At the end of last season, Aberdeen Wanderers 1st XV were presented with the chance to move up a league into BT Caledonia North Division One, the only obstacle in their way was a play-off against Harris FP RFC to compete for the remaining spot in this league. Unfortunately, due to lack of preparation, Harris came away with a 13-26 win and left Aberdeen Wanderers stuck in Caley Two for another season. Luckily, just as this season began, there was a reshuffle in the leagues, meaning Aberdeen Wanderers could take a place in Caley One, along with Harris FP RFC.

Last Saturday, the 8th of October, gave Aberdeen Wanderers the chance to show what they have learnt so far in Caley One, and how much they have improved since their previous meeting at the end of last season. The boys knew that they had already been defeated by this team, and they had to do better this time in order to prove they are worthy of their place in Caley One.

Harris were the first team to gain any points, with a converted try in the 30th minute, making the score 0-7. Although Wanderers were given four lineouts in a good position, they were unable to convert any of these into tries. They score remained 0-7 until the 54th minute, when Wanderer Mike Wallace fooled the defence and scored a try, following a deceptive pass back inside by Fraser Christie. The score remained a draw until the 70th minute, when Harris were awarded a penalty, and brought the score up to 7-10. Although Wanderers held out until the final whistle, they were unable to score any more points, so they had been defeated by Harris FP RFC once again.

However, the score in this game compared to the boys’ last game against Harris is considerably closer; and this clearly demonstrates the improvements that Aberdeen Wanderers have made. Although they were not successful this time, they have come a lot closer to beating this team, and this is a good sign for the future of the 1st XV as they will strive to advance and develop throughout the coming months. The recent improvements and lessons learnt by the boys will hopefully continue to make them better, stronger, and eventually, unbeatable.