Entering into the final straight of the relegation battle Marr Rugby needed to bring home points from Poynder Park as they faced fellow relegation candidates Kelso.

Although a draw meant a share of the points available this was little comfort to either side as both were left rueing missed opportunities that would have led to a more successful outcome.

Injuries and other unavailability meant some changes in Marr’s starting line-up and replacements bench. Aaron Rankin partnered Johnny McClung at centre and Marr’s back five in the pack comprised Kris Kirk, Blain Seffin, Fraser Grant, Ben Johnston and Angus Johnston. Phil Siave made his return following injury sustained in November.

Kelso, with some of the biggest forwards, and certainly the tallest 2nd row in the league got off to a flying start. With 6’10” plus Callum Rowaldson and Donald Seed in their engine room packing behind vastly experienced Gary Holburn, Chris Riddell and Chris Keen Marr’s forwards quickly realised that the breakdown area was one where their opponents would exploit any opportunity to make a physical impression. Meanwhile behind the scrum Kelso’s backs made very good use of the offside margins that were allowed to quickly close down any Marr attack, even if in so doing some uncompromising and at times unconventional tackling techniques were employed.
Within five minutes Kelso took the lead with a penalty but Marr rallied and shortly afterwards some good phases of possession took play deep inside Kelso’s half and the home side was content to concede a penalty as Marr threatened to break for the try line. Marr’s man of the match, stand-off Colin Sturgeon slotted the kick home for three points. Marr’s concentration slipped at the restart allowing Kelso to regain possession and apply pressure. This resulted in a second converted penalty.

As the half hour mark approached Marr found themselves in good field position and enjoying several promising phases of possession. However an interruption ensued as some of the tetchiness of play at the breakdown led to a brief flare-up and this spoiled Marr’s rhythm. As the dust settled the referee spoke with both sides and awarded Marr a penalty that was converted to balance the score at 6 – 6.
Once again Marr failed to properly manage the restart and control Kelso as they upped the tempo. Playing some great rugby the home side exploited any opportunities. Scrum half Andy Tait was problematic and difficult to nail down and single handedly got Kelso into good field position. Kelso pressed towards the corner and were rewarded with some penalties that they opted to kick for lineouts. For five or so minutes Marr managed to keep their line intact but in a moment of confusion a Kelso knock on was indicated however play continued with the home side regaining possession to score a try in the comer. The conversion followed.

Kelso closed the first half with another forwards dominated converted try this time coming off a lineout.

In the second half Marr quickly re-focused and set aside the earlier decisions. Kelso came out with all guns blazing, intent on capitalising on the first half breaks. Marr absorbed the pressure and winning a line out just inside home territory a pre-planned move was executed with good effect. As Stephen Adair chased a ball into space he was illegally taken out but Marr finally benefited from referee’s advantage that saw Fraser Grant speed in to collect the loose ball and score.

Working off good possession from their forwards Marr’s backs began to assert a real threat to Kelso’s defence. Johnny McClung (sponsored by Irvine Decontamination Ltd) had several promising breaks with the first being stopped just short of the line by a try saving cover tackle made by Tait. Marr had to be content with a penalty decision that they put in the corner. This led to a series of stop start phases as Marr’s pack collected the lineout ball and drove towards the line. Determined defence kept Marr at bay and after several further penalties Kelso were reduced to 14 men when prop Holburn was yellow carded. Marr continued a direct approach through the forwards and finally got their reward as Stephen Adair burrowed his way through the bottom of a rolling maul as it was collapsed. The conversion brought the score level at 20 points each.

Marr’s extra man advantage was short-lived. From the restart Kelso again pressed and as Marr tried to stem their attack Ben Johnston was given a 10 minutes period of reflection. Kelso’s big forwards, in particular Donald Seed, started to cause major problems in Marr’s midfield defence with some rampaging runs. As the third quarter closed Kelso again took the lead with their third try. Stand-off Andrew Skeen unlocked Marr’s defence with a deft chip kick and as Marr flooded back they conceded a penalty. Playing with advantage Kleso maintained the pressure and after several phases Tait put in the scoring pass to full back Hastie. The conversion was missed.

The final quarter saw the match enter an even more intense period of play as Kelso desperately tried to hold on to their narrow lead. Marr enjoyed more and more possession but promising breaks were repelled by at times some excellent defence and at others some more controversial and unorthodox techniques. This included a trip tackle on Johnny McClung and Scott Bickerstaff getting some extra special attention to nullify the threat he posed.

With five minutes left Marr chose to use the penalties they were winning to attack in the corner. From the resulting lineouts they probed through several forward mauls and also some midfield breaks but Kelso weren’t minded to give any ground. Happy to concede penalties they eventually lost another player to a yellow card. Marr patiently and determinedly stuck to the task in hand and finally got their reward as Angus Johnston twisted and turned from close range to power through to score near the corner. With a swirling wind behind him Colin Sturgeon’s conversion just slipped past the outside of the left hand post to leave the score dead-locked at 25-25.

With only a minute or so remaining Marr threw everything into a final attack. As they pressed forward Scott Bickerstaff was unleashed into midfield and as he approached Keslo’s 22m metre line his run was stopped by an uncompromising challenge. As players reached the breakdown area the referee’s penultimate decision was a penalty award to Kelso and they gratefully took this opportunity to kick the ball dead and allow the final whistle to be sounded.

As the home side rejoiced in avoiding a potential defeat Marr’s players were left to reflect on some missed opportunities and the hard work ahead to ensure league survival.

Marr man of the match: Colin Sturgeon (sponsored by Bricktrain Ltd)

Marr scorers
Tries: Fraser Grant (1), Stephen Adair (1) and Angus Johnston (1)
Conversions: Colin Sturgeon (2)
Penalties: Colin Sturgeon (2)