Latest news with #Heriot
Scotsman
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
It's a family affair for Hailes in 125th Dispatch Trophy at Braids
Steve and Nathan McCulloch join forces to book semi-final spot for Kingsknowe club Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ten years after helping Hailes win the Dispatch Trophy, Steve McCulloch is bidding to repeat the feat - and this time playing alongside his son Nathan. The Kingsknowe club progressed to the semi-finals in the 125th edition with a 6&5 win over Kilgour Wealth Management at the Braids. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I'm feeling old compared to these young guys,' quipped 59-year-old McCulloch snr of this year's Edinburgh Leisure-run tournament having involved a new era of players. National World 'I love it up here, the course is immaculate, the golf pretty steady - and it is a joy to play with Nathan!' Team McCulloch finished two up at the front against Sean Marc and Jamie McIntosh while Paul Page and Danny Crolla won four up at the rear over James Keggie and Owen Melrose. 'The seventh was a crucial moment as we'd just chucked away the sixth and I drove the green at the seventh,' reported 25-year-old McCulloch jnr, who has now made the last four in his two appearances in the tournament. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This is the furthest 32-year-old Crolla has progressed while Page is back in the medals at the age of 56. 'The Dispatch has always been a great event to be involved in,' said Page, the current Hailes champion. 'I only stopped playing in it to let some of the youngsters get to experience it, but I am glad that an opportunity came calling for me this year.' Awaiting Hailes in the semi-finals on Saturday morning are Heriot's FP, who came out on top when the teams met in the last eight in the 2024 edition. In a tight encounter, Heriot's FP edged past the Stephen Gallacher Foundation by one hole, meaning the youngest team in this year's event came up just short in the medal hunt. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'That's us used one of our lives,' declared Stuart Langlands as a shot from his playing partner Scott Dickson, having had to take a penalty drop, crept over the gorse on the green at the seventh. It led to the top Heriot's pairing securing an unlikely half in bogeys there before then winning two of the next three holes against Rory McClafferty and Jake Johnston as that eventually finished all square. At the back, Lothians champion Sam Hall and Steven Sinclair, who came in for the watching Fraser Smith, got off to a 'hot start' but then had to dig deep to finish one up on Alexander Yuill and Callum Kenneally. 'We're looking forward to Saturday,' said Dickson. 'We've been in the semi-finals as well the last two years and hopefully we can finally get a gold medal after picking up a silver and bronze.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Six-time winners Silverknowes won the 18th in both matches to finish two up on Edinburgh Academicals. Hugo Rintoul chipped in for an eagle-3 at the sixth in the back match for Accies, with Graham Robertson holing out for a 2 at the par-4 seventh from 108 yards for Silverknowes at the front minutes afterwards. It won't be a repeat of last year's final in the next round for Silverknowes, though, as Duddingston, the winners for the last two years, were knocked out by Murrayfield. 'I'm really happy for the boys,' said Murrayfield team manager Stevie Anderson of young guns Harry Hawthorne (19), Archie Wyatt (21), Stuart Thurlow (26) and Cameron Whyte (25). Third-round results Hailes bt Kilgour Wealth Management 6&5; Heriot's FP bt Stephen Gallacher Foundation by one hole; Silverknowes bt Edinburgh Academicals by two holes; Murrayfield bt Duddingston 3&1.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Chasing pack battle to be Clutha's main challenger
Things are getting tight at the top of the Southern Region Rugby ladder as round two is well and truly under way. Clutha has a substantial lead on the chasing pack, but positions second to fifth are only separated by seven points. Clutha host Heriot on their Club Day this weekend in what is a battle between the two in-form teams of the competition. Clutha is unbeaten still, and showing off all the weapons in their arsenal. They have shown that they can win well, but last weekend they showed that they can win scrappy too, with a tight victory at Swamp Hen Park. Heriot has won three matches on the trot and are coming off a strong win over Lawrence last weekend in their 140th jubilee main event. Heriot's forwards are setting a platform and their backs are performing extremely well on the front foot. Toko sit in second place and have their home semifinal aspirations in their own hands. They saw off a spirited Clutha Valley side last weekend at Milton, despite performing well below their best. Toko head to Lawrence this weekend in what will be another battle of attrition. Lawrence are yet to win a match this season, but are coming off an improved performance against Heriot in the weekend. Lawrence is usually quite difficult to tip up at home, so the Toko boys will need to front up if they want to stay ahead of the chasing pack. West Taieri sit in third position on the ladder, right in the middle of the action. The Pigs are coming off perhaps their worst performance in recent years last weekend at Kaitangata, which saw them lose touch with the leaders. West Taieri is back at home this weekend and will be determined to find their groove against an Owaka side who nearly got the job done against Clutha last weekend. Owaka are playing some fantastic rugby at times this season, but accuracy has let them down in recent weeks. Crescent solidified their top four credentials last weekend with a strong win over West Taieri that was built not only on exciting attack, but also hardened defence, especially in the second half. Crescent sit two points behind West Taieri in third, but also only two points ahead of Heriot in fifth. Crescent travel to Clutha Valley this weekend in a battle of two potentially depleted lineups, with injury and absence a major concern for both sides.
