SCOTTISH CALEDONIA LEAGUE 1
Date	Kick Off	Home		-		Away	Report
September 2011
Saturday 3rd	3:00pm	Hillfoots	33	-	13	Strathmore
Saturday 10th	3:00pm	Mackie Acd FP's	14	-	29	Strathmore
Saturday 17th	3:00pm	Strathmore	38	-	14	Glenrothes
Saturday 24th	3:00pm	Caithness	19	-	30	Strathmore
October 2011
Saturday 1st	3:00pm	Strathmore	16	-	8	Gordonians
Saturday 8th	3:00pm	Aberdeen Uni	19	-	19	Strathmore
Saturday 15th	3:00pm	Orkney	17	-	16	Strathmore
Saturday 22nd	3:00pm	Strathmore	P	-	P	Highland
Saturday 29th		Gordonians Plate Round 1	25	-	19
November 2011
Saturday 5th	2:00pm	Aberdeenshire	29	-	0	Strathmore
Saturday 12th	2:00pm	Strathmore	6	-	10	Hillfoots
Saturday 19th	2:00pm	Strathmore	3	-	25	Mackie
Saturday 26th	2:00pm	Glenrothes	5	-	5	Strathmore
December 2011
Saturday 3rd	2:00pm	Strathmore	3	-	3	Caithness
Saturday 10th	2:00pm	Orkney Plate Round 2	P	-	P	Strathmore
Saturday 17th	2:00pm	Strathmore	P	-	P	Highland
January 2012
Saturday 14th	2:00pm	Gordonians	P	-	P	Strathmore
Saturday 21st	2:00pm	Strathmore	P	-	P	Aberdeen Uni
Saturday 28th	2:00pm	Strathmore	P	-	P	Orkney
February 2011
Saturday 4th	11:00am	Orkney Plate Round 2		-		Strathmore
Saturday 18th	2:00pm	Highland		-		Strathmore
Saturday 25th	2:00pm	Gordonians		-		Strathmore
March 2011
Saturday 3rd	3:00pm	Strathmore		-		Aberdeenshire
Saturday 10th	3:00pm	Strathmore		-		Highland

Position	Team	Played	W	D	L	F : A	Diff.	Bonus	Points
1	Aberdeenshire	13	11	0	2	314:142	172	8	52
2	Hillfoots RFC	13	9	1	3	292:196	96	6	44
3	Mackie Academy FP	14	7	0	7	291:287	4	7	35
4	Orkney	13	7	0	6	285:297	-12	7	35
5	Highland RFC	13	7	0	6	241:235	6	5	29
6	Caithness RFC	13	6	2	5	221:221	0	2	26
7	Strathmore RFC	12	4	3	5	178:193	-15	3	25
8	Glenrothes	14	3	2	9	189:352	-163	4	20
9	Gordonians RFC	11	3	1	7	247:267	-20	7	17
10	Aberdeen University RFC	12	2	1	9	250:318	-68	7	12

 

 

 

 

Pre-Season 2011

Strathmore 68 - 3 Carnoustie

Strathmore opened the season with a convincing friendly over local rivals Carnoustie.  Carnoustie started the strongest and were 0-3 up after 10min but the Blacks were in the lead when the ref blew up for the 1st of 4 x 20min qtrs.  Unfortunately they fell away in the middle 2 qtrs but came back up again in the last 10 minutes and although they crossed the game line twice the ball was well held up.

This coming week we welcome a Howe of Fife team preparing for a first match the following week so be sure to be early it's a 2:30pm Ko

Strathmore 26 - 38 Howe of Fife

If ever the cliché was used - 'A tale of two half's it would have been for this match, out gunned and out gyled in the first half by a Prem 3 club who have had a full season at that level.  Once Strathie got going they came back into the match with Kyle, Jamie and Disco leading the charge drawing in bodies to open up space for the fast men on the wing to show their speed.

Well down at the break the pep talk seemed to work wonders as it was Strathie on the ascendancy and Howe on the back foot.  The Black's got to within 5 points and looked like they were in with a chance of clinching a memorable victory but the effort had been two much and with a slip on the grass led to a missed tackle and the game was gone with the men from Fife scoring another good try before the final whistle.

