Starting the New Year with all to play for, Banff approached the home fixture against Inverness Craig Dunain RFC knowing that a win could put them top of the table. You would not have guessed this however as the game got underway, as Banff failed to show the structure and intensity that they have proved capable of.

Craig Dunain held onto the majority of the possession, as Banff didn’t seem to be able to keep a hold of the cold, muddy ball. The conditions contributed to many scrums in the first half that Craig Dunain capitalised on, giving Banff their toughest set piece competition of the season so far. Soon a gap opened in Banff back line that Craig Dunain did not miss, giving them their first try of the game.

The game continued with little shift in dominance of play, as Banff seemed to continuously be defending. By managing to maintain possession after a series of phases traversing Banff’s 5 metre line, another gap opened for Inverness and they crossed to score another try.

Banff’s heads seemed to lift in the last 10 of the half as they turned on the offensive. Sean Clark crashed through tackles making yard and putting Banff on the front foot. Through as mixture of hard hitting forwards play and clinical back line moves they found themselves on Inverness’ try line. Prop Andrew Kewley found his way over the line, scoring Banff their first try and leaving the score 7 – 14 at half time.

With some half time substitutions adding a bit more venom to the Banff pack, they maintained momentum going into the second half. Inverness were put on the back foot as the Banff pack broke most first tackles, fracturing their defence. Banff's second try soon came, scored by Scrum Half Colin Dlugonski off the back of a ruck.

Banff were going from strength to strength as they started playing a higher paced game, showing their fitness levels over that of the opposition. Winger David Allan, who collected an offloaded pass at full pace to crash over the line, scored the next try. The scoring did not stop here for Banff however as they had found their rhythm. Prop Andrew Kewley seemed to be all over the pitch, supporting attacking players and taking crash balls as well. His fine play allowed him to score the final two tries of the game earning him a hat trick.

The final score was 29-14 to Banff, putting them to the top of the league table. Man of the Match was Andrew Kewley for his phenomenal contribution.

Banff’s next fixture is at home against Fraserburgh RFC on January 23rd, 14:00 kick off.
There are also tickets still available for the Banff RFC Burns Supper and Ceilidh. To book a ticket/table please get in contact with Anna Duncan; 07985180889

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