1ST XV

Match Notice

Saturday's match against Mackie has been changed to a 1pm kick off.

Blairgowrie 10's Tournament August 2011

The Senior team headed south to Blairgowrie on Saturday in a somewhat optimistic mood following the impressive performance against Dyce the previous week.  The club had competed last year at the Blairgowrie 10's finishing 3rd and the squad traveled looking to improve on that record.

The first game saw Deeside play Blairgowrie.  Deeside were unusually slow out of the blocks and were punished accordingly with Blairgowrie notching points with a converted try in the first half.  The remainder of the half was an equal affair with no clear cut opportunities for either team.  Deeside started the second half in much better fashion and registered some points with an uncoverted try.  The game remained finely poise with Deeside dominating play towards the end of the game.  Deeside continued to play an open and expansive game which resulted in running a penalty ball in the last two minutes instead of kicking for goal which ultimately saw Deeside lose the opening game.  The last seconds of the game also saw the team lose the services of their scrum half for the remainder of the tournament due to a bad ankle injury.

Deeside regrouped for games two and three, versus Cowl and Panmure, winning both comfortably and without conceding any points.  However, the team knew that the forthcoming games versus Ross Sutherland and Highland would pose a tougher test.

Deeside entered game four on a high following their good wins in games two and three but unfortunately let Ross Sutherland dominate the game by slackening off the good defensive line seen in games one to three.  Ross Sutherland went on to win the affair with a two try margin.

Game five saw Deeside take on Highland who were predominantly made up of Fijians playing elaborate rugby.  The team went in knowing keeping a tight defensive line would frustrate the opposition and draw mistakes.  It was clear from the start that Highland would test the referee's resolve throughout the encounter with numerous infringements going without punishment which impacted on Deeside's concentration.  Highland ran in a couple of quick tries which resulted in Deeside having to chase the game.  Unfortunately the chase was too big and Highland ran out winners of this encounter although their conduct did let them down. 

The team entered the final game looking to restore some pride following disappointing performances in games four and five.  Stobswell provided stiff opposition and took the lead early in the first half against a tiring Deeside team.  Late in the first half Deeside scored an opportunistic try by winning a foot race to a ball in the oppositions in-goal area.  Deeside produced solid rugby for the remainder of the game keeping the opposition out whilst scoring another try to secure victory.

The loss in game one meant the team missed out on retaining third place.  Whilst disappointing the fourth place achieved was a good return for the days work considering the injuries sustained during the tournament and people playing out of position.  The team resolved to return in 2012 to eclipse the third place achieved in 2010 and consoled themselves with a crate of beer provided by the excellent hosts for the day.

The league season begins on Saturday 3rd September with a home fixture versus Gordonians 2XV at the Woodend pitches in Banchory, kick-off 2pm.  Hope to see you there to help support rugby on Deeside.

If you require any information, please contact:
captain@deeside-rfc.co.uk

Aberdeen District Shield final Deeside vs Garioch 2’s

We couldn’t have asked for a better day’s rugby with both weather and the Deeside team shining through. With the lead almost constantly changing hands it was a tough game but after some excellent defensive play and some great counter attacking Deeside got the spoils. To their credit Garioch never gave up and constantly looked dangerous. It was an excellent team display by Deeside and it shows that the side is definitely capable of playing great entertaining rugby.

With thanks to  Mark Sim, Euan Moir and Thomas Hardwick from Garioch who played for Deeside on the day.