The match between the two newly developed teams proved to be an enthralling and hard fought one with loose and creative play by both sides, leading to a spectacle of rugby. Scotland went out hard, as they traditionally do, from the kick off gaining two tries in the first 15 minutes through hard drives and beautiful fluid running from players such as the wing Mark O'Hara and the centre Simon Taylor.

However the Army continued to press and their perseverance and fitness paid off with a run of 3 tries in the remaining 20 minutes of the first half.  The powerful runs and offloads by the Army penetrated the Scots defensive line each time leaving the Scots down by 10-18 by half time. The 2nd half proved to be equally as competitive with continuous change of play near each opposition's tryline.  The Army's fullback Paddy Morgan produced a number of thunderous driving runs, gaining valuable territory and contributing to a number of tries.  It appeared that the Scots were fighting back pulling the scoreline to within 4 points at 18-22.  However, a dubious refereeing decision for a knock on and the setting in of fatigue seemed to open up the flood gates with a further run of 3 tries for the Army, sealing their victory at 38-18.

The Scots had fought in vain to keep the Army off their tryline with thumping tackles but the constant bombardment of driving runs and hits eventually broke through. The match had been a spectacle of hard fought play by both sides but the Scots had failed to finish off their opportunities and were unfortunately punished by their lower levels of fitness.  However, the well spirited fixture had given both sides invaluable experience assisting their future development, particularly for some of the new Scottish players such as 16 year old Donald Anderson who produced a spectacular game against incredibly tough competition. It is hoped that such an enthralling fixture will promote the game both in Scotland and amongst the British forces, Germany.

SCOTLAND STUDENTS 'A' 36-30 BRITISH ARMY, GERMANY 'A'.
VENUE: MERCER BARRACKS, OSNABRUCK, GERMANY.  MONDAY 15TH JULY 2002. KO 3PM

Having watched their fellow squad members being beaten in the previous match the Scots appeared slightly affected and headed off to a nervous start, giving away possession through handling errors.  The Army took every opportunity to utilise the ball from these mistakes scoring early on with continuous pressure on the Scotland tryline.  However, a drop goal and penalty for ill discipline brought the Scots quickly back into the match.  Unfortunately this was not to last with the Scots paying for missed tackles, facing a 20-3 deficit by half time. Once the 2nd half was under way, the Scottish nerves appeared to be settling and try scoring by both sides was fast and furious.

The Army appeared slightly stunned by the change in tempo but soaked up much of the Scottish pressure. However the Scottish gradually started to chip away at the scoreline with some beautifully worked tries.  Barry Edgar assisted in narrowing the gap to within 5 points within 15 minutes after receiving the ball from a wonderfully timed slip pass from Ian Gilmour, and producing one of his typical floating runs brushed passed the Army defence to score the try.  Scottish confidence was visibly increasing with further outstanding tries from Stewart Naismith, who had given Andrew Borthwick some great support from his 20 yard dash.

Peter Shaw produced another spectacular Scottish try breaking through the Army defensive line, sprinting 40 yards outpacing the Army defence to score between the posts.  Edgar's calm and collected play played a crucial role in the Scottish victory with his ferocious last ditch tackles and the all important drop goal bringing the scoreline to 30-30 with 3 minutes remaining.  The shear will of the Scots sealed their victory with a last minute try from the prop Tom Wild.  The match had produced thrilling viewing for the spectators and was greatly enhanced by the nail biting finish.

The Army had provided fantastic opposition, particularly with the lack of match play experience that they had, and they fought to the bitter end.  However the more experienced and Scottish side were determine to show off their skill base, which they did to full affect, and will hopefully continue to do so with their next set of fixtures against Tartarstan and Italy.

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