1ST XV WIN AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL (15/11/2009)
Despite giving away far too many penalties for their own liking, Wellington 1st XV came away convincing winners against Saumur at Doonside.

Initial thoughts that this might be just a formality were quickly dashed: Saumur had some big, fast, talented players and were certainly not here just to make up the numbers in the loose.

Wellington`s backs, in particular, were incisive and reacted well to developments in front of them - not least when the visitors tried to probe the home defence with midfield kicks. Robbie Fergusson and Burns Tennent-Bhohi were the perhaps the pick of a very talented set of backs, cutting through the midfield on many occasions and, even if caught, making a few more yards to set up another phase.

Losing Peter McCallum (ligament damage to ankle from Saturday`s game at Ayr) was always going to have an interesting effect, and the lack of an attacking nucleus at times in the loose meant the home side losing possession after contact and, worse, giving away a string of penalties. To the home side`s credit, fielding a host of substitutes showed that they had rather more strength in depth than in recent seasons - and the less experienced subsitutes performed well at this level.

Our thanks go to Mr Lynch for an expertly refereed match - the game flowed superbly and was an excellent event for players and spectators alike.

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