Highland, Gordonians and Orkney all beat the weather and their opponents to secure impressive wins at the weekend.
In National One, Highland made it five wins from six by getting the better of Melrose 17-11 at Canal Park.
Tighthead prop Stuart Watson was named player of the match for the Inverness men while Callum Carson scored a try converted by fellow co-captain Scott Fraser and they were awarded a penalty try to go into a 14-3 lead.
Into the last five minutes, Melrose scored an unconverted try and then Fraser kicked a penalty to make it 17-8.
A long period of injury time allowed Melrose to kick a late penalty to earn themselves a losing bonus point, but it was Highland who took four points after really digging in here.
“In tough conditions for running rugby the boys really had to stick at it and it is another win so we are delighted,” Highland head coach Dave Carson said.
“The scrum was dominant again, but we probably didn’t take all our chances in the first half and left a couple of tries out there as we had a lot of territory and possession and our defensive line speed was awesome. Stuart Watson was outstanding in the game.”
Melrose sit third in the table while Ayr have a six-point lead at the top after a 28-15 victory at Gala kept them unbeaten. They are on 29 points with Highland on 23.
GoGos impress against Lasswade
Gordonians are now third in National Two and just four points off top spot after they became the first team to defeat leaders Lasswade this season.
The Aberdeen outfit went on the road to Hawthornden in Midlothian looking to bounce back from the late loss to Falkirk last time out – and they did just that.
They won 22-7 and head coach Ryan Morrice said: “It was a very mature performance in conditions that didn’t favour expansive rugby.
“In the first ten minutes our discipline was poor and gave Lasswade plenty of field position which led to their try. It was pleasing to hit back straight away and gave the boys the belief they could get something from the game.
“We started to get a foothold and make some inroads into their half and started testing their defence, but it took until right on half-time to get the break though.
“In the second half we had a lot of possession and didn’t let Lasswade get out of their ‘22’ and finally got more points with 10 minutes to go.
“Lasswade were very physical, but our young boys stood up in defence and showed the grit and determination required to win at a very difficult place in difficult conditions.”
Mitchell Smart and Rollo Press scored first half tries for Gordonians with Josh Andrew converting one.
Sean Mills scored the second half try with Andrew kicking a conversion and a penalty as Lasswade were denied even a losing bonus point.
In the same division, the Aberdeen Grammar-Berwick match was postponed.
Orkney won by a point for the third match in a row and they are top of National Three with six wins from six so far.
This most recent tight victory was 20-19 at Hamilton Bulls.
In a match moved to the 4G pitch at Strathaven Rugby Club, Hamilton looked to be heading for a win after two penalties in the 70th and 74th minutes put them 19-15 up.
However, a last gasp try from Jon Tait gave Orkney a triumph and a bonus point.
Scott Russell, Scott Rendall and Niall Campbell scored Orkney’s other tries and team manager Garry Coltherd said: “A huge thank you to Hamilton president Jack Ryan for pulling out all the stops and arranging an all-weather pitch at Strathaven to allow the game to go ahead.
“The rain was relentless, but our scrum ultimately won us the game.”
A number of matches in Caledonia One were postponed, but Aberdeenshire are second in the North Conference after their 44-10 home win over Caithness.
They now have five wins from six and are on the same league points as leaders Moray, just behind them on points difference.
Garioch’s women’s Premiership match at Cartha Queens Park was postponed.
