A TWO hour bus journey was extended to three after the Whitecraigs pitch fell victim to the freezing conditions they are still experiencing. However, they were able to switch the game to Millbrae, the home ground of Premier 1 side Ayr. Conditions wer
e firm under foot with the sky clear overhead which promised a good game for the Berwick supporters able to make the trip. However, when second top face second bottom there is usually only one winner and so it proved.
From the off Whitecraigs used the firm ground and dry conditions to produce a great display of running rugby typical of a team pushing for promotion. Early pressure forced a penalty which was quickly taken and from the ensuing ruck the ball was smartly picked up and touched down by Prop Campbell. With the Blacks 5-0 down within the first five minutes it would have been easy for them to fold from there on in. It is to the great credit of the side that instead they fought back into the game and for the next 30 minutes pushed Whitecraigs all the way.
Berwick pulled three points back from a penalty after Jorin Grimsdale had been held back as he chased up his own clever chip ahead. Matthew McCreath duly slotted the ball over to close the gap. The next 25 minutes saw Berwick compete well at the break down and showing some invention in the backs. Guy Skivington-Jones made a good break as he slipped through a gap in midfield and used his strength to hand off a tackle. He was hauled down short of the line. Next Jack Webster was held up just short after a good back line move from Berwick.
Whitecraigs always looked dangerous and it took superb tackles from Dan Law and Angus Brown to deny another try in the 35 minute.
After a scrum deep in their own territory was won by Whitecraigs they made a searing break up field but the ever impressive Law covered back to make a tackle and Brown superbly dumped the supporting player who had been on hand to take the offload to save the try. However, Whitecraigs are too good a side to be denied for long and they added two more tries in the last six minutes before half time. both of which were converted to make it 19-3 at half time.
Berwick started the second half badly and poor discipline from Gareth Black cost his team-mates vital yards when he kicked the ball away needlessly. Whitecraigs were then able to put in a searching touchline kick and from the resulting lineout they won the ball and touched down after a rolling maul. The conversion was made from a very difficult angle out wide. Aaron Hall replaced Stuart Cockburn at this point and the fresh legs allowed Berwick to gain more possession and they contained the home side again allowing them few chances. Berwick were winning the scrums and were producing some good ball but the well drilled opposition defence didn't allow them to progress much further and as a result a period of kicking from both sides ensued.
Berwick were penalised in front of the posts for handling in the ruck to give Whitecraigs a simple penalty to make the score 29-3 to them. Dan Law showed he wasn't giving up by reclaiming the re-start kick superbly setting up a Berwick attack. As this attack petered out it allowed Whitecraigs to counterattack and they scored another try as they touched down after drawing in the Berwick defence to leave Colin Young trying to defend against three men out wide.
Further poor discipline by Berwick resulted in a penalty being reversed for back chat and then Matthew McCreath was sin binned for a professional foul preventing quick release of the ball. This meant that Berwick had to play with a man short and during this period Whitecraigs number eight Pollock made a superb break and after collecting his chip ahead he was able to offload to his supporting winger who was able to touch down under the posts, the conversion being added for a 41-3 scoreline.