This week sees Strathie send two teams on the road with the 1's at Hamilton and the 2's at Stobie.  Get along if you can but if not the bar will be open and the scores updated in the clubhouse.

 

Hamilton 3rd XV 0-95 Strathmore

A bit of a mismatch as Hamilton under estimated the strength of Caledonia Rugby, with 6 first team regulars missing from a variety of positions initial thoughts were that this was to be a good encounter.  The Blacks started well with a burst through try in the first two minutes and that set the tone for the afternoon.

At 0-75 in 25 minutes coach Brown had seen enough and called the referee over and asked for 2 x 30 minute halves.  Hamilton came into it a little in the second half but never looked like scoring and worked hard for the full 30 minutes denying the men in black the 100 points. 

Hamilton 1st XV were playing Kelso in Prem 2 and the std was very high with Hamilton clear winners at 55-17, their 2nd XV also won away at West of Scotland and they could be one of our next friendly opponents.

Next week it's back to league action when we open again against Hillfoots who will be looking for revenge of our opening victory this time last year.

There is a bus departing at 11:30 but for those who fancy an early start the 'Three Musthavebeers' depart at 7:30am from the clubhouse.

Hillfoots 33 - 13 Strathmore

The Blacks travelled to Tillycoultry knowing that this would be one of the toughest away matches of the season.  Hillfoots started up the hill with the wind behind them and took the match by the scruff of the neck holding the Blacks in their on half for virtually the whole 40 minutes.  Strathie got two breaks and scored with each to lead 6-10 at half time.

Hillfoots used the advantage of playing downhill in the second half well with the score getting to 13-13 it was looking close but a missed tackle gave them an easy score under the posts which invigorated the them and two penalties later they were well in controll.

The Blacks made a huge effort and the score failed to show how close this match actually was.  Strathie travel to Mackie this week where they sealed the league victory last year.  It's only 40 minutes up the duall carraige way so lets hope to see a big support.

Mackie 14 - 29 Strathmore

The Blacks travelled up to Stonehaven for a re run of the last match of last seasons campaign.  The conditions were poor, the driving rain and wind  made the ball slippery and handling mistakes by both teams led to a start stop match.

Mackie were the first to get points on the board with a penalty but it wasn't long before the Blacks got into the match with a good try, and another before half time put them firmly in control. 

Mackie came back into the match in the second half and and made a real go off it but the Black's woke up and finished with a flourish to get their first bonus point of the season.

This coming week the Blacks entertain Glenrothes who finished strongly last season and have won one and lost one this season.

Caithness 19 - 30 Strathmore

The Blacks made the long trip up north to face former National 2 side Caithness who, if the Thursday papers were to be believed, were going to wipe them off the face of the earth.  The Caithness forward unit was certainly powerful and dominated the match but the thought that this was going to make it an easy afternoon didnt last long as they were not as mobile as the Blacks!

Caithness committed a penalty in the opening minutes to give Gary Wood and easy 3 points with Dave Smith breaking free to score a try again converted by Wood to make it 0-10 in 20 minutes.  A try a piece made it 5-20 at half time.

The turn saw the strong wind favour Caithness in the second half but it was the Black's who struck first with a well worked try under the posts making it easy for Wood to convert.  Caithness were not finished though and came back with and excellent try.  Caithness made good use of the wind and their stronger forward unit but the strong Strathie defence stood up well making tackle after tackle unfortunately also giving away to many penalties.  The referee eventually had enough and awarded the home side a penalty try to put them right back in the match. 

A long delay to an injured Caithness player awaiting an ambulance made the last 10 minutes a nervy affair with the both sides getting close to the try line but it was the boot of Wood which sealed the match as the gasping Caithness forwards gave away a penalty in the dying seconds to give the Blacks the away win they so desperately wanted.

Next up at Inchmacoble are Gordonians who beat us home and away last time round in National 3 - should be good!

