Ground: Milntown, Langholm, Dumfriesshire,
Scotland
(½ mile North of Langholm on the A7)
The Langholm 1st XV - 5th September 1998
Digital photo © I. Logan 1998
Full details of the Langholm Junior and Senior Sevens results are in a separate page.
Last game of the Season and a poor result due to the lack of regular players. A disappointment.
Langholm triumphed in this tournament and have a trophy to prove it!
Due to the difficulties in making up a side, Langholm lost to Duns in this game by rather a disastrous margin! Whilst it doesn't affect our position in the league, it was rather embarrassing!
Langholm did better than the score might suggest, given that Gala fielded an almost full strength side. However, the side battled on to prevent a more serious wipe-out. Some of our regular players were also missing.
This was a bit of a disaster, which ended in a cliffhanger. Langholm ran in three tries in the first twenty minutes and then seemed to lose the plot. For some weird reason Corstorphine came back strongly - so much so that by half time the score was 15 - 17. We managed to keep up, and victory could have been ours right up to the last second of injury time, when Mark Grieve missed a 40 metre penalty, and the whistle blew! [IL]
This was a much better performance, though a slog and somewhat uninteresting from the sidelines. An early lucky try by Annan established an early lead, and at half time the score was still 7 - 3. Langholm dominated the second half, and though the Annan defence were good, the pressure eventually told, and Colin Paxton ran in a difficult try. Despite numerous attempts, there was no further score. [IL]
Oh dear! This was a dismal performance by Langholm, though better than the one at Trinity. Captain Mark Grieve led from in front and scored all the points! Up till the last 15 minutes we were in the lead, only to have it snatched away by a late try and conversion. [TS]
Not good. The game was of a poor standard through lack of continuity, and the bad result came about through a lack of discipline and conceding far too many silly penalties. The game was lost in injury time through lack of care in the lineout! [TS]
This was a cracker of a game. Owing to gate duties I missed the first tweny minutes or so, and arrived while the game was still in the doldrums, which persisted until late in the first half. After that, the boys got into solid form and battered their way to a convincing victory. Leading from in front, Skipper Mark Grieve scored no less than 17 of the 22 points! [IL]
| Ralph H. Jackson, 1917-1999 |
|---|
| We regret to announce that our past President Ralph Jackson passed
away peacefully on Saturday 30th January. Ralph was cremated in Carlisle on
5th February, the Rev. Eddie King officiating, and at his request his ashes
are to be scattered on the Milntown pitch. As a mark of our high regard for
him a two minute silence preceded the match on 13th
February. |
This was in some ways a good game but it was marred by a number of silly mistakes which cost us potential scores. The boys played hard in sticky conditions. For most of the game, Langholm had a clean sheet, but Trinity recovered some of their dignity by scoring and converting late on. [IL]
Another game affected by the ravages of 'flu. Even so, and to put it simply, this was a very poor performance - lots of mistakes and errors of judgement led ultimately to a miserable defeat. Gregor Park was sent off leaving us a man short. Sadly, winger Neil Basnett also had to leave the pitch, due to feeling unwell. Not a good day. [DH]
We were expecting a difficult game with Hillhead/Jordanhill, who have been playing consistently well all season. Happily, we got our act together, and stayed in the lead for the whole game. Fortunately, the weather had only deteriorated a couple of hours before kick off, so that the ground was still in reasonable shape, although our floodlights had to be lit. However, by the second half a full gale was blowing and parts of the pitch had become a quagmire. Despite these atrocious conditions, Langholm played a fine game, with a notable drop goal by Captain Mark Grieve, and a fine try by Stevie Jardine. [IL]
Match Postponed - Waterlogged pitch
Bad weather meant that this game was the only one of any note in our part of the world, so we were overwhelmed by a vast number of visiting supporters. BBC-TV Scotland's 'Rugby Special' team were on hand, and we were honoured by the appearance of veteran commentator Bill Maclaren, reporting for the 'Glasgow Herald'.
We could have won this one had it not been for some silly mistakes on our part. Whilst a number of our top players had cried off with the 'flu, the remaining boys played better than they have done for a long time. Langholm opened the scoring early on, and by half time there were still only two points in it (11-13).
In the second half, Gala pulled inexorably ahead, and whilst a late try by Colin Paxton raised hopes, the game was too far gone to recover. [IL]
(Report delayed due to that blasted 'flu! - sorry.)
This, the 126th game, is the oldest International Club fixture in the World, and despite the festivities, we both managed to field good teams despite appalling hangovers, or so I'm told.
Langholm went into the lead early in the match and racked the score up to 15-0 before Carlisle fought back, leading to a half-time score of 18-7. Further Carlisle scores took the game to 18-17 before Langholm came back into the fray and mnopolised the scoring from then on. A good game matched by the later festivities in the clubroom. [DH]
Match Postponed - Power Cut
Oh dear! Sadly, this was a game we didn't deserve to win. After scoring a couple of penalties in the early part of the game, we completely lost our initial sparkle, and it didn't come back till the back end of the second half, by which time it was too late to recover. Stewartry played very well indeed. [IL]
Match Postponed - Heavy Rain
A win which was also a disappointment in terms of the general standard of our play. Whilst his win takes us into the top sixteen, and brings us some much needed cash, our next tie is with Gala, and we'll need to do to them what we did to Jed last month.
