behind them Berwick began to work as a team, and with the scrum getting well stuck into the Ellon forwards. The ball was produced for the backs to make a run for the Ellon line, Ben McCreath cutting past two defenders and moving the ball to Nathan Trotter who just failed to make the last gap after a strong jinking break. Berwick maintained the pressure and when Ellon did manage to win the ball and run out of defence, a much improved tackling display from the Blacks prevented any major Ellon breakaways.

With the Berwick scrum gaining confidence, they turned Ellon off their own scrum, winning the put in, and then a penalty, to give Ben McCreath the conversion to take the Blacks to 3 – 6. Berwick took the ball cleanly from the restart, and a huge clearance by Ben McCreath downfield took the ball to touch on the Ellon 5m line. Ellon had to defend hard for five minutes, and with Berwick just failing to convert the pressure into points, especially after two great storming breaks by Gaz Riddle, playing out of position at centre for the day, Ellon finally fought their way upfield.

Greatly improved Berwick tackling and covering again stopped the Ellon backs, and a sustained attack on the Berwick line was energetically held back – a morale boost for the Blacks after a period of intense pressure. A further big boot downfield by Ben saw the halftime whistle blow with the score still at 6 – 3 to Ellon. A greatly improved first half display.

The second half started well for Berwick with a Nathan Trotter break followed up by a charge from Gaz Riddle, forcing a scrappy panic clearance into touch by Ellon near their own 5m line. The Berwick pack won the lineout, and with a break from Ben and Max Learmonth towards the line, Ellon infringed, giving a penalty to Berwick in front of the posts  Converted by Ben, the score stood at 6 – 6. Continued pressure from Berwick again saw Gaz Riddle charging through to be unluckily and dubiously adjudged to be held up just over the try line. A disappointment for Berwick as the nearby players and home crowd were certain it had been a touch down. Berwick kept their tails up however and continued attacking from the 5m line, but again always frustratingly being held off barely a meter from the Ellon line. Efforts by David Gilchrist and Nathan Trotter were particularly unfortunate to score – just not quite enough Berwick support on their shoulders at the crucial time.

Ellon regrouped and finally cleared their line by running the ball downfield. Again the Berwick scrum spoiled the Ellon put in, and two crunching tackles from Robert Haggerstone and Max Learmonth stopped the Ellon backs in their tracks. Briefly caught napping and offside, Berwick unfortunately gave a penalty to Ellon, finally allowing them to creep ahead to 9 – 6, and very much against the run of play. The Berwick attack continued, again with Nathan just stopped short of the line. A break out by Ellon was successfully spoiled, and a big hit from Chris Riddle on an unsuspecting Ellon three quarter was heard and felt across the pitch. Another frustrating offside by Berwick saw a further penalty to Ellon, and with their No. 10 now in good form with the boot, let the Ellon lead extend to 12 – 6.

With less than ten minutes to go Ellon began to just take the edge in loose play, and secure the ball on the ground better by being that bit more aggressive than Berwick, and taking the extra step over the ball to secure it. Another infringement by Berwick saw Ellon No.10 convert a further 3 points, disappointingly for the home side taking the Ellon lead to 15 – 6. From the restart Ellon sprang a quick ball to their flanker, who unfortunately caught Ben McCreath off balance in the tackle and steam rollered over him, breaking through the remainder of the Berwick backs, and with support on his heels, scored to the huge relief of Ellon under the posts. An easy conversion - and in just five minutes Berwick had gone from what was looking like a draw, or even better a chance of a win, to a losing score which disappointingly certainly didn’t reflect the run of the game.

The final five minutes reverted back to Berwick pressure against Ellon, but too late, and with just not quite enough muscle and firepower. Ellon took the win at the final whistle, 22 – 6, to give them revenge for what they had seen as a shock defeat last year.

