Helensburgh

Wigtownshire v Helensburgh 8 - 26

After a fine win over Clydebank last week, the Grizzlies headed down to Wigtownshire RFC in Stranraer with much confidence even though they were without some key players for this game.
On a dry, unspoilt pitch, the young Helensburgh squad soon found out that they were against a much better team than the one they had beaten by 54 points at home earlier in the season.
Straight away the home side showed their intent and in the scrum, pushed Helensburgh off the ball with there big number 8 picking up and driving them up the pitch. This was to be the beginning of a torrid first half for burgh with the much larger Wigtownshire pack dominating loose ball and forward play, with only spells for burgh pushing forward through a more skilful back line.

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Loch Lomond v Helensburgh 6-17

Helensburgh's 2nd team made the short trip to play Loch Lomond two's at Dillichip in Alexandria   writes Ian MacQuire

The Burgh had expected to win this game, but a combination of the drab weather, Loch Lomond having done their homework - by holding the game on a very narrow pitch to try to stop Helensburgh’s back division - and then playing out of their skins, made this a far tougher fixture than had been expected.

A minute's silence was held before the game for former Helensburgh rugby and cricket player David (Whisky) Walker, who had sadly passed away a few days' earlier.

Burgh started strongly, with the forwards winning quick ball which went quickly through the backs to winger Luke Humphries, but Loch Lomond’s game plan worked, and on several occasions Luke ran out of room. These missed chances seemed to have an effect on the Burgh players and on 20 minutes, coach Mark Sloan made several changes. This seemed to work as new boy Oscar Sherlock scored in the left corner almost immediately after having come on. The difficult conversion was missed, but it was 5-0 to Burgh.

With several forwards missing from the previous few weeks, the Burgh pack at times struggled in the scrum, heads went down and players' discipline seemed to desert them. This seemed to inspire Loch Lomond and a penalty saw the scores at half time at 5-3 to Helensburgh.

The Greens made further changes a half-time but their lead did not last long and another penalty on 44 minutes gave Loch Lomond a deserved lead. Gordon Brown came back on and Brian Floyd entered the fray to shore up the scrum; this seemed to work as Burgh quickly won a scrum against the head, and several breaks by Ross Broom, Richard Carlton and Brown, to name a few led to Joe Grafton beating several players to score under the posts. Colin Stewart kicked the conversion, to give Burgh a six point advantage after 66 minutes.

This seemed to inspire the team, and the Burgh self-belief was back. On 75 minutes, another new boy, Giles Calder, scored on his debut, though the conversion was missed. Burgh tried all out in the final minutes to secure the fourth try bonus point but it was not to be and the final score was 17-6 to Burgh.

Hopefully, this was an eye opener for the Burgh, and with a penalty count of 25 against Helensburgh for several acts of indiscipline - including answering the referee back, which must stop. After the final whistle, captain Craig MacLean read the riot act to his players - if this continues in future then the 2nds will surely start to lose games and their superb winning start to the season. On another note, the eight players who attended training on Thursday all started the game - this trend will continue and therefore everyone is urged to boost numbers.

Burgh squad: Russell Price, Sam Clark, Gordon Brown, Luke Rettie, Craig MacLean, Josh Grafton, Zak Humphries, Ian Storm, Joe Grafton, Colin Stewart, Joe Qiokata, Graeme Smith, Stuart King, Luke Humphries, Dean Stevenson, Ross Broom, Martin Caldwell, Giles Calder, Oscar Sherlock, Lewis Hall, Colin Brown, Craig Stewart, Richard Carlton.

Helensburgh 2nds next two games are v Cartha Queens Park away on Oct 15 and Anniesland at home on Oct 22.

Photos of the game: Loch LomondRFC

Helensburgh v Loch Lomond 25-0

Helensburgh 2nds played Loch Lomond on the Duchess pitch at Ardencaple, which was only playable due to the hard work of some of the management and team. The Burgh team had not played since mid-November, and as expected with the long layoff and the determination of their local rivals, it took the Burgh team a while to gel as a unit again.

Loch Lomond had a big pack and made life difficult for Burgh by using big men to charge at the home backs, but the away team didn’t look like breaching a Burgh defence that has only conceded 50 points in 9 league games this season. Loch Lomond also defended very well and restricted the Burgh to playing in the centre of the pitch for the first 20 minutes.

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Helensburgh v Strathendrick Bowl