Linlithgow are an up-and-coming side, and played well, causing much consternation among the home supporters in the second half when they managed an interception try and converted it. Fortunately, a penalty followed by a late try saved our bacon. [TS/DH]
Match Postponed - Heavy Rain
The poor score doesn't reflect the fact that the boys did extremely well to hold one of Scotland's top teams to this score. It was clear that Melrose had fielded a good side (minus only their internationalists) as a result of our beating Jed the week before. Had there not been a few unfortunate mistakes, we might well have managed to run in a couple of tries. Such is life. [IL]
Yet another score which hides a fairly lacklustre game. Dunfermline, a team presently undergoing a run of bad luck, were particularly effective in the lineout and at times we had quite a job gaining possession. [IL]
Well, we can do it if we put our backs to it! Langholm won a very well deserved victory against Jedforest, a first division, premier league side and ranked at about the No. 5 team in Scotland! Rumours that Zander Turnbull was jumping for joy are not unfounded. [DH]
Another rather lacklustre game. A tactically disastrous though well intentioned chip kick ahead led to possession for Corstorphine and opened up a lead of ten points early in the game. After that, Langholm did well to keep up. Luckily, Langholm went into the lead near to full time and held on to it, but sadly, we can scarcely call it a well deserved win. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all in the clubhouse. (See photo above) [IL]
A rather lacklustre game despite the good score. Langholm only really came into form in the last fifteen minutes, once again proving that when we turn to running the ball, we're deadly! [IL]
National League: Saturday 24th October - Langholm v. Trinity Academicals. Match postponed due to heavy rain.
Well, I suppose it had to happen. H/A opened the scoring early in the game with a converted try and a penalty, then Langholm came back strongly with an excellent try by 'Skinner' Basnett, converted by Graeme Renwick. H/A scored again in the final minutes of the first half bringing the score to 17 - 10. Langholm again equalised early on in the second half, but after that things began to gaun agley despite the efforts of our vocal travelling supporters. [IL]
After a very poor first half, with the score lying at 12 - 11, Langholm got their act together and our talented backs motored in a series of excellent tries. Late in the match, Highland managed to secure a couple of good tries and finished with their honour intact. Highland played a much better game than might have been expected from a 4th Division side. [IL]
On Saturday 10th October, Langholm celebrated the Centenary of the first ever game played at Milntown, when Langholm beat Hawick 9 - 5.
Another pleasing result, with the best play in the first half. Even though Livingston went into an early lead with two penalties, Langholm quickly caught up, scoring 15 - 6 by half time. Only one further try materialised early in the second half, before the game disintegrated in the last twenty minutes or and a Livingston prop was sent off. [IL]
Another nail-biting match, with the home side 8 points ahead in the early stages, and still leading by 8 - 5 at half time, thanks to a 'Skinner' Basnett try. In the second half Graeme Renwick evened the score with a penalty, followed by a 'Benty' Johnstone try which secured the match.
This was a hard fought game with the best side we've played against thus far, according to Coach Wal Hislop. [DH/IL]
This was a very evenly matched game, caused partly by no less than five of our lads being away at Colin Paxton's wedding! To be fair, Colin had tried to organise things before the season started but was thwarted by bookings problems. The match was a scrappy one, with neither side gaining dominance, and closed in our favour with a penalty in injury time! Gregor Park's performance was worthy of note. [IL]
Although Stewartry opened the scoring with a penalty in the first few minutes, this was quickly equalised by Langholm. For the remainder of the game, Langholm were clearly the superior team, ending up with a bonus point. We really expected a harder game from Stewartry, who came down from the Premier League this season. [IL]
This was a thrilling game right up to the last moments. Annan, newly promoted from Division 2 came with every intention of winning, and were in the lead for much of the match, and at half-time when the score was 14 - 15. After that, Annan stretched their lead, with Langholm eventually pulling it back to a level score. As we went into injury time the score was 21 - 21, but happily Skipper Mark Grieve ran in a late try to secure the match.
Annan are certainly a team to be reckoned with, and we wish them well in Division 1. A good number of supporters accompanied their team, meaning record gate receipts for us and a great time in the bar afterwards. [IL]
The score masks a valiant effort on the part of the Langholm team, who held Melrose, one of Scotland's top teams, to a half-time score of 22 - 10. After that, Melrose's older and heavier team were able to overrun our lads. [IL]
Langholm took time to settle against a President's Seven, but emerged convincing winners by 21 points to 7. In the second round they failed to take their chances against Peebles and lost 19 - 12. Peebles were swept away in the finals by Jed Thistle.[TS]
Langholm were defeated by the hosts in the 1st round 38 - 0. This was actually a good defensive performance since Melrose were maximum age colts and dominated by both height and weight.[TS]
Teams: I. Nicol, A. Aston, J. Brannan, I.Earsman, G. Rae, J. Ritchie, J. McClarren, T. Weatherstone, G.Murray.
Any under-18s interested in playing for the Colts are most welcome to come to Milntown - training is on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30pm.
Sunday the 5th of July saw another first for Langholm. Borders Rugby League side, Border Eagles, who fielded a number of try-scoring Langholm players, comprehensively beat Lomond Valley, from Dumbarton.
The Border Eagles are based in Carlisle, and are a truly international side. There are prospects of them playing regularly at Milntown next season. [IL]
Contributors: [RHJ] = Ralph Jackson [TS] = Tom Stothart [IL] = Iain Logan [DH] = Doug Harkness
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