Rare Kirkcaldy win in Peebles sparks 'Geordie Munro' chorus in away dressing room

Kirkcaldy travelled to Peebles a few short of optimum strength.

Scrum half Gavin McKenzie had suffered a concussive head knock and into his place stepped head coach Quintan Sanft, now well past the veteran stage.

Then flanker Rhys Bonner took a blow to his head in the warm up and although he started he retired within a few minutes.

The team showed great resilience throughout and although their margin of victory was only two points it was a deserved victory.

To celebrate this win the away dressing room at the Gytes resounded to a rousing chorus of 'Geordie Munro' a few minutes after the final whistle.

Over the years the Gytes has been a difficult venue for Kirkcaldy to gain points.

In an attempt to change this unsatisfactory situation the Blues made a high octane start, pressurising the Peebles line.

After having been repulsed they won a penalty, confidently stroked home by Finlay Smith.

In the opening quarter Kirkcaldy were having the better of the penalty count.

In the 14th minute found themselves with a line out 5 metres out after stand off Craig Letham had kicked a penalty into the corner.

Peebles offered little resistance and Marcus Salt roared over for an unconverted try and an 8-0 away lead.

The Blues continued to dominate territory and possession but suffered several annoying break downs before captain Josh Laird sailed through for a try converted by Smith.

Visits by Peebles to the Kirkcaldy 22 had been few and far between in the first half hour but were encouraged when they progressed deeper into the Kirkcaldy half.

Having been awarded an easy penalty they chose to tap to the left and the ball found lock Richard Hamilton who stormed over.

Just before the interval Feebles centre Murray Brown went to the bin for a high tackle and from the resulting penalty Letham imcreased his side's lead to 18-5.

Still shorthanded just after half time Peebles made the most of a Kirkcaldy mistake on their goal line to push over with replacement Patrick Hamilton credited with the unconverted try.

A late tackle on Finlay Smith provoked a major flare up.

What should have been a double penalty to Kirkcaldy saw the award going to Peebles and yellow cards issued to Connor Wood and Peebles' William Aiken, neither of whom seemed to have little to do with the trouble going to the bin.

That penalty found touch on the Kirkcaldy 5 metre line and from the line-out Richard Harrison went over for his second try converted by Greg Raeburn, which reduced the Kirkcaldy lead to a single point.

These reverses summoned a strong Kirkcaldy response with the forwards dipping deep into the energy bank.

An eight point turn round saw the Kirkcaldy lead increase to 28-17 thanks to a penalty and converted try double from Finlay Smith.

The game's pace was increasing by the minute as play moved up and down the Gytes field with a score possible at either end.

Peebles snapped up their chance first after a prolonged build up through multi re-cycles No 8 Kieran Brown touched down.

In the 76th minute Peebles lost control and Kirkcaldy won a penalty 40 metres out.

Letham's kick bisected the uprights putting the Blues a vital eight points in front at 31-22.

Much of the remaining time which included eight extra stoppage minutes saw a Peebles blitz on the Kirkcaldy line.

There were no slackers in the Kirkcaldy team as they battled for nearly ten minutes to protect territory.

They seemed to have achieved their objective when awarded a penalty in their 22.

However, they lost the resulting line-out and Peebles regained possession leading to a Donald Anderson try converted by Raeburn.

That kick was followed by the no side whistle.

Kirkcaldy away wins never seem to come easily. At Newton Stewart three weeks they had to battle on their goal line for over five minutes of stoppage time to secure a one point lead.

This time it was not so close but it demanded an equally determined effort in which lock Stuart Porter in his return to the starting line up really excelled, while Quintan Sanft expertly directed operations from scrum half.

Peebles: J Mathews, D Collins, D Anderson, S Stoddard, G Raeburn, D Wills, N Hogarth, R Stewart, J Menzies, R Reed, R Harrison, R Maciver, S Hunter, K Brown. Replacements: W Aitken, P Harrison, P Guiney, D Edwards.

Kirkcaldy: F Smith, C Littlejohn, T Glendinning, J Laird, O Bonner, C Letham, Q Sanft, D Jennings, C Hamilton, M Salt, C Wood, S Porter, R Bonner, S Milne, C Mann. Replacements: G Wallace, G Queen, K Mitchell, A Brooks.

Referee: Sean Niven

Fife Trophy Centre Star Check: 3 Stuart Porter, 2 Thomas Glendinning, 1 Craig Letham.

Cumulative: 11 Jacob Ramsay; 10 Josh Laird, Thomas Glendinning; 5 Danny Jennings, Marcus Salt, Connor Wood; 3 Timmy Kennedy, Stuart Porter; 2 Chris Mann; 1 Seb Evans, Steve Milne, Owen Bonner, Sean McKervall Rhys Bonner, Craig Letham.