Helensburgh entertained old rivals Strathendrick for the second time in October, with the latter going in as favorites after winning the league encounter two weeks earlier. But it was the Burgh who took home the spoils with a final score of 17 – 10 and to most among the large crowd, the margin of victory was more than the score line suggested.
Having learned the lessons from that defeat, Helensburgh played a much more tactically aware game, pushing their opponents back into their own half with searching positional kicking and a ball retention rate which allowed the backline to fire on all cylinders.
There was also a much improved effort from the Burgh pack during the physical exchanges in the tight, where two weeks previous, the home side were clearly seen as second best.
You might also add the motivation gained via Strathendrick’s match report of that league game and in particular, the words of influential fly half Rory Kerr, who gave the Greens all the motivation they needed with comments directed at a lack of physicality among Helensburgh’s players.
So much so, that when the kick off was received by a Strathendrick forward, he was immediately flattened in the tackle by what seemed to be the majority of the Helensburgh pack, who showed real intent to win possession as early as possible.
Keen to dominate all facets of the game, the Burgh pack showed dominance in the set-piece, with Joe Sterry and Jason Feltham constantly applying pressure through aggressive scrummaging.
Against the run of play, Strathendrick were awarded a kickable penalty, but the kick, into a strong headwind, failed to make the distance and from the resulting 22, David Sterry pushed the ball back deep into the Strathendrick half.
On 20 minutes, Burgh were awarded a penalty on halfway, with the wind behind. Captain Chris Black, showing quality leadership and confidence in his players gave the ball to David Sterry who stepped up and slotted the kick from a full 50 metres on the angle.
The vocal crowd really got behind the home side and their support was rewarded with the first try of the afternoon, again scored by full back Sterry after excellent driving play by the forward pods. The ball neatly offloaded in contact by Feltham to the backline, David Riding fixed the last defender and released Sterry to dive over the line unchallenged. Sterry then successfully converted his own try to take the lead to 10–0.
Strathendrick mounted attacks and occasionally visited the Burgh half but were repelled by ferocious defence around the base of rucks and that turned over possession.
It was noticeable how the Burgh threequarters managed the Strathendrick kicking game and returned all kicks with interest, mixing play up between counter attacking with ball in hand, and counter kicking to keep the visitors pinned in their own half.
The second try of the afternoon again game from excellent platform ball again created by the home pack. The ball was fed out to Black who released Riding, and the veteran centre then drew two defenders and brilliantly put Cairns into the space.
His midfield partner Cairns showed real class in beating the final two defenders to touchdown under the post to give Sterry the easiest of conversions and take the score to 17-0
The only consolation of the half from Strathendrick’s perspective was a penalty converted by their scrum half – but not without the help of the upright – as the ball sneaked over making it 17-3 at the break.
The home support were then treated to a half time display from Helensburgh’s P3 mini rugby team, which was filmed by the RBS Club of the Month crew, who were supporting Helensburgh’s recent award with a film to commemorate the achievement.
The second half was again ferocious in the physical exchanges with more tactical kicking from the visitors and counter kicking from the home side. Strathendrick managed to challenge the Burgh line only again but came up short due to resolute and aggressive defending.
In a very even matched second half, the deadlock was broken in the 80th minute after Sean McNee was sin binned for not rolling away in the tackle and the visitors grabbed a consolation try. However, it wasn’t enough to deny the Greens a place in the Bowl semi-finals.
Burgh: D Sterry, Curtis, Riding, Cairns, Rogers, Black, Smith, Feltham, McNee, J Sterry, Greggain, Miller, Musset, Sommerville, Hanks. Subs: Boyd, Floyd, Voight, Inglis, Drake, Howell, Bowman.
Helensburgh have now been drawn in the cup at home against Uddingston, with the fixture set for November 26th at Ardencaple, kick-off at 1.30pm. The other semi has Cumbernauld hosting Lenzie.
Next week the Burgh are back in League business and ironically, it is Uddingston who are visiting Ardencaple. Please note kick-offs for league matches are now 2pm.

HelensburghRFC: for the website click here

Helensburgh v Clydebank 17-0

Helensburgh's 1st XV opened 2012 in perfect style, gaining victory over derby rivals Clydebank and moving to the top of West Division 2 as a direct result.

Only the enormous effort by club members and volunteers, turning up all morning with forks in hand, allowed the pitch to be played on after the recent bouts of torrential rain and storms.

So on a soft surface but with the sun shining, Helensburgh were able to kick off 2012 and play their first competitive fixture since Lenzie on November 19!   {jathumbnail off}

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Controversial Conclusion at Clydebank

Helensburgh escaped from Whitecrook with the points after a disappointing performance, however Clydebank were left reeling from a controversial decision made by the referee who disallowed the final penalty kick of the game after adjudging the kick to have gone just wide of the posts.

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Burgh 2nds lose out to Clydebank

The Helensburgh 2nd XV to play Clydebank 2nd XV on Saturday, in a top of the table clash.

Helensburgh kicked off on what looked a fair pitch after the heavy rain, but it cut up very quickly, Clydebank ran back at Burgh and won a scrum in the home 22. For the first time this season the Burgh scrum were not dominating as much as usual, against the big Clydebank pack. The Clydebank tactic seemed to be to kick for touch at every opportunity and keep the ball away from the Burgh backs. It was from one a lineout that Burgh were penalised on 15mins and the Clydebank Standoff slotted the kick, 3 – 0 to the home team. The Burgh forwards at last got some momentum going and and released the backs, several hits at the home teams try line resulted in the referee awarding Helensburgh a penalty try, Giles Calder converted, 7 – 3 to Burgh after 24mins. Usually this would lead to a period of sustained pressure from Burgh, but every time the forwards tried to release the prolific backs the referee penalised them for one thing or another, as one of the Clydebank players said there wasn’t a move that had more than four passages of play before the referee would penalise Burgh, this ruined the game, as it would have been interesting to see how the game would have turned out if the Burgh backs had been allowed to play v the bigger Clydebank pack. The Clydebank No.10 missed two very kickable penalties which could come back to haunt his team at the end of the season. The Helensburgh players (as usual) tackled their hearts out, Clydebank ran at Burgh all day, and on the 65th minute scored a try by using their big forwards and pushed over the Burgh line, the conversion was kicked, 10 – 7 to the home team. The home team got another rather dubious penalty award and slotted that, 13 – 7 to the home team after 70 minutes.