1st XV 16-8 Gordonians

A tense affair at Inchmacoble with the boot of Gary Wood gaining the advantage in the first half.  Gordonians had a good match keeping the pressure on the Black's defence throughout the 80 minutes but it was Grant Langlands who found a break in the visitors defence in the second half to ease the nerves of the Strathie spectators.  A fine result which put the Blacks into 2nd place in the league,

This comming weekend the Black's head up the A90 to the Granite city to face the students of Aberdeen University, the first of 4 visits to Aberdeen this year.

For More see the match report:

 

Aberdeen Uni 19 - 19 1st XV

A very closely matched affair, the referee "likes a draw" but nobody else did, a fairly tense affair, both teams scoring a breakaway try  and being kept in the match with penalty kicks.

The Blacks struck first and went into half time 6-10 up but there was nothing in it.  The Strathie forward pack again put in a solid performance up front with Jeff Yarr standing out, thebacks had their moments as well showing they were no slouches against the students.

Orkney 17 - 16 1st XV

The blacks put in a tremendous effort on Saturday in a blustery cold and damp Kirkwall against an Orkney team who were looking to get back into winning ways.  Orkney went ahead early and the Blacks chased the game well with young Matt Marshall returning from injury to score and stay in the match.  Strathie have shown this season they have a ferocious defence and it was certainly tested on this occasion repelling the Orkney attack for the bulk of the second half and each time they got into the Orkney 22 they looked like they could steal the match but it wasn't to be with a Wood drop goal attempt just wide.

For Photographs CLICK HERE and for the match report CLICK HERE

Aberdeenshire 29 - 0 1st XV

The last time the Blacks made the trip  to the Granite City to play the Shire was 4 years ago on the opening day of the season for what turned out to be remarkable match - the Shire were 27-0 up at half time but a supreme comeback by the the Blacks saw them triumph 27-29.   With the Shire sitting top of the division this was going to be one of the hardest matches of the season so far.

After 30 minutes it was 0-0 with both sides matching each other well when a slip from the Blacks gifted the Shire a try which was dually converted.  Whatever was said at half time did not work for the Blacks as the conceded a penalty and a converted try within the opening minutes for the second half and shire took control of the match.  The Blacks battled well but could not get a foothold into the match and when the 4th try was scored it was all over.

1st XV 6-10 Hillfoots

This was the first home match in a long time and shows the strength in depth of the club with the Under 18's defeating Grangemouth and the 2's beating Panmure it was a busy day  at the clubhoose.

In the 1st XV match the Blacks came close to stealing a last minute victory but it was not to be.  When the season opened the Blacks travelled to Tillycoultry and were beaten by the fitness and the strength of the Hillfoots men but this time the Blacks held there own throughout most of the eighty minutes and deserved their bonus point.

 

1st XV 3 - 25 Mackie Acd Fp's

With Mackie in good forma with a splattering of new players and Strathie fielding a string of 2nd XV players due to illness, work commitments and holidays this was going to be tough ask.

At half time it looked like the make shift Blacks were in with a shout of pulling it off at 3-3 but a missed tackle from a slip on the wet grass was all it needed to put Mackie through and they took control with three tries in a 15 minute spell.  Starthie had two tries "held up" even with one a clear grounding and that could have had the blacks back in the match and maybe a bonus point  but it was not to be.

The men in Black are on their travels again this coming Saturday with the short trip down the road to face Glenrothes who always put in a strong performance at home - it's less than 40 miles so make the journey if you can.

Glenrothes RFC 5-5 1st XV

The recent heavy rain forced the Glens to move the match to Buckhaven High School.  With a strong westerly wind behind them the Strathie men kicked off and were hoping to build up an early lead but the Glens defence held up. The wind also played havoc with the boot of the ever reliable Garry Wood costing the Blacks 8 points.

Going into the interval at 0-5 the Glens support were confident that with the wind behind them they could overturn the deficit but Strathie were more than a match for them and but for one slip they should have secured the win.  The wind spoiled the day and neither team managed to get to grips with it  but the Strathie men's performance  was a vast improvement on the previous week which will build up there confidence going forward.