The Blacks although disappointed, should take comfort that the performance was a great improvement on the recent games, tackling was improved and players supported each other better. If players can just make the extra half yard, take the extra step and have that little bit more confidence, the 50 / 50 ball will start to bounce in their favour. Although still not easy with a high number of young players, a determined performance such as, if repeated against the other lower end teams in the league, should enable the Blacks to pull off some victories. The next two games are absolutely vital for Berwick’s league campaign, being against the two other bottom clubs in the league, Murrayfield and Livingston.

This coming weekend sees Berwick travel to Murrayfield Wanderers for a 3.00pm Kick Off, and a must win game. Supporters welcome.

Back to top^

Irvine 54  Berwick 15

Berwick made the long journey through to Irvine for Scottish Hydro Premier 3 action on Saturday.

After travelling the best part of 3 hours, in a fairly upbeat mood and on a mild, dry day Irvine kicked off and Berwick conceded a try in the corner within the 1^st minute which was converted 7-0. After some extended play and good running and Berwick’s pack showing dominance Irvine gave away a penalty after 15 minutes which was converted by James Patterson. After a further 8 minutes of good pressure  by Berwick and then looking as if we could do something Martin Broadbent took the ball, was tackled and fell very awkwardly suffering a double fracture to his leg.

The game was held up for 40 minutes waiting for medics to take care of Martin prior to taking him to the local hospital.

Immediately after the restart Irvine scored under the posts and converted for a lead of 14-3. Another 3 tries and conversions followed to take the score to 35-3 before Grant Younger scored a try after some good forward play, making 35-8. Irvine then scored another try 40-8 before Max Learmonth scored and James Patterson converted taking the score to 35-15. Irvine then went onto score two more tries which were both converted to take the final score to 54-15.

Given a different set of circumstances, and without the unfortunate injury and Berwick clearly going off the boil during the wait, this was a game Berwick could have won. The Blacks must pick themselves up and tackle better. In the next 3 games there are definitely points available.

Unfortunately this was to have been Martin Broadbent’s final game for the Blacks, before moving away from the area and starting Fire Service Training and subsequent posting to Strathclyde. Having waited two years to get on the course, the disappointment to Martin of such an injury to his leg, and the delay to his ambitions will be considerable. Everyone wishes him the speediest of recoveries and good luck in his career.

This coming weekend The Blacks welcome Ellon to Scremerston. Please contact 386755 should you wish to join us for the pre match lunch.

Back to top^

Berwick RFC 5    Kirkcaldy RFC 25              

Berwick lose battle of the packs.

A young Berwick pack probably came up against their most experienced opposition of the season and this in the end was the difference between the sides. The Kirkcaldy front row dominated the scrums and this allowed their number 8 the platform to make penetrating runs over the gain line at every opportunity. The Kirkcaldy team also had a skilful Stand Off who controlled the game using the ample possession the pack gained.

The game was barely a minute old when Berwick conceded the first points of the afternoon when from the kick off they were penalised for not rolling away from the tackle by referee Iain Grant. The Kirkcaldy Stand off Quintan Sanft popped over the penalty to leave the Blacks trailing 3 nil after less than 5 minutes. The next period of play was largely error prone and with the referee blowing up for regular infringements the game descended into a war of attrition between the forwards.  James Patterson provided a moment of entertainment when after a missed kick to touch by Kirkcaldy he was able to run the ball back but just didn’t have the legs to outrun the fullback, being hauled down on the 22 yard line.

The next score came almost 25 minutes into the game when Quintan Sanft kicked cross field for his fellow antipodean Orion Keil to out jump Berwick winger James Mechan and barge over for the try. With the conversion missed this made the score 8-nil to Kirkcaldy. The next ten minutes were spent in a series of scrums with errors from both sides. After a period of sustained scrums inside the home sides’ 22 the Kirkcaldy Captain and loose head prop Greg Wallace took the ball on the wing and touched down for a simple try. Again with a missed conversion the score was 13-nil to Kirkcaldy.