This was to be the final score, but does not reflect on what was a great Burgh team effort, as Clydebank defended very well, and against lesser opponents and on a drier day, Burgh would surely have scored more tries.

From the re-start Burgh realised that they needed a converted try to win, they battered the home team, but again and again were penalised by the referee, in fact scrum half Grafton was penalised 6 times in a row for squint feeding into the scrum, none of which looked squint at all, this was also stated by the Clydebank forwards.

The final score was 13-6 to Clydebank, with Burgh taking away a losing bonus point to stay top of the league.

Burgh 2nds next league games are in January. This Saturday the 2nds are training, all players are requested to turn up at 11:30am for a 12pm kick off, and then watching the 1sts cup semi final v Uddingston, the players will also be training with coach Sloan and new forwards coach Leathem on Thursday at 7pm.

Helensburgh 2nd XV Squad: Gordon Brown,Brian Floyd,Liam Flanagan, Stevie Malcolm, Zak Humphreys,Fergus Voigt, Craig MacLean (Capt),Andy Campbell, Joe Grafton, Colin Stewart, Graeme Smith, Stuart King, Martin Caldwell, Giles Calder, Craig Stewart, Luke Humphries, Lewis Hall, Wayne Leatham, Andy Hodgeson, Aaron Ryan, Colin Rettie

Narrow win for Endrick

HELENSBURGH were the only team in the league with a 100 per cent record and the Grizzlies were the SRU's club of the month for September.

But a sterling performance by Endrick makes it very likely that the title will go elsewhere in October.

In the end the winning margin was only five points but tricky underfoot conditions made goal-kicking a lottery and Endrick missed five kickable pots at goal which would have yielded another 14 points.

Helensburgh 9 Strathendrick 14

Source: Stirling Observer

Burgh 1sts win 130-0 against Lenzie

Helensburgh went into this testing away fixture knowing the real significance of victory vs. defeat against the men from Lenzie.

With Cambuslang hosting Strathendrick, Helensburgh knew that victory against Lenzie would allow them to take 2nd place in the league with the game that they still hold in hand.

Conditions were not ideal for running rugby, in fact the ground was so heavy conditions were not ideal for running at all, but as ever Helensburgh looked to move the ball at every opportunity and keep the opposition on the back foot.

Helensburgh spent much of the first half in the Lenzie 22, where continuous infractions gifted penalties to the Grizzlies. David Sterry had an unusually tough day with the boot with a 2/7 ratio but the conditions to his defence were some of the most difficult seen for place kicking. On 10 minutes after Lenzie were penalised for not rolling away at the tackle, Sterry struck the first points of the game to take the Grizzlies out to a 0-3 lead. For the next 20 minutes Helensburgh made inroad after inroad into the Lenzie half but with the unsuccessful penalty count, had nothing to show from their efforts.

Scrum and lineout again functioned well giving the Grizzlies plenty of possession to attack with, and on the odd occasion the Lenzie managed a visit to the Helensburgh half they were beaten back with ferocious defending.

Worth mention is the Grizzlies defensive record as it stands in this years league and cup competitions. For those interested in statistics, Helensburgh have played 9 league and 3 cup competitions conceding a total of 89 points at an average of 7 points a game. This has obviously been influential in results and as Lenzie found out the Grizzlies were in no mood to have their line crossed in this fixture.

On 35 minutes the grizzlies broke down the left wing with Ollie Curtis, he was stopped deep inside the Lenzie 22, the ball was fed quickly to D. Sterry who looked up to see Somerville and Rogers unmarked, wide out on the right side of the field. Sterry executed a delightful crossfield kickpass to the waiting Somerville who caught the ball and crashed down over the line for the only try of the match. Sterry stepped up to convert taking the halftime score to 0 – 10 to the Grizzlies.

The second half was much like the first with the Grizzlies capitalising on Lenzie errors. The midfield defence of Riding and Cairns preventing Lenzie from getting the ball wide to their very pacey winger.

On 70 Minutes Helensburgh were awarded a penalty after another foul by the Lenzie pack at the breakdown. The referee finally lost patience and sent the offending player to the sin bin. Sterry stepped up to convert the final points of the game to take the final score to 0 -13 and Helensburgh leaving Lenzie with the 4 points which was the minimum the coaching staff wanted from the teams efforts on the day.

Positive notes for the day was again the Grizzlie pack, providing good set piece ball and defending soundly around the breakdown. Blair Somerville also had an outstanding game at 8. On the less positive side Helensburgh spent 20 minutes of this game with 14 men on the field due to Callum Miller and Phil Rogers receiving yellow cards, Miller for some overzealous rucking and Rogers for not using the arms in the tackle, however the latter was seen as slightly harsh on the part of the referee.

