2004-05 Reports
2nd Apr
Edin Accies 12 - 22 Jed-Forest
No Report
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Simon
Lightbody |
2.
James Hogg |
3. Greg Laidlaw
|
_________________________________________________________
26th Mar
Berwick 25 - 5 Jed-Forest
Todays
game was in doubt right up to kick-off from a heavy harr but the
game did go ahead and it was a Prem2 & Border league double with
Berwick having never beat Jed in either competition.
The
game started with Berwick having the better of the early exchanges
and they went ahead with a penalty from McCreath when Jed went
off-side. Jed got back up to the Berwick line with a penalty from
Kevin Amos and from the throw in a Jed player was pulled down and a
29 man punch up started, with the ref struggling to bring the game
under control Jed got the penalty which Gary McGarva pushed wide.
From the 22 drop out the ball came back to the Berwick scrum half
Liam Cox he kicked over the head of the Jed defence and while
chasing his kick he was blocked by John Szkudro and took exception
to it and had a kick at skuds right in front of the touch judge so
it was ten minutes in the sin bin.
Jed
now upped the pressure and managed to push over Pym McDonnell for I
think his first try of the season McGarva missed the kick 3-5.
All
though Berwick were a man down they kept the pressure on the Jed
defence with some kicking from Stand-off McCreath and just before
half-time Jed had Szkudro sin binned for something that happened in
the fog and Berwick managed to score with some sustained pressure on
the Jed line with Haggerstone being driven over McCreath kicked the
conversion half-time Berwick 10 Jed-Forest 5.
The
second half was very much stalemate as Jed seemed to lack any bite
or imagination but did defend well. The game was mostly played
between the Berwick 10m line and the Jed try line. Berwick’s
McCreath went on to kick a drop goal and four penalties the game
ended with Jed trying to put pressure on the Berwick line through
Scott Laidlaw and Simon Lightbody but the Berwick defence held
strong until full-time and Berwick had scored there first ever win
over Jed by 25 points to 5.
This
match was a typical end of season game that doesn’t mean much too
either team but the best team won on the day.
Player
of the day points Simon Lightbody always in the right place at the
right time, John Szkudro for his work rate and for the time he was
on Ross Goodfellow.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Simon
Lightbody |
2.
John Szkudro |
3. Ross Goodfellow
|
____________________________________________________
14th Mar
Jed-Forest 27 - 24 Dundee
No report this
week
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Simon
Lightbody |
2.
Neil Smail |
3. David Grieve
|
___________________________________________________________
19th Feb
Haddington 14 - 5 Jed-Forest
Jed-Forest
away to Haddington in BT Prem 2 the game started with Jed playing
deep in the Haddington half with some great drives from James
Henderson and John Szkudro. Jed got a penalty for offside but with
the fierce wind Greig Laidlaw's kick hit the post and the Haddington
defence cleared the line. There was a skirmish with Tim Van Vliet
and two Haddington players and Tim got ten mins in the sin bin for
his trouble. Haddington then piled on the pressure for the remainder
of the half and after fifteen phases managed to break the Jed
defence to score between the posts with thirty mins played 7-0.
With
Jed down to fourteen players the big home pack dominated up front
and should have went further in front but for a couple of knock
on’s. Jed managed to work there way down to the home 22 where they
got a scrum in middle of the park, the ball came right from Ross
Goodfellow through a couple of pairs of hands for Jamie McCraw to
score in the corner, the difficult kick was missed by Gary McGarva
7-5.
Jed
had a few more chance’s in the first half James Henderson made a
break from his own 22 down the right passed a couple of defenders to
feed the ball inside and Jamie McCraw should have scored but for a
last ditch tackle, half time Haddington 7 Jed-Forest 5.
Haddington
kicked off the second half and immediately started putting the
pressure on the Jed forwards and should have went further ahead when
a succession of mauls and rucks got closer to the Jed line but the
ball eventually came right where they had three men wide but they
switched back inside and lost the ball. Jed however helped
Haddingtons next try when trying to break out from there own 22
Scott Laidlaw just miss timed a pass to Simon Lightbody and the home
number twelve I Henderson intercepted to run under the posts. The
score now at 14-5 and the Jed forwards getting turned over almost at
will, the lineout this week was going well but the scrum looked very
disjointed. Jed did however have a couple of real chances first from
a Ross Goodfellow kick up field, Kevin Amos chased and just stole
the ball on the bounce from the two defenders the ball went inside
and it looked like James Henderson would score a well deserved try
but he was brought down just short, he had no support and lost the
ball. The second good chance fell to Jamie McCraw on the right wing,
again the ball was kicked ahead Jamie reacted first but he too was
caught short of the line by the very fast winger. The last bit of
drama was from the Haddington try scorer when he was subbed in place
of the coach in the last few mins of the game took off his top thru
it at the coach and stormed off the final score was Haddington 14
Jed-Forest 5.
