Marr Rugby's opening match provided a significant test against a very strong Accies side. As the match drew to a close Accies had opened up a 13 point lead and many in the home support were predicting that this advantage would increase and Marr would be denied any reward for their efforts. Marr's fifteen held a different view and continued to fight for every ball and probe for opportunity to narrow the scoreline. A final play that started deep in Marr's half ended with a much deserved try, scored by Scott Bickerstaff and converted by Colin Sturgeon to secure an important bonus point.

Marr’s squad for the match saw several last minute enforced changes due to injuries that compounded selection issues due to longer term injuries and/or work commitments. Mark Allison (sponsored by the Poppy Room), Richard McNicol, Danny Clark, Stuart Howie and Gregor Ness were drafted in to cover for William Farquhar, Fraser Ferguson, Stephen Adair, Andrew Mill and Tom Steven.

Marr started strongly with and enjoyed a good spell of possession in Accies territory. The home side was forced to infringe at the breakdown and after seven minutes Marr opened the scoring with a Colin Sturgeon penalty.

Several times Accies found themselves under pressure as Marr’s pack closed in on the try line and were fortunate that Marr’s momentum came unstuck through over-eagerness that conceded turnover ball to relieve the onslaught. Just before the half hour mark Marr finally breached the home sides try line when after a great passage of play, that saw Marr close in on the line in midfield, the ball was spread wide and Conor Bickerstaff was in perfect position to power in to the corner and score.

Accies replied immediately and their skipper Jamie Sole made a break to take play deep into Marr’s 22m area. Quick recycling and further charges from the Accies huge pack brought play to the line and eventually a try was scored. Marr responded with a penalty to see the half closed with Marr leading 7-13.

This was cancelled out at the start of the second half as Accies stand-off Andrew Bell scored a great individual try. Marr had initially managed to disrupt an Accies scrum but they recovered the initiative and the ball was fed to Bell who spotted and exploited a gap on the blind side. He raced through from 35 metres and perfectly chipped over Marr’s defence to run on and collect the ball and score.

During the second half the home side had the edge in possession, territory and attacking opportunities. Only some tenacious tackling prevented further scores. Marr had limited opportunities and what they had were well policed and disrupted. Accies enjoyed added advantage as Marr missed a second penalty attempt that was within normal scoring range. Just at the start of the final quarter they gained a further advantage as Craig Kolarik was yellow carded following an infringement in Marr’s 22m area. The home side took full advantage of the extra man to add two tries.

Marr continued to work hard in defence and make the most of rare attacks. Eventually their persistence and determination was rewarded and after several attacking phases the home crowd and visitors enjoyed seeing a trademark Scott Bickerstaff try followed by a successful conversion that earned a losing bonus point.

Despite the defeat there were many positives for Marr. Lineout play was a clear strength as Ollie Rossi (sponsored by Allan Mackintosh) hit his target with every throw-in, while Ewan Bulger was in rampant form, disrupting Accies throw-ins and managing to steal turnover ball on three occasions. Marr’s backs played well together with some powerful runs using good lines and support to gain territory. Generally the team’s defensive play was sound. It took an exceptional piece of individual play and the extra man advantage to unlock Marr’s defence to gain three of Accies tries.

A big positive was that despite the numerous changes before and during the match the squad kept going with determination and belief that prevented Accies from pulling away and was rewarded a final play score that gave an important bonus point. As they prepare for their next match Marr’s players can reflect on what was done well and might have been better and work to improve in these areas.

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

Marr scorers:
Tries: Conor Bickerstaff and Scott Bickerstaff
Conversions: Colin Sturgeon (2)
Penalties: Colin Sturgeon (2)