Next week see Helensburgh back in bowl action, the Grizzlies face Uddingston in the Semi final of the Regional Bowl. With Lenzie facing Cumbernauld in the other semi final. Helensburgh will want to repeat the league victory over Uddingston that they had two weeks ago but the Grizzlies know well by now that they may take nothing for granted. Kick of at Ardencaple for this semi final is at 1.30pm, the team always appreciate a large and vociferous support

Cartha QP 3rds v Helensburgh 0 - 28

Helensburgh 2nd XV travelled to play Cartha Queens Park yet again with a full squad of 22 players, and with most of the squad having been at training coach Mark Sloan was a happy man.
The forecast rain hadn’t shown itself, and on a pitch which many of the players had praised it’s condition. Cartha kicked off, straight away Burgh were forced to defend for long periods, and did so confidently as they have all done all season, when Burgh did get the ball they showed how talented their backs are, with several scintillating breaks from backs Paul Howell, Giles Calder, Graeme Smith and Stuart King, and forwards Davy Calderwood, Gordon Brown and Calum Miller, with Smith in particular causing havoc in the home defence.
The game was end to end, and it wasn’t until the 20th minute with the ball having travelled through several forwards and backs hands that Giles Calder scored a great try, the difficult conversion was missed, 5 – 0 to Burgh. Straight from the kick off Cartha were awarded a scrum, playing the under 19yrs scrum rules (only allowed to push 1 ½ metres) Burgh took what was to be the first of seven scrums against the head. This and the try seemed to settle the Burgh players down and they started to play some great rugby, with man of the match Zak Humphries chasing down Cartha players all over the pitch. Cartha’s lively scrum half had the Burgh players clutching at straws as he swivelled and sidestepped his way through several tackles.
Burgh were awarded a penalty on which young Craig Stewart converted, 30 mins gone 8 – 0 to the Bears.
The Burgh players stepped up another gear and Davy Calderwood barn-stormed his way over for a great try with Craig Stewart converting, after 36 mins 15 – 0 to Burgh.
Another penalty from Craig Stewart made the half time score 18 – 0 to Burgh.
On 48 mins Craig Bowman ran a great line after several breaks by the Burgh backs scoring out wide, the difficult conversion was missed, Burgh now lead 23 – 0.
The Burgh players then seemed to fall asleep, giving confidence to Cartha who looked to have got their second wind and put Burgh under severe pressure, but once again resolute defence together with a bit off luck kept the score against to nil. Burgh again won a scrum against the head and ran the ball from deep in their own half, realising that the bonus point try was on again some superb team work looked to have given Luke Humphries his first try for the 2nd’s as first the ref raised his hand for a try then changed his mind giving burgh a scrum, but Burgh were not to be denied, the ball was shipped wide and Giles Calder scored his 3rd try in two games for the Bears, to make the final score 28 – 0 to the Burgh.
The team all played well in stages, with man off the match Luke Humphries, Davy Calderwood, Graeme Smith and Giles Calder standing out from a good team.
Helensburgh 2nd XV squad: Russell Price, Shaun Tracey, Gordon Brown, Zak Humphries, Calum Miller, Josh Grafton, Craig MacLean (Captain), Davy Calderwood, Joe Grafton, Colin Stewart, Graeme Smith, Stuart King, Paul Howell, Giles Calder, Craig Stewart, Luke Humpries, Colin Rettie, Josh Rettie, Craig Bowman, Joe Qiokata, Stevie Malcolm, Richard Carlton.

Strathendrick v Helensburgh 17 - 37

Helensburgh 2nds made the trip to play 3rd placed Strathendrick 2nds in Fintry.

The match kicked off 12 minutes late as the Strathendrick players mixed up the kick off times, and so started the match with 13 players for the first 5 or 10 minutes, but soon had a squad of 18 or 19 players. The fact the Burgh players had been waiting about in the November chill seemed to have annoyed the players, as Strathendrick kicked off the ball was caught and shipped to Colin Stewart who put up a monster kick to the corner for Aaron Sterry to run on to catch the ball on the bounce and beat the last man to score in the corner, 38 seconds gone, 5 – 0 to Burgh.

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Burgh 2nds on top form - again

Helensburgh’s coaches demanded an improved performance and the Grizzlies delivered with aplomb, the chronicle shows 15 Tries scored 11 of which converted for a final score of 97 – 0 to the home side. The second time this season that their defence has totally shut out their opponents. The faithful Helensburgh supporters were treated to a scintillating display of running rugby where at times the Grizzlies linked so well they scored at will. Credit must go to the visiting team who at no point surrendered to the Helensburgh onslaught and competed through to the final whistle.