This
was not a good game for the Jed forwards who were completely
outgunned by the big Haddington pack. It was one of those games
where nothing goes right apart from the lineout. It was good to see
Gary McGarva back and he made his mark in midfield but player of the
day was James Henderson, another first class performance, Ross
Goodfellow played well behind a beaten pack and Simon Lightbody for
some try saving tackles.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1.
James Henderson |
2.
Ross Goodfellow |
3. Simon Lightbody
|
______________________________________________
15th Feb
Toulon/Nice
University Old Crocks v Jed Old Crocks Select
On Wednesday of last week, a
jovial bunch of tourists including 12 Jedburgh Royal British Legion
Pipe Band members, 7 over the hill rugby players and tour organiser,
Jed Renilson, left Jedburgh heading for Nice, France for the return
fixture against Toulon/Nice University Old Crocks.
Although sorely depleted by
many late call offs from the likes of Gregor ‘aye of course a’m
gawn’ McKechnie and Kevin ‘a’m snawed under at work’ Liddle,
the party left in good spirits knowing that the numbers would be made
up by some of their French counterparts.
The game itself on the Friday
evening before the France v Scotland International turned into a
mighty entertaining game right from the kick-off. Like the previous
year’s game, it was played at a fast and furious pace with several
players blowing pretty hard from several different orifices.
The French crocks has the
better of the early exchanges but the Jed Select soon had the upper
hand with the ample figure of Melrose’s Chris ‘Pussy’ Bell,
Andrew ‘Rip’ Redpath and Kenny ‘Nice Guy’ Ruthven to the fore.
With the initial early pace
slowing slightly, the game opened up with tries coming at regular
intervals from each side. Michael ‘Tattie’ Elder having several
chances but was obviously affected by the fact he had left his hand
luggage on the plane on the way there. Unfortunately for him, he left
his hands in that luggage and he would have found it hard to have
caught a cold on the night. Scott ‘The Postie’ Irvine and Michael
‘Slush’ Yule (no he didn’t wear blue velvet) also produced some
strong running with Slush scoring the second of the visitor’s tries.
Man of the match however had to be Harry Hogg. Playing at his now
preferred position of stand-off, he has obviously lost some of his
lightening pace but his silky skills and superior rugby brain made it
a joy for the rest of the players and indeed the spectators on the
night. The game eventually ended in a much deserved draw with both
teams taking the equal share of the plaudits.
The rest of the tour was very
successful and very enjoyable with only a small amount of alcoholic
beverage being consumed. Here’s looking forward to the next fixture.
________________________________________________
10th Feb
Jed-Forest 38 - 12 Langholm
See News page for brief report.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Neil
Smail |
2.
Donald Grieve |
3. James
Henderson
|
_________________________________________
29th Jan
Jed-Forest 20 - 5 Murrayfield Wanderers
Jed
would be hoping to get back to winning ways against second bottom
Murrayfield Wanderers with Kym Townsend back from injury to bolster
the scrum James Henderson moved to hooker and with Clark Laidlaw away
on Scotland sevens duty brother Scott moves to inside centre,
The
game started with Jed putting pressure the on Wanderers line but the
visitors held strong and it took Jed twenty min’s for Greig Laidlaw
to get on the scoreboard with a penalty after Wanderers had a spell of
pressure in the Jed 22. It was from here that the Jed forwards took
play up to Wanderers ten meter line and Wanderers went over the top,
3-0. Wanderers had several chance’s to score but centre Duncan
MacDonald dropped the ball on more than one occasion when it might
have been easier to score. Murrayfield certainly didn’t look like a
bottom of the league team and caused Jed all sort of problems with
their strong back line. The Jed scrum was much better than of late but
the lineout was still not working right. It looked like Jed wanted the
try bonus this week after running or kicking to touch four first half
penalties. Jamie McCraw did some fine work up the tram lines as did
Ross Goodfellow, always harassing his opposite number and the first
half finished with both teams trying hard but never really getting
close H/T Jed-Forest 3 Murrayfield wanderers 0.
