Dunbar travelled to Cavalry Park Edinburgh to play Portobello in a National Shield Round 1 fixture.

The visitors were first to settle and some early forward drives yielded several penalties in quick succession and Robbie Cockburn was successful with two kicks for Dunbar to lead 6-0 after eight minutes.

Portobello began to gain possession of their own and after an offside penalty in Dunbar’s 22 set up a driving maul which resulted in the games first try. The conversion was successful.

Dunbar were next to threaten and after excellent interplay between the forwards and backs drove close to the home teams tryline only for the move to break down after a forward pass. The visitors continued to stick to their gameplan, and they were rewarded when after a period of sustained pressure the ball was moved at pace and after an initial break by Mike Hall fellow centre Robbie Logan took the pass to crash over for the visitors first try. Robbie Cockburn converted, and Dunbar now led by 13-7.

Whilst the young Dunbar backs continued to attack from deep in their own half some over elaborate passing saw them put themselves under pressure with some knock-ons. A grateful home side took advantage when they broke up the blindside from a scrum and good handling resulted in their winger scoring in the corner. An excellent conversion saw the home team now lead 14-13.

Both teams continued to probe and gain possession and it was the visitors who drove deep into the 22 and the ball was recycled quickly and moved wide for Mike Hall to outpace the home defence and score in the corner. The conversion attempt drifted wide, but the score was now 18-14 in Dunbar’s favour.

The vocal support on the touchline were being treated to an excellent nip and tuck game with the home team next to score after good interplay between their forwards and backs saw them crash over in the corner.

Clearly buoyant after having regained the lead Portobello again drove hard through their bulkier forwards and they recycled the ball well to create space for their winger to score in the corner.

Dunbar were next to threaten, and they saw their forwards combine well creating an opportunity for Ewan Patrizio to drive towards the line only to see the ball squirm away from his grasp because of an excellent tackle.

Half Time Portobello 24-18

Dunbar started the second half playing down the slope and were quickly encamped in the home 22 and after another series of forward drives the ball was moved quickly to Rory Dowding who drove hard towards the tryline only for the referee to deem him held up as he was tackled.

The Referee who was consistent in his decision making grew tired of persistent querying of his decisions by the home team and Dunbar took advantage to encamp themselves in the home 22 and after a home defender was caught offside the quickly taken penalty saw space created for Ewan Patrizio to bludgeon his way over for a well-deserved try.

The visitors again upped the tempo of their play and after possession was regained it was Wing Forward Dan Martin who broke through the defensive line to drive deep into the 22 and a well-timed pass to the supporting Robbie Cockburn saw him sprint clear and score. His conversion saw Dunbar now lead 30-24.

The visitors continued to dominate possession and territory and they were rewarded when excellent passing saw winger Alex Gibb given room to sprint towards the line only to be caught by a covering defender but still managed to offload to the supporting Dylan Sammels who despite being tackled himself managed to stretch and touch down for yet another try. An excellent conversion took the score to 37-24.

Despite these setbacks the home side to their credit drove deep into Dunbar’s 22 and regained possession from a lineout saw the ball moved wide creating the space for their winger to score in the corner.

Now it was the home team’s turn to enjoy some possession and after attempting to drive through their forwards they were met with some resolute defence and after Ewan Patrizio dispossessed a Portobello player the visiting backs again attacked at pace and when centre Mike Hall cut inside the home defence he gave himself room to outspring the would-be tacklers to score under the posts. Another successful conversion took the score to 44-29 in Dunbar’s favour.

Whether it was complacency or tiredness from their efforts in both attack and defence Dunbar had to endure a nervy last five minutes of the game when the home side managed to secure possession and create the opportunity for two well taken tries which were converted but a relieved Dunbar side were grateful to hear the final whistle immediately after the second conversion to signal a victory by the tightest of margins.

This was an excellent contest for the spectators to enjoy with both teams committed to scoring tries with the visitors managing to hang on for the win.

Attention switches back to league rugby where second placed Livingston are the visitors to Hallhill next Saturday.