It was an outstanding team performance with some fine individual displays from Riding, McNee, Somerville and David Sterry who at the final whistle boasted an impressive personal haul of 37 points from his 3 tries and 11 conversions. One of the biggest positives of the day was the significant improvement in discipline from the home side who only conceded 7 penalties throughout the encounter, another positive was the Grizzlies lineout which operated much better than the previous week. With the enormous amount of possession that the Grizzlies enjoyed there were a number of errors committed, but these errors came as a result of the players desire and aspiration to play fast open running rugby and wherever possible the Grizzlies looked to make up for those errors with strong scrummaging and tenacious defending.
Captain Cairns opened the scoring after 4 minutes with a try coming from good handling from the backline, but as with this score the backline was constantly provided with quality ball from a Grizzlies pack keen to prove a point.

Voight and Greggain took to the 2nd row for this fixture and both impressed with great lineout jumping and an excellent work rate around the pitch providing support to the constant stream of Helensburgh attacks. The next scores came from David Sterry, fielding a wayward kick just on half way, the young full back showed good pace and evasion as he beat the defenders on the way to scoring under the posts, the first of a hat trick by Sterry and converting his own try Helensburgh moved out to 12-0.
Phil Rogers with his typical power game smashed over for the third try, with Chris Black touching down after an excellent individual effort shortly after taking the score to 26 – 0 after as many minutes.jp3 In the past the Grizzlies after such a spectacular start would normally sit back and allow the opposition back in the game, but to the coaches delight the Grizzlies continued to play with great continuity and imagination, linking up passes and offloads forcing the defenders at times to chase shadows. At Half Time the score was extended to 49-0 with further tries scored by Riding, McNee, Sterry and Somerville.

Coach MacDonald emptied the Helensburgh bench at half time taking advantage of the opportunity to give each player the opportunity to state their claim for a regular first team start and he was not to be disappointed, a further 48 points were accumulated in the second half showing that the side had managed to maintain a good consistency throughout the match. Ty Sterry opened the second half scoring with a try under the posts, right wing Ali Rogers scored on the stroke of 50 minutes and 2 minutes later his left wing counter part Ollie Curtis sprinted away from the cover defence to score under the posts.
jp4The next 15 minutes saw tries from Riding and Rogers completing they’re brace each, as well as young Sterry completing his Hat trick. Phoenix managed to find some possession and territory in the final minutes only to be snuffed out by strong Helensburgh defending. But the final score went to Blair Somerville, who sprinted a full 60 meters to touchdown under the posts as well as completing his brace for the day. David Sterry stepped up to slot his final conversion of the day taking the final score to 97 – 0 and moving Helensburgh into the last 8 of the competition.jp5

In a day where the scoring was so prolific that it was easy to lose count, Helensburgh have redeemed the poor efforts of their last league encounter and given themselves a potential lift in confidence to face Wigtownshire next Saturday as they resume their league campaign in West regional division 2. A bonus point win is a must if Helensburgh hope to maintain top spot ahead of the favorites Cambuslang.

Visit Website: HelensburghRFC

Helensburgh v Uddingston

Helensburgh resumed league business against Uddingston RFC in this West Regional Div. 2 encounter. Ardencaple was basked in sunshine however the pitch remained heavy from the poor weather during the week but thanks to Jon Simmons and Tom Inglis spending all morning tending to the wettest areas the pitch was in as good a condition as possible which allowed the Grizzlies to play their open and expansive game for the home crowd. Helensburgh kicked off with the sun at their backs and Uddingston fielded the kick off and it was apparent immediately that they were to rely on their heavier pack attacking around the fringes of the breakdown. This was ideal for the Grizzlies who pride themslves on their defence against bigger opponents and looked to hit and repel each attack by the visiting side looking at any opportunity for a turnover. From one such turnover came the first try of the day, scored after only 2 minutes, the ball stolen at the tackle and quickly moved right to David Sterry, he attacked the defensive line and passed back inside to Chris Black who, once behind the defence linked neatly with the supporting Riding who released Paul Howell to sprint over the line for the first of ‘Burgh’s 7 touchdowns.

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Burgh on top

Helensburgh went top of West Regional Division 2 as they opened up their home league account with a victory in front of a large and vociferous home crowd against Lenzie, however the score line flattered to deceive as the spirited Lenzie side pushed the Grizzlies in every aspect of the match.
With the ‘Burgh missing influential forwards, Somerville and Inglis they took to the field through a corridor of future Helensburgh 1st Teamers in the shape of the Helensburgh P4’s coached by John Cashmore, the future of Helensburgh Rugby also got the opportunity at half time to put on a display of their developing talents with an exhibition match.