Soon
after the restart Neil Hitchin put Wanderers into the lead when he
scored a try in the scoreboard corner, with the kick missed the score
was now 3-5. This seemed to be the kick Jed needed and Bevan Hart made
a break in to the visitors 22 to feed a fast charging Neil Smail on
the angle who scored near the posts, Greig Laidlaw kicked the
conversion, 10-5. Wanderers seemed to loss a bit of heat when Greig
Laidlaw kicked an easy penalty to make it 13-5. The last twenty
min’s of the game Jed were looking more like themselves, having
several good attempts to score. The last try was from a ruck on the
visitors 22, the ball came back to Ross Goodfellow who chipped over
the ruck into the path of Kevin Amos on the blindside, he collected
the ball for an easy score, Greig Laidlaw kicked the conversion to
make the final score Jed-Forest 20 Murrayfield Wanderers 5.
All
in all a win is a win but this was not easy for Jed and the score did
not reflect the story of the game. Wanderers were much better than
five points. Kym Townsend had his best game for Jed and certainly
helped the front row, John Szkudro is always in the thick of things
but needs to stop arguing with the ref it’s going to cost us points,
In the backs Ross Goodfellow had a good game as did Greig Laidlaw and
Simon Lightbody. James Henderson was the best player again today
followed by John Szkudro and Ross Goodfellow.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. James
Henderson |
2.
John Szkudro |
3. Ross
Goodfellow
|
____________________________________________
31st Jan
Stew Mel 37 -11 Jed-Forest
Jed-Forest Vs Stewart's Melville with Jed
breathing down the neck of Stew/Mel in the league this was an
important game for both teams with the second promotion place on
offer (If the SRU ever make a decision)
Jed started the game at a hectic pace and after
ten phase's of play Greig Laidlaw kicked a drop goal 0-3 the way Jed
had started was looking good but stew/Mel had other idea's because the
first few min's in the Stew/Mel half was about as much as they
were going to get, Soon after the restart Stew/Mel got a penalty ran
it wide to out strip the Jed defence for the winger J Gordon to
score 5-3.
Jed had to defend hard as Stew/Mel piled on the
pressure just about the thirty min mark Stew/Mel got a kickable
penalty but S Hendry put it just wide of the right post
it wasn't long before Stew/Mel increased there lead from a scrum
fifteen meters out the ball came left for G Shiel to score
under the posts with the kick 12-3, On the odd time Jed managed to
get into the Stew/Mel half there was to many unforced errors
and never seemed to get the rub of the green Greig Laidlaw did kick
a penalty just on half time Stew/Mel 12 Jed-Forest 6.
The second half started with Stew/Mel scoring
another try through D Rycroft and the kick 19-6, The big Stew/Mel
pack just kept driving the Jed pack back they were better in the
scrums and lineout often sealing Jeds ball Ross Goodfellow had a
hard time with the pack so badly beaten when the ball did come back
he had no chance to give the backs good ball it was a bit of a
surprise when Tim Van Vliet was replaced for he had been one of
Jed's best players often stifling the stew/Mel attack.
Stew/Mel kicked a penalty 22-6 the next Stew/Mel
try was from a Jed ruck on the halfway line the ball popped out on
the Jed side with no one there to pickup Stew/Mel nicked the ball
for an easy score under the post's adding the kick 29-6, It wasn't
long before Stew/Mel kicked a drop goal and the bonus point try was
added soon after 37-6.
Jed did try very hard with one or two good breaks
one from Ross Goodfellow who never had the pace towards the end of
the game to go the distance and one from Simon Lightbody when the
move started on the Jed 22 the ball went through several pairs of
hands before Simon side stepped his way to score from halfway
the final score Stew/Mel 37 Jed-Forest 11.
Having seen most teams this year the Stew/Mel
backs were to-day the best by far always egar to run the ball.
As for Jed positives were few to-day but for some
great defence the score could have been much greater got the
impression that Szkudro had a grudge with someone and spent
most of the day chasing him Hendy was his usual busy self making big
runs into the heart of defence so player of the day points James
Henderson always solid Tim Van Vliet properly the best Jed player on
the park when he was subbed and Ross Goodfellow who fought so hard
under the pressure of an ever retreating scrum.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. James
Henderson |
Tim
Van Vleit |
3. Ross
Goodfellow
|
__________________________________________
16th Jan
Jed-Forest 23 - 16 Kelso
Today
was Jed's first game of 2005 with Kelso the visitors. Kelso kicked
off with the wind and for the first eight min's really put the Jed
defence to task during which time Jed were pinned back in their on
half but all Kelso had to offer was drop goal from the boot of Ewan
Ford 0-3.
