Bannockburn Rugby Club

Bannockburn started 2012 with disappointing 27-18 defeat against a strong running Stobswell side.

This was a game that the 'Burn had targeted for victory to help them achieve a third placed league finish. Although missing a few regulars, they fielded a strong side and handed debuts to Chris Reed in the backs and Alex Beattie in the forwards.

Despite being a 'home' game for the 'Burn, the match was played at Falkirk due to storm force winds blowing down the posts at Bluebell Wood Park. And for the first 20 minutes of this match a disjointed 'Burn were blown away by the opposition. Strong running and weak tackling led to two early scores for the visitors, who quickly opened up a twelve point lead. Only some try saving tackles by John Dawson and good hits from Mark Wetton helped to limit the early damage.

A brief moment of cohesion from the home team resulted in a penalty inside the Stobswell twenty-two. John Dawson slotted over the penalty and Bannockburn had points on the board. However, it wasn't long before Stobswell reasserted their authority. Their third try arrived soon after the restart and they led 17-3 before the game was twenty minutes old.

The 'Burn finally found their composure and the fowards began to work as a pack. Following a period of ball retention and some good forward drives, the ball was released to the backs. Andy Cowan ran a good angle and, after rounding the opposition full back, scored under the posts. John Dawson added the conversion to really bring the home team back into the game. The 'Burn continued to dominate for the rest of the half and the pressure paid dividends with the Stobswell flanker sent to the sin bin for one infringement too many. John Dawson slotted over the resulting penalty and the half ended with Bannockburn trailing 17-13.

Bannockburn started the second half in the same vein and it wasn't long before they registered another score. Andy Cowan, despite having players in support, surged up the left hand touchline, shrugging off several tackles to score in the left corner. John Dawson missed the difficult conversion but Bannockburn had taken the lead 18-17.

The 'Burn continued to be the better team but Stobswell fought hard to get back into the game. Despite a strong showing by Bryan Paterson, after coming on as a second half substitute, Bannockburn again started to miss their tackles and Stobswell scored their fourth try. As the game wore on and Bannockburn tempers began to shorten Stuart McGown was sin binned with only a few minutes remaining. Stobswell slotted over a penalty to finish the game and their ten unanswered points ensured that Bannockburn ended up empty handed.