Burgh kicked off in dry conditions although the ground was wet and the ball greasy and looked to impose early on with several strong runs into the opposition 22 made by Rogers, Riding and Cairns, however the Lenzie side were able to thwart the attacks with strong defence. The referee also penalised burgh for going off their feet at crucial moments where a score looked imminent.The Grizzlies had two early opportunities for points from penalties conceded by the away side only to see both kicks from difficult field positions go wide of the posts. Sterry was substituted on 26 minutes for Drake to utilize the youngsters place kicking ability and he duly obliged by taking Burgh into a 3-0 lead.lenzie c
Lenzie managed very few visits to the Burgh half and only looked to provide a scoring chance when they broke down the blind side from a centre field scrum, only to be stopped by terrific defence and a turnover from Ollie Curtis, returning from injury to retake the left wing position. Curtis turned the ball over and Chris Black with another impressive performance calmly cleared the danger with his huge kick back upfield. Sterry converted the 2nd of his penalties on the stroke of half time to take the Grizzlies into a 6-0 lead.
Half time instructions for the Burgh were simple, control possession, stay patient and the scores would eventually come…. But overall Burgh had to improve on their discipline around the breakdown and management of the referee whose decisions were becoming more influential as the game went on.
Burgh received the kick off in the second half and immediately went on the offensive, Lenzie continued to cause problems at the breakdown and regained possession where they took the ball back to the Grizzlies 22.
Phil Farren stole the ball away from the Lenzie attacker and broke down the blind side launching a counter attack and giving a superb pass to Curtis who tore away from the despairing defenders. As the Lenzie full back closed him down he fed a well timed pass inside to Sterry who was caught just on the Lenzie 22, he managed to stay on his feet and offload to the supporting David Riding who powered home to score the first try of the day under the Lenzie post.
lenzie bFair to say perhaps that a collective sigh of relief was heard as the Grizzlies finally broke down a spirited and well organized defence to take the score to 13-0 after David Sterry added the converstion.
The next score came from excellent backline play where Ali Rogers bulldozed his way over the line taking three defenders with him. Sterry missed the converstion and the score went to 18-0.
The final score of the day and not to be outdone by his younger brother was from the other Rogers…. Phil. Taking on a ball fed from Drake into the blind side he drove home for the final try of the day, converted by Sterry the score went to 25-0.
The final 20 Minutes saw burgh ring the changes, Simmons on for Riding, Drake on for Smith, Bowman for Curtis and the debutant McEwan impressing on his first outing for Rogers. Miller came on for Grafton and Floyd took over the hooking duties from the recently appointed Rugby Development Officer McNee.
The final passages of play gave Burgh the opportunity to show the tenacity they have developed in their defensive game, Lenzie found their way to the Burgh line where the final 5 minutes saw the referee award penalty after penalty for Burgh infractions at the breakdown. Lenzie played quickly from each opportunity but no matter how hard they tried the Grizzlies would not submit their try line. The final whistle came and the Grizzlies claimed the hard fought points.lenzie d
A game that did not come without cost, McNee suffered a nasty facial wound as he collected a stray boot at the bottom of a breakdown. The coaching staff hope he will be fit for next week in what will be an enormously important match for Burgh as they travel to Whitecrook to take on Clydebank RFC who currently sit in Joint 1st place with Helensburgh. These two sides haven’t met in a competitive league fixture for a number of years and the Grizzlies know they have to affront a well organized and motivated opposition and any underestimation on the Grizzlies

• Squad: Feltham, McNee, Boyd, Clipston, Greggain, Hanks, Grafton, Rogers P, Smith, Black,  Curtis, Cairns, Riding, Drake, Rogers A.
• Subs: Floyd, Farren, Miller, Sterry D, Bowman, Simmons, McEwan
• Scorers:
• Tries – Riding, Rogers A, Rogers P
• Cons – Sterry (2)
• Pens – Sterry (2)art will no doubt prove costly. Kick off at Whitecrook is scheduled for 3pm and the Grizzlies would welcome their faithful travelling supporters to cheer them on.

A performance to cheer about

After massive disapointment last Saturday against Strathendrick, the Grizzlies felt that they had much to prove this Saturday against their Lanarkshire opponents Strathaven.

In extremely windy and difficult conditions we kicked off into the wind where we realised that we were in for a good tussle against a lively Strathaven side.

The dead lock was broken after 20 minutes after a sweet passage of play through the Helensburgh backs with Ali Rogers finishing a well worked try converted by Ty Sterry.

Strathaven came back strong after the restart earning them a penalty which was converted pleasing the home crowd. Helensburgh struggled through the strong head wind but again a run from the ever strong Burgh centre David Riding broke through, passing to his outside man Ali Cairns to go over for another converted try.

Strathaven came back and their tricky number 10 kept Helensburgh retreating cleverly using the strong winds with some precision kicking and for the next 10 minutes Helensburgh were having to defend strong to keep them from there line but in the 38th minute Strathaven crossed over for another 5 points bringing the half time store to 8 – 14 in Burgh's favour.

Coach Bill Macdonald's half time talk along with Helensburgh's passionate captain Chris Black made a different team come out at half time and 2 minutes into the second half Helensburgh's Hooker Sean Mcnee burst over Strathaven's try line for his first try of the game.

This gave Helensburgh the passion that we have all seen before and the flood gates opened and with some tactical changes from coach Macdonald Helensburgh took control of the game. Trys from an impressive Callum Miller, Ollie Curtis and a brace for Sean Mcnee saw Burgh take the score to 8 – 41 with full back David Sterry's kicking duties as solid as ever.

Strathaven got a consilation try with 5 minutes to go before player coach Ty Sterry suffered a bad neck injury and the game was ended to let an Ambulance onto the pitch. Luckily Ty was given the all clear after x rays showed muscle and tissue damage and was back home that evening.