Almost
from the restart Jed picked up the pace to put the Kelso defence
under pressure and it was Greig Laidlaw who got Jed back level with
a penalty for offside, 3-3. Kelso hit straight back with a penalty
of their own, 3-6. Jed were now dominating the game with some
great attacking runs from Clark Laidlaw and Simon Lightbody in the
backs and Ali Hall, John Szkudro and Bevan Hart in the forwards and
after three penalties to touch within sight of the Kelso line Greig
Laidlaw kicked a penalty goal for a Kelso defender not rolling away,
6-6.
Just
as Jed were looking to score a well deserved try before
half-time they got a sucker punch when Kelso's Gordon Laing
scored a try which Ford missed the kick, H/T Jed-Forest 6 Kelso
11.
Jed
kicked off the second half with the wind and straight away put Kelso
under pressure. Jed got a penalty when Roxy went off-side (not for
the first time), Greig Laidlaw got Jed back to 9-11 but Kelso were
playing with more determination and from a scrum on the Jed 22 Iain
Fairley picked up and with a neat little flip back inside sent Roxy
through the Jed defence to score try number two, again the kick was
missed 9-16.
Jed
now regrouped to make an assault on the Kelso line and Clark Laidlaw
drove Kelso back inside their own 22. Kelso knocked on Jed had two
or three rucks and from the middle of the park it looked good to go
right where Kelso had no cover but the ball went left for Simon
Lightbody to score in the corner, Greig Laidlaw kicked a great goal
from the touch line and Jed were now level at 16-16. Kelso did fight
back but the Jed defence held solid with James Henderson, Billy
Graham and the impressive Tim van Vliet putting in big hits. Clark
Laidlaw put in a monster kick from his own 22 to the Kelso 22 and
from the resulting throw-in Jed won the ball and drove Bevan
Hart over the Kelso line. This try and the following conversion
spoiled the party for all the Kelso supporters who had kindly
sponsored today's match. From the restart Jed again pushed to
increase the lead with a couple of drop goal attempts but the final
score was Jed-Forest 23 Kelso 16.
Today's
win keeps the pressure on second placed Stew Mel in the league and
we play them next week. players to mention this week, 1 to 19 every
player played his part in this good win but player of the day points
go to Clark Laidlaw made loads of breaks and his tackling and
kicking were top drawer stuff. Second was John Szkudro who hardly
missed a ball in the line-out and seems to have given the pack a
little more stability, Third place is Ali Hall who hurt his wrist
and came off late in the second half but was always in the mix and
played well.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Clark
Laidlaw |
2.
John Szkudro |
3. Ali
Hall
|
_______________________________________________
29th Dec
Jed-Forest 8 - 11 Hawick
Jed-Forest
V Hawick in the Border League and for the new Graham (Skelly) Skeldon
memorial trophy.
Hawick
started the game much the better team with their big pack putting the
Jed forwards to the sword and it was Hawick who took the early lead
with a penalty when Jed strayed off-side, 0-3.
The
Jed defence held firm with some heroic tackling from backs and
forwards alike with James Henderson standing out and leading the Jed
fight back. Ex Gala man John Szkudro and Ali Campbell (TM) now on the
field the Jed forwards started to make some inroads to the Hawick half
and managed to drive over Bevan Hart for the first try of the game.
This came from stealing the ball at a Hawick line-out about eight
meters out, Greig Laidlaw missed the difficult kick, 5-3.
Greg
Laidlaw Attacking the Hawick Defence. Click on the photo for more
pictures of the game, courtesy of John Peters website.
As
the game wore on Jed looked like they were adjusting to the Hawick
pace and on more than one occasion could have increased there lead but
it was Hawick who went into half-time in the lead with run away try
from their own 22. When a mix up in the Jed attack resulted in a
dropped ball which was picked up by Gary Law and he raced the
distance, H/T 5-8.
The
second half kicked off with Jed now playing into the strong wind and
more than matching the premier one side. A big influence on Jed was
Tim van Vliet who was having a great game at eight making several runs
to gain vital meters for the home team along with James Henderson.
Unfortunately one mistake and Hawick had the big kick to put Jed right
back deep in their own half. Jed kept fighting on and after several
drives at the Hawick line and three penalties to touch, Greig Laidlaw
levelled the score with a penalty, 8-8.
From
the restart Hawick seemed to up the pace once more and hammered the
Jed line. They got very close on a few occasions but as happened at
the other end the final touch let them down for Jed to clear the
danger but it was Greg Cottrell who just managed to scrape over a drop
goal 5 minutes before the end, 8-11.
