Macclesfield were unlucky not to secure a third successive victory after a thrilling encounter at Priory Park. The Blues were eventually beaten 31-25 by an impressive London Scottish side.
The home side had reason to be confident after last week’s superb result away at Blackheath and were unlucky not get more out of a game in which they mounted a rousing second half comeback.
Director of Rugby Geoff Wappet said, “I’m disappointed but also very pleased with the way we recovered in the second half, London Scottish will be travelling home thinking we could’ve been beaten there, the boys deserve a big pat on the back there.”
The game began with Scottish dictating the pace of play and exerting early pressure on the Macc back line, they set a high tempo and were looking to stamp their authority on the match. This eventually paid off after just seven minutes, when Rory Damant carried the ball over the line and scored his and Scottish’s first try of the game, fly-half James Brown failed to convert and the away side took an early 5-0 lead.
Macclesfield responded five minutes later when Tom Eaton converted his first penalty of the game, though the away still would not let Macc settle and a break from Tim Holgate down the wing gave them a second try, Brown added the extras and the lead was now 12-3.
London Scottish were moving the ball at pace and showed good handling skills that seemed to cause Macc problems and in the 17th minute Scottish captain Gary Trueman broke free from the pack and added a third try. The away side were not finished there and in the 25th minute added another try, which was converted by Brown and now held a commanding 24-3 advantage.
The Blues looked vulnerable and defensively were struggling to cope with the Scottish attack, Wappet went on to say, “I was disappointed with how we defended in that first 20 minutes, and also with our organisation, which usually is so good.” A second penalty from Eaton and a try from Evan Stewart just before half time gave the home side hope at 24-13.
The second half began with yet more pressure from the away side, it was clear they wanted to kill the game off and stop any form of comeback from the Blues, and a fifth try just after the restart seemed to do just that.
With the score at 31-13 Macclesfield rallied, and some quick thinking from scrum half Charlie Mulchrone played in Matt Simpson for Macc’s second try of the game, Eaton added the extras and Macc now had momentum on their side. Five minutes later heavy pressure from the Blues forward line saw Billy Robinson carry the ball over and set up a grandstand finish.
In the final moments London Scottish were forced to play the remainder of the game with fourteen men after Roman Piotrowski was yellow carded. The home side could sense a victory but were denied a superb comeback by a stern defensive display from the visitors. Though they eventually lost Macc secured a vital bonus point and can be extremely proud of their efforts.
