Fourth Round - Scottish Schools' Rugby Cup

Bright sun, extremely wet conditions underfoot and a windswept pitch made for difficult playing conditions as Dollar Academy 1st XV met their Gordonstoun counterparts in the fourth round of the Bell Lawrie White Scottish Schools Rugby Cup. At least it was a home tie and there was no need for the long journey up to Elgin.

Stand-off half Angus Tester opened the scoring for Dollar with first a penalty and then a converted try. Dollar, with the dominant scrum, continued to press hard throughout the first half with further tries from captain J-P Ward and winger Nick Baron.

In the second half Gordonstoun crossed the Dollar line twice to score tries and had a further three points from a penalty, but Dollar’s strong half-back combination of Shedden and Tester continued to provide opportunities for the home team. Powerful prop forward Gregor Ross went over for tries twice, Tester scored another and James Morrison, brother of Scotland A team player Graeme, took the final score to 48-13.

Coach John Foster continues to be optimistic as Dollar head into the quarter-finals. “The side,” he said, “is now capable of playing under any conditions”. Hungry for a repeat visit to Murrayfield where Dollar’s team won the Cup in 2003, 2004 and 2005, he hopes that Monday’s draw will be favourable.

Click on pictures for larger images.