On
the restart Clark Laidlaw did a short kick and flicked it up to Simon
Lightbody but it was adjudged to have went 10 forward, not a popular
call from the ref. After Hawick had cleared the scrum to the Jed line,
Jed worked their way back up field but time was against them and the
final whistle blew. Hawick had won a typical Border derby and more
importantly the first playing of the Graham Skeldon memorial trophy.
I
felt the Jed team played very well today in the difficult
conditions and perhaps with a little bit of luck could have snatched
the win but with all the sub’s going on and off it must be hard for
player to stay focused but it seems to help Jed when such players can
give their all for twenty mins and come back refreshed for the last
twenty. It was good to see John Szkudro back in Jed colours after his
brief forty with Gala.
Today
was the biggest crowd at Riverside for a long time and now that you
have seen them play, come and support the team every week the club
needs all your help in these hard times
For
the last player of the day points for 2004 James Henderson by a short
head from Tim van Vliet and Neil Cook.
Have
a safe and happy new year.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. James
Henderson |
2.
Tim Van Vliet |
3. Neil
Cook
|
____________________________________
19th Dec
Jed-Forest 48 - 15 Kirkcaldy
Jed-Forest
were this week hosting Kirkcaldy who are bottom of the league with no
wins. Jed's injury worries never seem to stop with another two of our
most influential players out with knee injuries Ross Goodfellow for
two weeks and Jason Gill for three months.
Straight
from the kick-off Jed were on the attack and it was not long before
Greig Laidlaw had kicked three penalties to go 9-0 up. It
was a shock when Kirkcaldy drove a rolling maul from the Jed 22 for
Steve Mitchell to score at the kop end the conversion was added by
Paul Thomson, 9-7. This only spurned Jed into action and the smaller
than usual Jed pack kept walking a maul towards the line for Neil
Tunnah to score, Greig Laidlaw missed conversion, 14-7. Greig Laidlaw
kicked his 4th penalty just before half-time, 17-7.
The
second half started with Greig Laidlaw and Paul Thomson trading
penalties, 20-10. On the restart Jed were attacking Kirkcaldy in the
kop corner and the Kirkcaldy number five who had had been warned about
killing the ball, killed it again so off to the sin bin he went. The
penalty was kicked to touch and the lineout was won by Neil Cook and
the pack drove over the line and Neil Tunnah came up with the ball for
his second try, Greig kicked the goal, 27-10.
From
the restart Neil Tunnah collected the ball it was recycled to the
backs, Kevin Amos made the break through the Kirkcaldy defence back
into the forwards for Alastair Hall to score a well deserved try. He
is a man who is making his mark at the moment, Greig kicked the easy
goal, 34-10.
Kirkcaldy
had no answer to Jed and it was not to long before the bonus point try
came along, with Neil Tunnah driving deep into the kop corner the ball
went wide again from Kevin Amos who put out along pass to Simon
Lightbody he beat his man to pass for Jamie McCraw to score, once
again Greig kicked the goal, 41-10.
Just
as Kirkcaldy looked completely out of the game they did manage to
score a try through the man who scored the first try and got sin
binned, Steve Mitchell, 41-15.
Try
number five came when Simon Lightbody broke deep into the heart of the
Kirkcaldy defence and Jed got a penalty for off-side. They elected to
go for a scrum and Greig Laidlaw fed the scrum and peeled away, the
ball was picked up at the back of the scrum to feed Greig who went in
unoposed, Greig also kicked the goal to make the final score
Jed-Forest 48 Kirkcaldy 15.
Christmas
come early with a five try bonanza and a mention for Tim van Vliet who
came in for the injured Jason Gill and played very well but player of
the day points go to Neil Tunnah who had his best game of the season,
Greig Laidlaw playing out of position and scoring 28 points, a good
days work, and again Simon Lightbody in the points looking a better
centre all the time.
Hope
you all have a Merry Christmas.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Neil
Tunnah |
2.
Greg Laidlaw |
3. Simon
Lightbody
|
_______________________________________________
13th Dec
Selkirk 17 - 23 Jed-Forest
Selkirk
at Philiphaugh, always a tough encounter but with Jed’s injuries
starting to ease a little should be a little easier.
At
the start of the game it was Selkirk who started the better with
some strong run’s up the park but it was Jed who started the
scoring against the run of play when the ball went wide from broken
play though five pairs of hands ending in Neil Smail going over and
Greig Laidlaw kicking the conversion, 0-7.
It
wasn’t long before Selkirk were back on the attack but the Jed
defence held firm to the cost of a knee injury to Ross Goodfellow,
who left the field and was replaced by Scott McDonald. Jason Gill
made a break from his own half and Scott McDonald found the
ball to go over for Jed’s second try to make the half time score,
Selkirk 0 Jed-Forest 12.
