This may have been somewhat of a makeshift Force side but don’t think for a second that the result matches the true balance of play, away at Biggar. Though the smaller in stature, the Force side showed bags of grit and determination, to lead with 55 minutes gone, only to find that energy levels dropped after the Hawick side went down to 14 men and allowed the hosts 4 late breakaway tries. Ru MacLeod was magnificent in scrum and the loose, never giving up like his Shoeshine Boy, he deserves a recall soon.
The Force pack were largely dominant against a set of hosts sailing very close to the strongly gusting wind. Matt Landels was an inspiration, at 52 years old he rampaged like a youngster along with Greg McLeod who hooked from the opposing front row creating chaos in the hosts’ scrum. Despite being 14 nil down early, the Teris used clever, determined, interlinking to allow James Delaney to run a magnificent line and score. After the break the Force dominated early exchanges with Captain fantastic Sam Frizzel, Rab C Linton and Charlie Comley always looking for work. Comley may be small in stature but by goodness there is plenty of his grandfather in the lad, and he burrowed over for a well-deserved try early in the second half. Using the wind to their advantage for a while, future greens permanent stand-off Cian Riddell kicked both conversions and a penalty to put the youngsters into a deserved lead. However, despite some valiant defending from Woodie on the wing, it was the home side who broke away regularly in the last quarter to put a skewed look on the scoreboard, after Landel had to go off to prepare for his players’ tea. There will be many wins this season for Wiaan’s youngsters, and though this was not one, nonetheless there was much to be proud of, Forza Force.
