Tennents Bowl,
Perthshire......................10, Carnoustie......................8
Carnoustie FP, the rising stars of the lower national league divisions, came desperately close to producing an upset in the first of the three Tennents finals at Murrayfield on Saturday.
However, in the end, the division six champions lacked the goal-kicking power and it was Perthshire, with the surer boot of their veteran stand-off Rod Macrae, who took the Tennents Velvet Bowl title.
Perhaps, after all, there was a sense of justice in the outcome. Perthshire looked the better attacking side behind the scrum, and in Alan Brown they had a centre with the ability to split the opposition defence, as he showed with a crucial break that led to Perthshire's only try.
Fraser Oliver provided the support and the perfectly timed pass from substitute full back Philip Murdoch put New Zealander Sean Judkins in the clear, the left wing ensuring maximum points by touching down under the posts.
Yet, for much of the final Perthshire were on the back foot, as Carnoustie's heavier forwards drove at them. ''We defended well and that allowed us to get on top just before half-time,'' suggested Brown, the Perthshire captain.
Carnoustie did, however, pierce Perthshire's armour with a series of close-range drives by the forwards that ended with their No.8 and captain Martin Peacock scoring in the corner.
That left Geoff Dickerson with a pressure conversion kick to level the scores, but the Carnoustie flanker pulled the ball wide of the posts. Then in the final minute of the game, Dickerson had it all to do again as this time he attempted a match winning penalty kick, only to register a further ''miss.''
Tantalisingly close for Carnoustie, but coming second in the Bowl final should not inhibit the ambitions of the Tayside club. ''We want to get to the Premiership,'' admitted Peacock. Perhaps not a wild dream either.
Scorers: Perthshire Judkins 1t, Macrae 1p1c
Carnoustie FP - Peacock 1t Dickerson 1p Carnoustie FP I Macrae; D Jamieson, K Wynyard, A Hay (J Murphy 68), G Langlands; I McFarlane, D Christie; I Ross, D Craig (D Murray 78), S Kingston, B Low, P Christie, S Purdorn, M Peacock (captain), G Dickson. Replacements C Rankin, A Collins, J Murphy, G Leith, S Souter, D Murray.
Perthshire - M Hose (P Murdoch 50); S Judkins, A Brown (captain), F Oliver, S Davies; R Macrae, A Ritchie; I Forsyth (J McDonald 76), S Hodge, J Whyte, K Price, A Chappel (B Ockenden 47), D Schofield (R Armstrong 71), S Martin, J Leiper.
Referee - M Hall (Boroughmuir).
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