Last gasp try ensures narrow Orkney victory

A last-minute PJ McGrath try ensured that Orkney secured their third consecutive victory in BT National League Division 3 as the home side beat Perthshire 18-15 in an absorbing encounter.

On what was a bitterly cold day for the players and spectators alike, both teams served up a hard-fought and intriguing encounter, one which Perthshire will be desperately disappointed to come away from with just a losing bonus point to show for their efforts.

It was the away side who opened the scoring after 20 minutes with big number 5 Adam Pattinson forcing his way over the line for a deserved unconverted try. James Linklater kept Orkney within touching distance with a penalty kick before Phillip Ross scored a fantastic Orkney try to bring the score to 8-5 just before half-time.

With Perthshire looking a very accomplished outfit and their powerful forwards matching and in some cases beating Orkney in the scrum, they will have felt aggrieved to be behind at half-time. The away side dominated possession and territory for large parts of the second half and their second try of the match came from a scrum inside Orkney’s five-metre line. Their power forced Orkney back over the try line and it was a simple touch down in the end. With Graeme Clow converting to make the score 8-15, things didn’t look good for the home side.

However, Orkney saved their best spell of the game for the last ten minutes as Marcus Guthrie went over first to bring Orkney within two points before some fantastic mauling left McGrath to bundle over the line on 79 minutes to massive cheers from the hardy crowd.