This was a performance that gave the fantastic away support something very loud to cheer about and all the team would like to thank those who always come to the away games to support our local team.

On Saturday(29th) it will be a different Burgh side facing Strathendrick in the bowl and we urge as many people as possible to come and cheer the lads on.

Helensburgh Rugby Football Club website

  Burgh get better of 'town & shire

After Scotland’s untimely exit from the 2011 World Cup, the Grizzlies looked to put a bit of cheer back into their supporters with another good display of running rugby and they didn’t disappoint. Due to the monsoon conditions, Ardencaple was probably the only place where a sporting event could be seen, the Grizzlies hosting League opposition Wigtownshire in this West Regional Division 2 encounter. Also noticeable on the day was the presence of local rivals Clydebank RFC, obviously scouting both teams after their fixture against Lenzie had been cancelled due to the inclement conditions.

wig 2Helensburgh kicked off and imposed immediately in the physical exchanges against a larger pack and just after 5 minutes David Riding continued his scoring streak with his first of a brace for the day, Riding linked with Sterry in midfield to burst through the defence and touchdown under the post. David Sterry converted. Helensburgh took the lead 7-0. Wigtownshire managed to reduce the deficit with a penalty after a penalty was awarded for not releasing the tackled player. 7-3 after 7 minutes. Next on the scoreboard was another product of the Helensburgh Youth section, Kane Greggain, the young second row finishing off a counter attack after Somerville had neatly stole the ball from the opposition breakdown. The ball was quickly taken wide where Sterry straightened through the gap, drew the full back and linked with Greggain who galloped home for the second converted try extending the score to 14-0.

Phil Rogers, who also is on an impressive scoring streak scored the third try after 25 minutes. With Sterry’s conversion ‘Burgh went 21-3 ahead. Wigtownshire managed to pressure the Helensburgh line on a couple of occasions only to be denied by resolute defence and excellent work from Andy Inglis who held up the opposition second row as he dived in for what looked like a certain score. On the stroke of half time Helensburgh conceded a second penalty which the visiting team converted to take the Half time score to 21-6.wig 3

At Half time Coach MacDonald explained the importance of the fourth try and that the Grizzlies must push for the bonus point win in order to maintain top spot from nearest rivals Cambuslang. Black came on for Sterry and immediately imposed himself on the game, driving the Grizzlies pack straight into the opposition 22. Burgh were awarded a penalty in front of the post which David Sterry converted and six minutes later the Grizzlies were rewarded with the bonus point try scored again by Phil Rogers who outpaced the despairing cover defence to score in the corner. David Sterry converted and the score now stood at 31-3.

wig 1The last 15 minutes of the encounter showed that the Grizzlies had too much in the tank for the visiting side, fitness really showed as Helensburgh scored another 5 tries from McNee, Hanks, Clipston, Riding and the pick of the bunch from Ali Cairns who finished a good three-quarter move to touch down left of the uprights. Sterry added 2 conversions to take the final score to 60- 6 and ensure that Helensburgh maintained top spot, 1 point ahead of Cambuslang.

An impressive performance given the torrid conditions with some excellent individual displays, Burgh at times were guilty of losing concentration and allowing the visiting side to enjoy some decent possession, however when the Grizzlies put their minds to it they showed the difference in class moving the ball quickly and efficiently to space, and punishing mistakes by the Wigtownshire players.

Saturday 8th October sees the Grizzlies on the road again to play Cumbernauld RFC, this is another difficult game for Helensburgh as Cumbernauld will be determined to bounce back from a narrow loss to Oban Lorne. Concentration is key for this encounter and Helensburgh invite travelling supporters to come along and cheer them on in their quest to maintain 1st place in West regional Div. 2.

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Burgh 2nds Continue Fine Start to the Season