Otago Daily Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Crescent control first half
Crescent produced the result of the weekend with a 24-14 win over West Taieri at Kaitangata. Crescent scored two tries inside the opening 10 minutes to assert their control before allowing West Taieri to score one of their own to narrow the gap. West Taieri's discipline let them down badly in the first half as Crescent kicked four penalties with fullback Kairus Booth's radar on point. Crescent went into halftime 24-7 ahead and in control of their own destiny. West Taieri had a mortgage on territory and possession in the second half but came up against a massive defensive effort from the home side. West Taieri attacked for large portions of the half and never really gave Crescent a chance. The only thing stopping the visitors from scoring regularly was a passionate and committed Crescent defence. West Taieri lost battering ram Conor Lawson to a red card in the second half which slowed down their attack. They managed to score one try for their troubles, but it was not enough. Clutha kept their unbeaten run alive and locked away the Art Bloxham Cup for the summer with a hard-fought 22-16 win over Owaka at Swamp Hen Park. The first half was a battle of attrition as the home side looked the more promising on attack. They failed to make their dominance count and were guilty of throwing silly passes on attack which allowed Clutha to clear their lines. Clutha led 7-3 at halftime. The second half saw Clutha hold on to possession better and make metres from broken play. They scored three second-half tries, but Owaka stayed in the match through the boot of second five Sene Te'o. Owaka scored a try at the death to narrow the gap, but the damage had already been done. Heriot capped off their 140th Jubilee celebrations with a strong 37-27 win over Lawrence which saw them lock away the West Otago Shield. Heriot went to width early, found space and room to move in the outside channels. Lawrence's forwards put in an honest shift in the first half and got their side into strong positions. The halftime score was 20-10 to Heriot in front of a packed house at Death Valley. Heriot opted for a more direct approach in the second half as their forwards showed their physical abilities. Lawrence began to tire and Heriot finished with vigour to secure maximum points on their big day. Toko has leapfrogged West Taieri into second place on the ladder with a less-than-convincing 20-10 win over Clutha Valley at Milton. Toko was lethargic at best in the first half and were lucky that Valley did not offer too much on attack. Valley scored the opening try and kicked a penalty to lead 10-0 before Toko hit back before halftime. The 10-5 halftime score seemed to scare Toko in form and they found their stride in the second half with three tries while keeping the visitors scoreless. By Francis Parker
Otago Daily Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Banner honours go to unbeaten Clutha Steamers
The Clutha Steamers solidified their position at the top of the Southern Region premier competition on Saturday with a 28-17 win over Toko to remain unbeaten and lock away the South Otago banner and Springbok Horns for the season. Toko opened the scoring with a penalty to Jared Hayes before the visitors hit their straps with three tries to enter the break 17-3 ahead. Toko started the second half well with a try before Clutha took control again. While their defensive line was strong, Toko were forced into giving away two penalties handy to the posts, which Clutha converted. A final try by the visitors extended their advantage before Toko managed to grab one back on fulltime. Heriot kept in touch with the top four with a 34-32 win over Crescent at Heriot. The first half was evenly matched as both sides scored some nice tries but also gave up possession in crucial areas of the field. Neither side could gain the territorial advantage with the majority of the half played in the middle areas of the field. Crescent led 19-17 at the break, and after the teams traded penalties at the start of the second half, Crescent extended their lead with a try to flanker Andy Carruthers. Heriot refused to let Crescent get away from them and hit back with another well-worked try. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Kairus Booth slotted a penalty to give Crescent a 32-27 lead, but Crescent's discipline began to let them down. Crescent first five Clayton Cochrane suffered a serious knee injury, and the referee stopped the game while he was attended to and removed from the field. From the restart, Heriot scored the match-winning try, much to the delight of the bumper crowd in attendance. West Taieri capped off their 125th jubilee celebrations with a convincing 51-7 win over Clutha Valley to retain the McIntosh Cup and Holmes Milk Can. West Taieri's forward pack carried with purpose and kept Valley's defence on the back foot. Early injuries for Valley did not help with their cohesion, but they were up against a switched-on West Taieri side who ran in nine tries in front of a massive home crowd. West Taieri's pack was led by hooker Bug Tisdall, who scored a brace of tries in his 200th game for his side. Jake Hamer ran the cutter well and set up numerous tries. Owaka recorded their first win of the season, beating Lawrence 25-20 at Swamp Hen Park. The first half was sloppy from both sides. Lawrence held a 15-7 lead at the break. The only real highlight of the first half was a 40m drop goal from front-rower turned midfielder Sam Wyber. Owaka lost No 8 Liuliu Pasina to a red card in the second half, and with the man disadvantage, Owaka played their best footy, scoring two tries and dominating play. Lawrence finished well but could not catch up. — Francis Parker
Otago Daily Times
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Duck-shooting means round spread over three days
Duck-shooting weekend brings its own challenges for local rugby competitions. The Southern Region competition is spread over three days. Two were being played last night, there is one tonight and the round finishes with a game tomorrow. Friday night in Lawrence sees the home side hosting Clutha Valley with the Miller Cup on the line. Lawrence have not had the best start to their season and are sitting bottom of the table after five rounds. Clutha Valley are on a two-game winning streak after wins over Owaka and Heriot respectively. Lawrence tend to excel under lights at home and will be a tricky prospect in this one. Tomorrow features the annual "duck-shooting derby" between old foes Crescent and Clutha. The Centennial Cup and the Speight's Jug are on the line as well as massive competition points. Crescent are in third position, six points behind Clutha, who have maximum points after five bonus-point wins. There is sure to be a huge crowd in attendance at the Landfill as two big boys of the competition go to war. Last night, Owaka were hosting Heriot, and West Taieri were at home to Toko.
