I am loathed to mention the ‘c’ word that has dominated our lives for the last 18 months, but the context surrounding this game should not be ignored. This was the first competitive match for either side since they met at Old Anniesland in March 2020, days before the COVID-19 virus thrust us all into a national lockdown. Gordonians won narrowly that day, adding an extra juicy layer of narrative going into the 2021 repeat.
GHK dominated the opening exchanges. Probing attacks were launched off the back of strong midfield defence coupled with a string of lineout steals from Hugh Parker. The number 8 produced a stellar performance. Ambitious, free-flowing and energetic…but enough about his hair. The first try came from some direct build up play before a sumptuous/ fortuitus (depending which team you were supporting) offload from Ben Frame put Angus North in under the sticks. Thankfully 18 months of hand sanitizing hasn’t affected the scrum-half’s handling ability.
GHK continued to control possession and territory. On the rare occasions the Aberdonians threatened, Parker and co. would rob them at lineout time which would release GHK’s dangerous outside backs from the turnover. However, a penalty in front of the posts for holding on led to 3 points for Gordonians and they were back in the game.
This didn’t deter GHK and they were soon back into the opposition’s 22. A solid set piece allowed Grant Anderson to throw a lovely miss pass to Danny Campbell. The full back shipped the ball on to flying winger Ben Hutton who stepped and scored under the posts. Campbell added the extras and was soon back in the thick of the action. Receiving the ball around the halfway, he dodged, dipped, ducked, dived and dodged again with a bit of help from Matt Smith to somehow stretch and score under the posts. Bonus point secured.
The swashbuckling rugby didn’t stop there. Within 5 minutes GHK added a further two tries for Smith and North respectively. Smith’s try started with a quick lineout on the halfway from Gavin McKirdy and North got on the end of a couple more mesmeric offloads from Anderson and Smith. 31-3 at half time and GHK looked very good value for their lead.
After the break, GHK picked up where they left off. A few big tackles from both centres set the tone and it was clear that the home side were not going to take their foot off the gas. Gordonians got a yellow card, nobody knows why but it was definitely justified… definitely.
Smith added his second try after a nice offload from Parker before completing his hat-trick minutes later; finishing off a move that started from a quickly taken lineout from Hutton. Tommy Spinks showed that GHK can score from 5 metres out as well as 50 with a strong drive over for a try on debut. Campbell added the extras from the touchline. Another break from Smith resulted in a score for Craig Gossman who got his reward for a fine performance with and without the ball.
There was still time for the home side to add 3 more tries to their tally. The first was scored by Grant Anderson after a chip and chase from Campbell bounced kindly for the fly half. Campbell then scored his second in the left-hand corner before Smith scored a remarkable fourth try in the dying seconds of the match.
GHK 76 – 3 Gordonians
I am conscious that this match report has been almost entirely GHK centric. This is reflective of a contest where the home team was in complete control from start to finish. The attack was coordinated, varied and relentless. The defence was aggressive when it needed to be and the set piece, especially the lineout, was dominant. The young Gordonians side never gave up and will improve as the season progresses. We look forward to the return fixture in the north east and hope you enjoyed the bus trip home… I hear Lambrini was on the menu?!
After a result like this, it will be no surprise that there was a glut of stand-out individual performances. Campbell looked a threat every time he touched the ball, Gossman showed his class by linking, tackling and organising extremely well. Parker got through a mountain of work – making breaks, offloading and causing havoc at the lineout throughout. Smith scored 4 tries from blindside flanker… ‘nuff said! The front five laid the foundation for the backline to strut their stuff.
However, there can only be one GHK Edinburgh Gin Player of the Match and that was inside centre, Angus North. He made several dominant tackles, linked superbly and picked up a couple of tries. Not bad for his first match at Old Anniesland! Well done Angus.