The
second half started well for Jed when Kevin Amos dropped a goal to
make it 0-15. Just when Jed started to look in easy street, Fraser
Harkness scored for Selkirk and Michael Rutherford kicked the
conversion, 7-15. After some good pressure from Jed, Kevin Amos
glided through the Selkirk defence to score a great individual try
(just like the try’s he used to score so often), 7-20. Almost
from the restart Jason Gill made break up the middle of the Selkirk
defence and he kicked ahead but number 8 Alister Heatlie took him
out with a late tackle and Heatlie went to the sin bin. Greig
Laidlaw kicked the resulting penalty, 7-23.
With
Selkirk a man down, Jed should have been looking to get try number
four and a bonus point but as has happened so often this season Jed
have let there opponents back into the game. Soon after Heatlie
returned Selkirk scored through captain Scott Jeffrey and a
conversion by Michael Rutherford, 14-23. Jed where now hanging on by
a shoogly nail and with Selkirk putting on the pressure the Jed
defence tackled every last man. Selkirk finished the scoring
with a late penalty from Rutherford to make the final score Selkirk
17 Jed-Forest 23.
Jed
looked good in defence to-day but once again when it came to the
killer punch they lost the way. With Stew Mel and Haddington just
above and below us we need to start getting bonus points if we want
to finish in second place but I am sure the coaches and the players
don’t need me to remind them. Players worthy of a mention today
were Simon Lightbody who is really starting to look a good centre,
Jason Gill had some good breaks and Donald Grieve and Billy Graham
are always busy, so today the player of the day points go to Kevin
Amos, Simon Lightbody and Jason Gill
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Kevin
Amos |
2.
Simon Lightbody |
3. Jason
Gill
|
___________________________________________
5th Dec
Jed-Forest 19 - 30 Stirling County
Top of the league clash at Riverside between
Jed-Forest and Stirling County and The Jed squad had thirteen first
choice players out due to injury, suspension or being unavailable.
County have averaged 40 points per game so far this season so
this would be a steep hill for the Jed youngsters to climb.
Stirling started with the strong wind in the first half and within
five mins were ahead through an unconverted try by Alan Auld, 0-5.
County had most of the possession but Jed did manage a Greig Laidlaw
penalty for a high tackle, 3-5, Jed's injury list went up by one when
David Grieve had to leave the field and left Jed without a front row
and the reminder of the game was played with uncontested scrums which
did little for the game. County scored two more tries one converted
form number 8 Shan Renwick in a move that went 40meters and a try from
Ben Addison to a penalty from Greig Laidlaw the half time score
Jed-Forest 6 Stirling County 17.
The second half started much the same as the first with County scoring
a penalty a try and a conversion all from Brian Archibald 6-27. The
young Jed team then started to find their feet and a try from Ross
Goodfellow helped Jed get back in the game, Greig Laidlaw converted,
13-27. As the game wore on Jed came more and more into the game and
when Greig Laidlaw kicked two more penalties, one from the county ten
meter line the chance of a bonus point must have been the target
however it was not to be and County kicked a late penalty to finish
off a very brave Jed team.
Jed have to take a lot of heart from this game with
so many first choice players out it was a first class performance and
the player of the day points should go to the whole team but for me
Neil Cook did everything today he never stopped working, Billy Graham
also had an amazing work rate and tackled all day and in third place
Greig Laidlaw, his kicking kept County on their toes.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Neil
Cook |
2.
Billy Graham |
3. Greg
Laidlaw
|
_____________________________________________
3rd Dec
Peebles 3 - 19 Jed-Forest
Sorry no report
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Greg
Laidlaw |
2.
Jamie McCraw |
3. Jason
Gill
|
___________________________________________
21st Nov
Watsonians 40 - 17 Jed-Forest
Sorry no report
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Jason
Gill |
2.
James Henderson |
3. Scott Laidlaw
|
_______________________________________________________
14th Nov
Jed-Forest 25 - 10 Berwick
A cold Friday night a Riverside and a
visit from Berwick sure to be a good game.
Jed started the game with the will to win and it was not
long before Greig Laidlaw put the home team in front with a penalty
when Berwick were caught off-side, 3-0. Soon after Jed went
further ahead when Ross Goodfellow found a way through the defence
to score the first try of the game Greg Laidlaw kicked the extra's,
10-0. Berwick did look dangerous every time stand-off M McCreath had
the ball and he produced some very strong runs, however it was
thanks to some great defending from Jed that kept them out.
