Marr Rugby’s 1st XV secured a bonus point win courtesy of six tries, with Ross Miller bagging three of these and four conversions from new signing Liam McLoughlin. Stephen Adair was fleet of foot as he ran in a try from 60m. Findlay Hazel (sponsored by the Jade Dragon) scored a try to make his 1st XV debut even more memorable.

It was just after the end of the first quarter that Marr finally managed to break through what had been a very stuffy and effective Dundee defence. Under increasing pressure Dundee started to concede penalties and from one of these Marr kicked to the corner for an attacking lineout. Ross Miller peeled off and powered through from short range carrying two tacklers with him. From the restart Marr piled on further pressure as Stephen Adair (sponsored by Toner and McCartney) broke out from defence and set off on a lung busting 60 metre dash to the line to score.

Dundee immediately hit back as they exploited a penalty award to execute a quick tap and go that caught Marr’s defence napping with Ross Aitken slicing through to score a converted try. The rest of the first half was equally balanced with both defences effectively cancelling out attacking opportunities.

In the second half Marr got off to an early start as Ross Miller added his second try. Marr’s pack started to dominate, in particular at the set piece scrum. Winning a close range penalty they opted for the scrum and a classic number eight pick up, batter through and score followed. A successful conversion extended the lead.

From this Marr spurred on and three further tries followed in rapid succession. This included Findlay Hazel’s score on his 1st XV debut.

To their credit, Dundee never gave up and they exposed and exploited defensives weaknesses to score two further tries and were unlucky not to get anything points wise for their efforts.

All in all it was a very good workout for Marr. They were able to manage and control the game while still taking stock of the areas that they need to improve on. Newly appointed 1st XV captain Conor Bickerstaff was delighted with the effort and the result, whilst acknowledging that there was more work to do to get Marr ready to play at a higher level.

Marr Rugby 1st XV man of the match - Dan Law

Marr Rugby 1st XV scorers
Tries: Ross Miller (3); Stephen Adair; Findlay Hazel and Tom Steven
Conversions: Liam Mcloughlin (4)

2nd XV match summary
Marr Rugby enjoys being the underdog and upsetting the “informed view”. Newly promoted into reserve National League 1 Marr Rugby’s 2s were being touted as the ‘whipping boys’ by the Premiership’s 2nd XV sides.

Marr Rugby’s 2s put in a sterling shift, playing for half the match with 14 players following a red card, to fight back and worry Boroughmuir who nervously clung on to a narrow lead. As expected it was a real test for the 2s playing their opening game in the top league and against players with Premiership experience. The losing bonus point was scant reward for the effort but a point is a point.

Marr Rugby 2nd XV man of the match - Fraser Miller

Marr Rugby 2nd XV scorers
Try: Grant Clark
Conversion: Rudi Marshall
Penalties: Rudi Marshall and Chris Galloway

Marr Rugby next fixtures – 8.9.18
1s – Away v Jed Forest
2s –Away v Ayr
3s – Home v East Kilbride 2s