The Blacks came back into the game and it was the turn of Berwick Stand off Ben McCreath to give a demonstration of precision kicking when he kicked across the pitch where Berwick full back Gareth Black caught the ball and fell over the line to score. With the last kick of the first half Ben McCreath hit the post and just failed to add the conversion making the half time score 13-5 to Kirkcaldy.

The second period started with Kirkcaldy deep in the Berwick half and it was no surprise when they eventually scored through Steve Mitchell after a series of drives and rucks. Gareth Hill did superbly to block the conversion to make the score 18-5 to Kirkcaldy. The rest of the half followed a similar pattern with Kirkcaldy relying on their forwards to take the ball on and the Berwick side did well to stand up to the concerted pressure throughout the second half. However the pressure brought around one more score for Kirkcaldy when good support play was rewarded by a touchdown from Willie Gray after a series of pop passes lead to the touch down to make it 25-5 to Kirkcaldy. The only other point to note in the game was the sin binning of Kirkcaldy Captain Greg Wallace for a professional foul when he barged Gareth Hill after the full back had chipped ahead.

The Blacks stuck well to their task against an experienced Kirkcaldy side that had good players in key positions. They maintained parity at the lineout but lost out elsewhere in the forwards. The Berwick Backs were starved of ball and if they had more possession would have caused the limited Kirkcaldy backs a few problems.

The next fixture is an away match against fellow league strugglers Irvine and the Blacks need to pick themselves up to win a crucial game.

Back to top^

Berwick 0 – Gala 22.

The Blacks played the toughest of their S H E Premier 3 fixtures so far this season at Scremerston on Saturday, against current runaway league leaders Gala. Looking at the form of Gala to date this season, Berwick were fearing a heavy defeat, and indeed Gala were also expecting a big easy win.

This was not to be, and with Berwick undoubtedly playing their best game so far this season, with great effort, determination and commitment, they defended stoically, upset Gala and restricted their lead to 22 points by giving them their hardest game of the season so far. The Blacks were unfortunate in not scoring themselves in the first half, with a couple of misjudgements and errors letting Gala off the hook.  If the Blacks can put up this performance against any of the other teams in the lower end of the league, they will produce great results. The match was sponsored by M H & Southern, and the Ball was sponsored by the Reverend Allan and Mary Cartwright.

A quiet first ten minutes saw Gala try to run the ball wide, gradually threatening the Berwick line. Their full back ran in a try on the right wing, which was well converted. A penalty to Berwick giving an opportunity to come back, was unfortunately scuffed wide, and a big clearance from Gala’s full back put the pressure right back on Berwick themselves. A second try was narrowly averted when some hard hitting defence from Berwick forced a knock forward from Gala just short of the line.

Gala camped in the Berwick 22 for the next 10 minutes, but some great tackling particularly from Martin Broadbent and Gaz Riddle ensured no more points were scored. Nathan Trotter also having a good game, booted to safety into the Gala 22, and Berwick breathed again.

Becoming frustrated, Gala began to infringe, allowing Berwick to really exert some pressure, and begin to build an attack. Gareth Hill was only very narrowly denied a try in the corner. At this stage Berwick were really starting to turn on some pressure.

Gala managed to win back possession, and after a series of 5m scrums on the Berwick 5m line, their scrum half eventually managed to slip over for a second try just before Half Time, converted for 14 – 0 – a really positive first half from Berwick.

The second half started with Gala looking refreshed and dangerous, but immediately Gaz Riddle put in a storming try saving tackle, and driving the Gala no. 15 back down the pitch, for Berwick to steal the ball off him. A kick downfield saw a great chase and pick up by Mark Laidlaw, starting a further Berwick attack. Only a careless high tackle by Berwick gave Gala the opportunity to clear their line. A persistent and increasingly frustrated Gala pushed Berwick hard, and a sustained defence, with strong scrummaging from Berwick kept them at bay until eventually Gala just managed to sneak over for their final points.