The next score was a break up the blind side when Ross
Goodfellow picked up at a scrum 25m out fed to Jason Gill who drew
the defence and passed to Kevin Amos who scored in the Kop corner,
Greig Laidlaw kicked the conversion to make it 17-0 and half-time.
In the second half Berwick started their revival with an
early penalty, it looked like hands in the ruck but the way the ref
was waving his arms in could have been anything, 17-3. Greig Laidlaw
kicked an other penalty 20-3. Early in the second
half Jason Gill this time picked up to feed Ross Goodfellow who
darted through the Berwick defence to score try number three, this
time Greg missed the kick, Jed-Forest 25 Berwick 3. Jed were now
looking for try number four and a bonus point but they seemed to
loss the way and let Berwick dictate the pace of the game. It was
only some strong Jed defence that kept Berwick from scoring. They
did score a try late in the game when the Berwick flanker managed to
slip the defence to score with McCreath making the score
Jed-Forest 25 Berwick 10. Jed try as they might could not score the
vital fourth try that would bring the bonus point as has happened so
often this season.
Man of the match for me was Berwick's M McCreath but the Jed
player of the day points go to Clark Laidlaw, Ross Goodfellow And
Neil Smail.
Good to see Roy McFarlane getting a game for Berwick so
soon.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Clark
Laidlaw |
2.
Ross Goodfellow |
3.
Neil Smail |
________________________________________________________
8th Nov
Dundee 26 - 0 Jed-Forest
Sorry no report.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Simon
Lightbody |
2.
Scott Laidlaw |
3.
Greg Laidlaw |
__________________________________________________________
30th Oct
Glasgow Accies 15 - 25 Jed-Forest
Jed-Forest went to play Glasgow Accies in the B.T Cup today.
Accies are in national league three and lying in third position so
Jed would be looking for a big score.
Within two minutes of the start Jed had scored the first try
when Neil Smail burst through the home defence, Amo missed the kick
at goal, 0-5. Try number two came soon after the first when Simon
Lightbody finished off a move by Jason Gill from the back of
the scrum to set-up a ruck, the ball was recycled to Simon to
score. Amo got the kick, 0-12. Try number three came when Scott
Laidlaw burst a couple of tackles to feed Simon Lightbody to score
his second try, Amo missed the kick 0-17 Try number
four was a quick penalty from Ross Goodfellow to Clark Laidlaw who
feed to his wee brother Scott to score just before halftime, 0-22.
With the second half starting we should have eased away to
an easy win but once again they got bogged down and lost the way.
Accies first scored a penalty for hands in the ruck, 3-22. The very
small crowd then saw Accies hack on from the halfway line to score a
try, the kick was missed, 8-22. Jed then lost a ball in contact and
again the kick ahead produced a try this time with the conversion,
15-22. With Accies now only seven points behind the
crowd could sense a giant killing act but Jed tried really hard to
get another score. Jed had some great phases of play but the Accies
players stood strong in defence and it was up to Mr drop goal
himself Clark Laidlaw to pull Jed clear for a narrow win and
progress to the next round.
It seemed like the pressure of winning got to Jed a wee bit,
but with only three first team regulars in the pack it was
never going to be easy and the whole team suffered with dropped ball
syndrome and could have easy put this game away in the first
half.
Player of the day points Without a doubt Scott Laidlaw with
Simon Lightbody second and Ali Hall, Worth a mention Bevan Hart
looks like he can do a job when he's fully fit Gill,Hall and Hart
in the back row would look good.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Scott
Laidlaw |
2.
Simon Lightbody |
3.
Alistair Hall |
___________________________________________________________________
24th Oct
Jed-Forest 21 - 15 Haddington
Tough must win game again this time against Haddington
the game started with Jed having the better of the early exchanges
and it was only four minutes gone when a late tackle produced a
penalty the ball was quickly sent out the line for Kevin Amos
to score in the scoreboard corner, the kick was missed 5-0. Jed were
pretty much the top team for most of the first half and it was a
surprise when Andrew Douglas kicked ahead from a scrum on the Jed
ten meter line and out stripped three home defenders to score, the
kick was missed 5-5. On the restart Jed looked to get back on track
and did a few mins later when Jason Gill barged through the
Haddington defence with what looked like a try the ref looked like
he had awarded a scrum five but a bit persuasion from the Jed
players and intervention from the linesman the try was given, again
Amo missed the kick 10-5, The Jed pack was creaking a bit
so Jed had a change in the second row bringing on Ali Campbell (TM)
for Garry Elder and the extra weight seemed to do the job. Just
before half time Clark Laidlaw dropped a fine goal (seems to be
getting a bit of a trademark) for the remainder of the half Jed
tried hard to get further ahead but the Haddington defence stood
firm H/T Jed-Forest 13 Haddington 5.
