Lochaber RFC 40
Moffat RFC 0
West Division 3
Lochaber put together an almost complete performance to maintain their great start to the season and comprehensively defeat close rivals Moffat.
The visitors had been enjoying a fantastic opening to the 2023/24 season, with six wins from seven games, seeing them sit second in the table at the start of the day.
Lochaber had made a strong start last weekend and aimed for more of the same in front of the Banavie crowd. A dominant scrum and excellent support running saw them achieve exactly that with three scores in a quickfire opening ten minutes.
The first came from concerted pressure by the hosts allowing inside centre Hamish White to dot down under the posts within the opening five minutes. Captain Ryan Davies added the extras for a 7-0 lead.
The second followed a similar pattern, with further possession play from Lochaber again resulting in White breaking through would-be tackles to score his, and the home side’s, second try with barely eight minutes on the clock. Again, Davies added the extras.
Lochaber were in full flow, riding high on confidence following such a dominant start. The loyal supporters on the hill must have been surprised by the difference from a few weeks prior when Lochaber were a shadow of the team that played on Saturday.
A third try followed moments later when lock Douglas MacRae mopped up an untidy line-out and gained territory before shipping wide, allowing wing Hamish Shaw to crash over. A trickier conversion slid just wide from Davies but Lochaber’s lead was 19-0 with barely 10 minutes on the clock.
A period of sloppiness now entered the Lochaber game, giving too much possession and territory to Moffat through handling errors and simple penalties, but the hosts try line never felt threatened and what danger transpired was dealt with by a much-improved defence.
Lochaber stretched their lead and secured the bonus point before half time when Chris Simpson raced clear of the visiting defence to score. Davies added the conversion to make it 26-0 at halftime.
Into the second half and, full of confidence, Lochaber looked to put the game away.
The hosts pulled further ahead when more strong play from the Lochaber forwards created space for outside centre Koni Johnson to crash through by the posts. Davies slotted the kick.
Lochaber were not done yet and powerful running from tighthead prop Josh MacKay saw him gain significant distance before offloading superbly as he was hauled down.
Davy Duncan collected the ball and ran in under the posts for Lochaber’s sixth score. With the extras added, Davies made it 40-0 to the Banavie men.
This was a huge statement win from the hosts who look to have got their season back on track following some strong defence, excellent support running and creative attacking play to currently sit third in the table, with the league increasingly looking like a four horse race between Birkmyre, Irvine, Lochaber and Moffat.
Lochaber host Lanark and Clydesdale at Banavie on Saturday November 11. Kick-off 2pm.
Featured image: Koni Johnson pushes aside the opposition to score a try. Photograph: Iain Ferguson, alba.photos. NO_F45_Rugby_23_LochaberRFCvMoffat 03