Playing into a strong breeze Bulls faced a Dumfries side high on confidence after an opening unbeaten 4 game run. They extended this to 5 after defeating a stuffy Hamilton side by 42 to 25. The score did not reflect either possession or territory, but did show how clinical the visitors were when they had the ball, especially the tricky centre Jack Steele whose nimble feet constantly breached the First line of Hamilton defence creating the space for other to capitalise.

Dumfries were 12 points up within as many minutes first through lock Lee Scott who found space on the blind side of a ruck to barge over, and then after Hamilton’s kick of failed to go 10 metres, Dumfries moved the ball to Steel, who crossed the gain line and shifted the ball to winger Douglas who left an easy conversion for Kerr.

Hamilton found their feet and gradually played their way into the Dumfries 22 where on 15 minutes, McLeish spotted space out wide and a well weighted kick found Wilson who scampered over and then converted his own try. Wilson was on target again 5 minutes later with a long range penalty. Bulls were playing good driving rugby building phases and territory, and it was Wilson who gave bulls the lead from the kicking tee on 25 minutes when Dumfries were penalised for sealing off at the ruck.

However Hamilton’s indiscipline cost them again when on 30 minutes, Gary Adams was yellow carded for not releasing in the tackle. Dumfries capitalised, and despite Dogged defence from the Bulls. Dumfries spread the ball wide and caught the Bulls short of numbers allowing Douglas in at the corner and minutes later, Kerr backed up a series of forward drives to find space on the edge and touch down under the posts. Half time Bulls 13 – Dumfries 24.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Bulls owning the ball and territory for long periods, aided by a Dumfries side being reduced to 14 for 10 minutes. Despite this it was the visitors who counted first with a well struck penalty by Kerr. On 45 minutes Bulls finally found space for substitute Billy Simpson who was well placed in mid field to receive quick ball from the ruck and run in unopposed under the posts. At this stage it was all Hamilton, although occasional break always by Dumfries showed that they still possessed a genuine threat in attack. Nonetheless, Bulls reduced the deficit to 2 points after great hands by forwards and backs released Wilson to touch down in the corner.
On 65 minutes Dumfries were awarded a contentious penalty and Kerr slotted a long range goal to edge them further ahead. Bulls went immediately on the attack, but in their desperation to catch up, turned ball over and the excellent Steel turned defence into attack. Despite an excellent last ditch tackle by Jamieson, Dumfries support released Douglas for his second try, and as the clock wound down, Hamilton conceded a penalty in midfield. Young took it quickly and moved the ball wide where Number 8 Smith popped up to touch down in the corner for a full time score on 25 – 42.

Coach Kenny Brown said after the match, “Dumfries are top of the league for good reason, however we showed that we can compete at that level. Despite our poor start I was please to see us coming from behind and taking the lead but we needed to be much more accurate. There’s a lot we can take from today as we continue to develop. ”

Meanwhile Hamilton’s second XV visited Hillhead-Jordanhill and came home with a 41 – 0 victory to keep them in second place with a game in hand. A much depleted 3rd XV went down to top of the table Allan Glens 2nd XV by 48 – 7 but retain second spot in division 2.

Match report from
Jim Browning