Berwick still didn’t look back and went on the attack, with Nathan Trotter again forcing the ball well upfield. The forwards won a scrum against the head and the Berwick backs ran wide for Lee Douglas to tap through and just fail to reach the Gala line. Gala replied with another sharp run from their backs, but once again the attack was snuffed out by another high speed and crunching tackle from Gaz Riddle, taking the wind right out of the Gala winger.

The last five minutes of the game became very indisciplined, with Gala not enjoying, and not being used to the pressure. Berwick defended hard and repeatedly droving Gala back from the Berwick line. Niggle turned into fighting, and the Gala No 6 was sent off for dangerous use of the boot. Finally re-channeling their energy into the game, the Blacks attacked once again, from the penalty, and winning the ensuing lineout, the backs ran wide for Nathan Trotter to make a great break downfield. The final whistle ended a hugely encouraging display by Berwick, who although not winning, never once put their heads down, and appeared to be increasingly well organised under attack. A very positive display while under significant pressure from the league leaders, themselves an improved outfit from last year.

This coming weekend the Blacks travel to Perthshire for an early 2.00pm kick off. This will allow the bus to be back at the club in time for hopefully what will be another crescendo to the Rugby World Cup, and the Final with South Africa . The clubhouse will be open all day, and with food available in the evening - everyone will be welcome, the more the merrier ! Come and cheer on England in their record breaking attempt to make it two wins in a row !

Back to top^

Berwick RFC Vs Dunfermline

Dunfermline Sky gets some points.

The weather at Scremerston provided ideal conditions for rugby in this Scottish Hydro Electric Premier Three League game producing 10 tries. With the World Cup Quarter Final between England and Australia providing competition for spectators, it was a low-key atmosphere at Scremerston to begin with. Berwick looked up for it this week and it was against the run of play when Dunfermline scored after ten minutes with Dunfermline Centre Warren Daley touching down after a couple of rucks and good interplay amongst the backs created an overlap for him to touch down. The close defeat last week against Ardrossan had obviously brought some belief back to the Berwick squad and this early set back lead to them taking the game to Dunfermline . The scrum and lineout started to work effectively and Berwick gained a lot of possession from the set piece, especially the line out. During this period of pressure, Gareth Hill narrowly missed a penalty. Dunfermline were restricted to sporadic raids into the Berwick half and it was from one of these that Dunfermline increased their lead to 14 points when the ball was again worked along the Dunfermline back line to allow the Dunfermline Number 8 Sky Laurie to touch down out wide. The Dunfermline kicker Steven McColl added a magnificent conversion from out near the touchline.

Berwick did not let their heads go down and it was an evenly matched contest. However, Dunfermline scored on the half hour mark after a kick ahead a scrum was awarded on the Berwick 10 yard line for a Berwick knock on. From the scrum Sky Laurie picked up and brushed aside two Berwick tackles before offloading to his fellow back row Stuart Hannah to touch down under the post to allow Steve McColl an easy conversion to make it 21 points to Dunfermline.

From the kick off Berwick put together a concerted period of pressure and eventually the Dunfermline Flanker Stuart Hannah was sent to the sin bin for persistent infringements, the last of which was coming from an offside position to kill the ball. During this period, Berwick again had a series of interplays with good work from Gareth Hill, Lee Douglas and scrum half Andy Tait all combining well with the Berwick pack to good effect.

Half time came and the score was a poor reflection of the match as the Berwick line out was working well with the scrum adding more pressure onto Dunfermline . Berwick were guilty of some poor use of the ball they did get by not getting over the gain line and by kicking the ball away regularly. It was therefore quite an odd end to the half when the Blacks found themselves down by 21 points.

The half time pep talk from Berwick Head Coach Ged Thomas must have been good as Berwick came storming back into the game after half time with two tries inside the first ten minutes. The first came from Berwick Scrum half Andy Tait after good interplay from backs and forwards and the second came from Martin Broadbent who touched the ball down after a good clean catch and drive from a lineout. Both conversions were missed but the score was now 10-21.

