Bulls Tame the elements and opponents

Hamilton welcomed Preston Lodge Rugby club through from East Lothian on a day when the strong swirling wind played havoc with early play as both teams struggled to get to grips with the unpredictable way the wind affected the ball in the air.
Hamilton attempted to play their normal expansive rugby throughout the first period. They were rewarded with a long range penalty by Owen McLeish with the wind at his back. However the wind caused some inaccuracy with Hamilton’s handling letting PL into the game with a penalty from Scrum Half Brian Walls on 10 minutes. Hamilton were then beneficiaries of the wind when a clearing kick held up in the wind, and the ball was gathered by White who recycled quickly to prop Taz McLaughlin to go over in the corner. 5 Minutes later Hamilton’s forwards took the ball to the opposition and after several quick phases released flanker Scott Alexander to go in under the posts. McLeish added the extras. Against the run of play PL were next on the score board when Walls intercepted and ran in unopposed. A Mcleish penalty extended Hamilton’s lead as half time approached. PL stepped up their game and were rewarded with a try by flanker Dixon after some strong running by centre Blair Robertson, whose strength troubled the Hamilton defence throughout the match.
The second half saw Hamilton facing the strong wind, but their handling game finally came good as they ran out of deep defence to pick up the bonus point try under the posts. Captain Mark Wallace made the initial break and offloaded to Liam Bell who raced in to allow Mcleish an easy conversion. 2 minutes later Hamilton repeated the break from deep this time feeding lock Jordan Mclean to cross the whitewash close to the posts, McLeish again adding the extras.
With a secure 32 13 lead Hamilton relaxed into their game and despite being pinned back by a succession of scrum penalties, stuck to their running game. The Hamilton scrum was totally dominant throughout, and after turning over possession at the scrum number 8 White picked up and fed substitute Robert Brown who ran in from half way to extend the lead. PL used the wind to get deep into Hamilton territory and again after several phases scored through flanker Jack Gordon, just reward for some really good accurate play. And 5 minutes later they got their scoring bonus when Jason Riley intercepted on half way and ran the length to score under the posts.
It was Hamilton who had the last say with two tries in quick succession. Mcleish was first, beating the suspiciously offside defence with a lovely inside break, and then Craig Skilling finished off some great handling by the forwards to score in the corner.
Coach David Gemmell was particularly pleased with the 56 - 25 scoreline. “The boys stuck closely to the game plan, and once they learned to accommodate the wind, their handling accuracy improved and they really turned it on. Next week’s trip to Lasswade who sit just above us in the table will be a real test of our depth. Today we put out 3 teams despite being short of 15 players, mostly forwards, to injury. 2 out of 3 victories and a great performance by the seconds at Stirling where we lost out in the last 10 minutes show our depth, and the under 18s beat Currie by 26 – 5. A good day for the club all round.”