Helensburgh 2nds continued their fine start to the season with a hard fought victory away to Paisley 2nds. This was Paisley’s first home league match of the season and they started the game at a furious pace, sound defence from the Burgh 2’s kept the home team out with a kick to touch, Josh Grafton stole the lineout(as he seemed to do all game), the ball was spun wide by the backs and Josh Rettie ran round his opposite number to score a great try, Andy Irvine converted, 6 minutes gone 7 nil to Burgh. The Burgh forwards were bossing their opponents in the scrum and lineout, and giving the talented Burgh backs plenty of ball to play with and it was that man Rettie who again ran round the opposition to score out wide, the difficult conversion was missed, 20 mins gone 12 nil to Helensburgh. On 27 minutes the referee awarded the home side a penalty for handling in the ruck, this was dually slotted, 12 – 3 to Burgh. The fact the opposition had scored seemed to spur Burgh on and some slick play by the backs allowed Andy Irvine to score out wide, the conversion was missed, 31 mins 17 – 3 to Burgh, once again the referee penalised Burgh for loose play in the ruck, the kick was missed by the home kicker, but three mins later he slotted his 2nd penalty for Burgh not releasing 37 mins 17 – 6 to Burgh. Burgh then missed a penalty, half time 17 – 6 to Burgh.
The second half started with Paisley having made several changes to their line up, and 7 mins into the half were awarded yet another penalty for infringing in the ruck, this was converted, 47 mins 17 – 9 to Burgh. Captain Craig MacLean (Baigy) was not happy with the amount of penalties Burgh were giving away, and let his players know this. The Burgh players had obviously listened to their captain as some battering runs from forwards Miller, White, Flanagan and Baigy amoungst others, seemed to take the wind out of the home team, as Burgh scored two quick-fire tries by Joe Qiokata (Fijian Joe) on 60 mins and Andy Irvine on 64 mins, both of which Irvine converted, this increased the Burgh lead to 31 – 9 after 65 mins. Burgh were awarded a penalty on 74 mins which Irvine converted, 34 – 9 to Burgh. Paisley were awarded several penalties close to the Burgh line, which the Bears defence seemed to be coping with until the referee provided the block in front of the Burgh tacklers that Paisley needed to score to the left of the posts, with the last kick of the game. The conversion was missed to bring the final score to 34 -14 to Burgh.
Best for Burgh, were all of the forwards who won at least 5 ‘against the head’ in the scrum from the oppositions put in, as agreed by the backs, the forwards provided some excellent ball all game for the Burgh backs to run with.
This was a great team effort from the Burgh 2nds who now top the league with 2 bonus point wins from 2 games, with 9 players from last weeks win over Strathendrick unavailable, Burgh still had a squad of 19 players, this gives the management team a nice headache to have for next weeks home game v Clydebank. With so many players vying for a place in the squad off 22, it can only help the players cause if they train on Thursday night at 7pm.

• Burgh 2nds team: Murray Gard, Sam Clark, Liam Flanagan, Craig White, Russell Pryce, Callum Miller, Josh Grafton, Craig MacLean (Capt), Joe Grafton, Ian Storm, Dave Higgins, Andy Irvine, Stuart King, Josh Rettie, Chris Scott-Parker, Dean Stevenson, Luke Humphries, Joe Qiokata, Zak Humphries.

Burgh 2nds on top form - again

The Helensburgh 2nd XV welcomed Clydebank 2nd XV to Ardencaple on Saturday, in a top of the table clash which lived up to the billing.
Helensburgh kicked off on a muddy pitch after the heavy rain, Clydebank ran back at Burgh and won a scrum in the home 22. The Burgh scrum have gained much praise for their scrummaging in recent weeks and didn’t let the home support down, pushing their opponents off their own ball and a full 10 yards, giving away a penalty, but having won the forwards psychological battle, this trend was to continue all game.
The game was end to end until Josh Rettie intercepted a pass and ran a full 70 metres to score under the post, the conversion was missed in the mud, 20 mins gone 5 – 0 to Burgh. The Burgh forwards were bossing their opponents and their tight head was lucky not to be sin binned for a cheap shot on Captain MacLean.
The Burgh backs were tackling their hearts out, and one Stuart King tackle on his opposite number rocked the home stand, obviously the new pads are working. Clydebank ran at Burgh all day, but as admitted by their players, never looked like scoring, the Burgh tackling was that good.
Burgh scored again when the Burgh forwards won ruck ball, Joe Graffton shipped the ball out to the backs, Craig White came into the line and broke several tackles before floating a great pass to Josh Rettie who again scored under the posts, Andy Irving kicked the conversion, 30 mins gone 12 – 0 to Burgh. This was to be the final score, but does not reflect on what was a great Burgh team effort, as Clydebank defended very well, and against lesser opponents and on a drier day, Burgh would surely have scored more tries.
Once again the whole team  played well on a wet day, with some great running rugby, but best were Captain Craig (Baigy) MacLean who put in some huge clear-outs in the ruck, Phil Farren at stand-off, Davy Calderwood at no.8, Craig White for some scintillating runs, and the front row off Russell Price, Sam Clark and  Liam Flanagan, after consideration man of the match went to Russell Price.
Burgh’s next 3 match’s are on Saturday 8th October away to Loch Lomond, (meet time for the players is 1pm), October 15th away to Cartha Queens Park, with the next home game on October 22nd v Anniesland.

• Helensburgh 2nd XV Squad: Russel Price, Sam Clark, Liam Flanagan, Craig White, Stevie Malcolm, Josh Grafton, Craig MacLean (Capt), Davy Calderwood, Joe Grafton, Phil Farren, Andy Irving, Stuart King, Josh Rettie, Joe Qiokata, Paul Howell. Aaron Sterry, Luke Rettie, Chris Scott-Parker, Luke Humphries, Zak Humphries, Martin Caldwell, Richard Carlton.

Visit the club: Helensburghrfc

Burgh 2nd XV run out winners at Ardencaple

Helensburgh 2nd XV has a new Organisation and Coaching team in place for the new season. Ian MacQuire and Alistair (Joe) Benton will organise the team, and Mark Sloane, Stevie Gard, and Dave Higgins will coach the squad. Any players new or old wishing to play should contact Ian or Joe at the club (01436 654056) on a Tuesday or Thursday night after 7pm

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Cambuslang v Helensburgh 19-21

Helensburgh soared away from Cambuslang with the spoils after a pulsating contest in which the the final score reflected what was a closely fought nail-biter of a match.

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