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Arran RFC bounced back from two defeats on Saturday with a 27-8 bonus point victory over McLaren FP at the Ormidale Park in Brodick.
Tries from Ben Tattersfield and Sam Casey and points from the boots of Frazer Barr and Iain Keen gave Arran a much-needed victory.
Spirited play in the first half of the game saw Ben Tattersfield scoring the first try of a hat trick for the home side within the first nine minutes.
The locals continued to control play on the field and ten minutes later Ben stormed down field to score for the second time. Frazer Barr converted to give Arran a 12-point lead.
In the 27th minute Iain Keen fired home a penalty to race the home side 15 points ahead.
McLaren notched up their only points of the first half when they converted a penalty before the whistle and Arran cruised into the interval 20-3 up after a third try from Ben Tattersfield.
The home side stormed onto the pitch at the start of the second half but a slip up in defence left the field open for McLaren to score their only try of the game.
The visitors fly half missed the conversion though leaving them trailing 20-8.
Sam Casey came on at number eight after 50minutes and Mark Wetton was moved to the centre despite being called a ‘plonker’ by the referee for most of the match.
For some time it looked like stalemate on the pitch as Arran failed to make any significant runs.
Then 10 minutes from the end Iain Keen set up a powerful run by Sam Casey with a kick past the full back. Iain followed this with a conversion straight through the posts to leave the score an impressive 27-8 to the home side.
The Arran Banner’s man of the match was Iain Keen as he showed similar qualities to Scotland player Mike Blair and continually dictated the game from his position at scrum half.
Coach Bert Ramage said he was happy that the team used tactics they had been working on at training. He said: ‘It was a good, hard, clean game on Saturday. In the first half it was good to see the boys taking on board some of the set pieces we have been working on. The first half performance was probably as good as we can get when they put their minds to it. I think that if we keep playing the way we are at the moment then we’ll do well this season.’
Team captain Murray Picken was also very pleased with how they played. He said: ‘It was a great game We played really well together as a team. I thought our counter attacks were really strong but we could still be playing better. The only way we can do that is with a little more dedication from the whole team. Everyone needs to come to training each week so we can work on our weaknesses as a pack.’
Arran’s game today has been cancelled because Calder RFC have pulled out of the league.