Jed certainly deserved their first half lead and within two
mins of the second half getting underway Jed had a scrum on the
visitors 22 Ross Goodfellow broke from the base to fed Kevin Amos on
the blind side to score his second and Jed's third try, it was Chris
Richards who missed the kick this time 18-5. Jed looked in complete
control and should have had this game sewn up with a bonus point but
once again they have let the opposition back into the game and made
what looked like an easy game very difficult for themselves.
Haddington got back into the game when wing forward Will
Oldham went over for a try and Scott Brownlee kicked the conversion,
18-12. The restart was a penalty for Haddington because James
Henderson dropped down on the try scorer after he had grounded
the ball but Jed were soon attacking the haddington line anbd a high
tackle was made on Clark Laidlaw resulting in Kevin Amos securing
another three points 21-12. Haddington tried had to
brake down the Jed defence and came close a few times they did
however kick a penalty through substitute Scott Bowman 21-15. Jed
were on the rack for the last ten minutes in a nail biting finish
that all the Jed team and supporters were glad to see come to an end
final score,. Jed-Forest 21 Haddington 15. There
was to be no bonus point for the home team but we did let Haddington
get one.
Player of the day points go to Ross Goodfellow, Neil Cook
and Donald Grieve.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Ross
Goodfellow |
2.
Neil Cook |
3.
Donad Grieve |
____________________________________________________________________
17th Oct
Murrayfield Wanderers 6 - 26 Jed-Forest
On the back pitches at Murrayfield Jed took on Murrayfield
Wanderers a team that are six places below them in the league in
what should have been a fairly straight forward game.
The game started with Jed very much on the back foot but
with some great first up defending from James Henderson, Jason
Gill and Gary McGarva to name a few. Jed kept the score to 3-0 in
what was all Wanderers pressure. It took Jed twenty five minutes
to get into the Wanderers half and when they did Jason Gill
wandered through the city team defence from around the 22 meter
line, 3-5. Gary McGarva hit the post on the wrong side with the
conversion attempt. Wanderers hit back with a second penalty from
Euan Mackintosh, 6-5. Gary McGarva then put Jed ahead again
when he kicked a penalty for off-side, 6-8. With Jed defending on
the stroke of half time Gary McGarva was sent off for retaliating in
an incident involving Wanderers full back Chris Foster. H/T, 6-8.
The second half started with Jed down to fourteen players
and a penalty for Wanderers on the half way line. Jed had to
reshuffle with Donald Grieve making way for our back/forward Scott
Laidlaw (who had been subbed earlier for Clark Laidlaw) slotting
back into centre and the scrum when required. The Jed defence just
kept knocking wanderers back and capitalized on their mistakes.
Wanderers changed their prop who was on the field for about two
minutes before he was sent to the sin-bin for some dangerous foot
work after the whistle. Jed were now picking up pace and from a
scrum five meters out Jason Gill ran round to score under the posts
and it was left to Kevin Amos to kick the conversion, 6-15.
Back came the sin-binned player but he only lasted fifteen minutes
before he was sent off for a second yellow card. Jed now looked like
they wanted to score more points with some great play from Ross
Goodfellow, Ali Hall and Gilly looking to score again. Wanderers
went off-side and Amo kicked the penalty 6-18. Clark Laidlaw then
kicked a monster long range drop goal when he collected a bad
clearing kick from Foster, 6-21. From the kick-off it was Jed on the
attack once more but the ball spilled forward to give a scrum to the
home team five meters out. When the ball came back it was Ross
Goodfellow who landed on the ball first to bring the score to 6-26.
With 10 mins to go the Jed management made some
changes in the forwards looking for the bonus point but they
were out gunned in the last five. On the positive
side the defence was out of the top drawer and the team battled
really hard for each other when a man down. On the negative side we
need to score more tries.
Player of the day was Jason Gill, he wanted everything
today, James Henderson for his crunching tackles, they were
brilliant and Ross Goodfellow he was all over the place in attack
and defence.
|
Jed Player of the
Day
|
| 1. Jason
Gill |
2.
James Henderson |
3.
Ross Goodfellow |
________________________________________________________________
10th Oct
Jed-Forest 21 - 11 Stew Mel
Today's game sees Stew Mel come to Riverside with an
unbeaten record and facing a Jed team very much on the up. Jed did
have one change with Clark Laidlaw dropping out and brother Scott
coming in at centre.