Dunfermline continued to look dangerous on the counterattack and after Lee Douglas had bought a dummy, Andy Buchanan touched down under the posts. After the easy conversion, this made the score 10-28. The Berwick backs started throwing the ball around and unfortunately, Dunfermline winger Graeme Low who raced half the length of the pitch picked off a looping pass. The conversion bounced off the post to make the score 10-33.

In earlier weeks, this may have lead to a collapse from Berwick but not this week with the Blacks coming right back into the game with two further tries. The first from Lee Douglas who finished off a good passing movement and the other came from Gareth Riddle when he had broken through the Dunfermline defence with a powerful run. This made the score 22-33 and Berwick were right back into the match.

Perhaps the effort of scoring the two tries took its toll as Dunfermline got the final score when Steven McColl finished off a fine afternoon when he rounded the Berwick defence to touch down. Converting his own try, he finished the game with 15 points.

The score line was not a fair reflection of this match with the Berwick pack providing plenty of ball for the Scremerston team. However, some of the play from Berwick was across the pitch and good ball was perhaps kicked away too often. The League games have been more even than the scores have shown and this was a much-improved performance from the Berwick team. All of the recent games will pale into insignificance when next week the Blacks face border rivals Gala at Scremerston in the Scottish Hydro Electric League game. The Berwick players will need all of their fighting spirit to contest this game against the runaway league leaders, but on the evidence of this game the heart is back in the team. With radio coverage and a large support from Gala expected the Blacks will really need all of their supporters to turn out this weekend to lift them for the game. Tables are still available for the pre-match lunch and places can be reserved by contacting the Clubhouse. 

Back to top^

BERWICK BADGERS 23 WALLSEND 2nds 12

On a sunny October afternoon the badgers got their season underway with a home fixture against Wallsend. The Badgers received kick off and started strongly with a series of good driving rucks and some good running from the backs putting pressure on the Wallsend line, this led to Wallsend killing the ball and giving away a penalty which was neatly kicked by Paul Holloway to give the badgers a 3-0 lead after 10 minutes. The badgers carried on pressuring the Wallsend line with Ross Stobart going over to score after 18 minutes to score on his Badgers debut, Paul Holloway was successful with the conversion to give the Badgers a 10-0 lead.

 Wallsend came back strongly from the restart with a series of sustained driving mauls, the Badgers defended well repelling the repeated Wallsend attacks until ill discipline lead to the Badgers giving away a penalty almost directly in front of the posts.  The Wallsend kicker pushed the ball wide, giving the Badgers an undeserved reprieve. Both teams were playing good rugby in excellent conditions, with Berwick shading things with up front with greater control at the break down. Against the run of play Wallsend scored an unconverted try to bring the score to 10-5 with half an hour gone.  The badgers came straight back at Wallsend continuing the dominance they had showed before the Wallsend try and after a series of quick driving rucks Paul Holloway made a nice outside break from fly half being hauled down a couple of yards short of the line, but off loading nicely to the support player on his inside putting badgers skipper Matty Cooper in for a converted try just right of the posts.

The Badgers turned round at half time with a with a 17-5 lead knowing that there could be let up in effort in the 2^nd half.  With the sun at their backs the Badgers backs started to move the ball nicely along the line with some good running by Grant Spiers and Craig Dunse but unfortunately the badgers were unable to convert this dominance in to tries having to settle for 2 penalties. With 15 minutes to go and leading 23-5 the Badgers lack of match fitness started to tell with gaps opening up in the Badgers defence and only with some good last ditch tackling the Badgers stopped Wallsend getting back in the game. With 5 minutes to go Wallsend crossed over for a convert try, this score gave the Badgers a wake call and the defence managed to hold until the final whistle, in spite of sustained pressure from Wallsend.

This was a good start of the season for the Badgers against a Wallsend side with 4 games under their belt, with good sustained control at the breakdown areas, and some promising running from the backs.  Anyone interested in playing