Dumfries v Cartha Queens Park

Excellent defensive performance earns CQP losing bonus point away.

The team selection include Dumfries's Fraser Paul appearing at hooker for the first time this season. Fraser’s mother club is Dumfries for whom his mother still attends. In addition Graeme Docherty AKA Geebs was back in for the first time this season playing at stand off. Callum Dickson who had left the field injured last Saturday was fit to play and occupied one of the centre berths alongside captain Stewart Hamilton who had played back row the week before.

CQP kicked off but conceded a penalty immediately for taking the Dumfries receiver out in the air. The referee restricted himself to a penalty to Dumfries. The first three scrums in this game saw CQP being pushed back. CQP took the lead when fullback Rorie Watson converted with seven minutes played. Dumfries levelled three minutes later with a penalty conversion. After seventeen minutes of play CQP regained the lead with a try by Fraser Paul. This had been preceded by some good CQP inter passing. Rorie Watson converted and CQP had a 10-3 lead. Three minutes later saw CQP go down to fourteen players when scrum half Dante Alessandri was shown a yellow card. This was followed a couple of minutes later by a try in the left corner to Dumfries. CQP avoided losing any further points and the game reached the halfway point with CQP holding a two point lead at 10-8.

Earlier in the half the Dumfries tight head had left the field injured and the absence of this burly prop had lead to the scrums being more evenly contested.

t took Dumfries only three minutes to take the lead in the second half from a penalty conversion. CQP were having problems securing their own ball in the line out. By contrast Dumfries could happily see the ball find touch as they were secure on their own ball and disruptive on CQP’s throw in. With only eleven minutes played CQP went down to fourteen players for what was adjudged a dangerous tackle. The offender was number seven Cameron MacKenzie. Three minutes later Dumfries added three more points to their tally from a successful penalty. Shortly after this in one of the very few CQP forays into the Dumfries half a very good piece of CQP
passing saw the ball passed to the CQP right wing but unfortunately the pass was dropped and the move came to nothing. With six minutes left Dumfries had an easy chance to increase their lead with a penalty more or less in front of the posts but the kick went wide. Despite Dumfries continuing to have the upper hand and the final
Whistle went to give Dumfries a fourteen ten victory. Given that CQP played a quarter of this game a man down and found themselves pinned in their own half for almost the entire second half it says a great deal for the quality of CQP’s tackling that Dumfries could only get over the CQP line once in this game and were only able to add to their score from two penalties in the second half.

Dumfries had the upper hand throughout in this game with their forwards clearly being stronger and more assertive than the CQP eight. The backs did excellent work defensively throughout. Their must have been a few sore shoulders in the CQP ranks from the amount of effective tackles that were put in.

Next up Preston Lodge at home on the first of October