NO-ONE foresaw what was to enfold on the Gytes pitch when Peebles hosted Falkirk on a glorious, sun-dappled autumn day.

The Falkirk team arrived having won bonus point tries in all of their previous games and dismantling the defences of all previous opponents.

However, it was Peebles who lit up the pitch with a haul of eight tries after an onslaught of attacking rugby.

From the kick-off, it was the visiting team who dominated possession and launched waves of attack on Peebles territory, but it was to be a crucial feature of the opening 20 minutes that the Peebles players met all of Falkirk’s fire with an equally committed defence.

The force of the collisions could be heard from all around the pitch as Finlay Collins, Sam Ferry and others forced Falkirk players back in the tackle.

Play remained in the 20 metres of pitch between Peebles halfway line and the 22m for this entire period, until the Falkirk stand-off accepted there was no way through the Peebles defence and he launched high kicks, hoping to take advantage of the sun, dazzling low into Peebles’ eyes.

It was from one of these kicks that Peebles were to score the first try. Buster Davidson ran back a kick from his own 22, making valuable yards into the opposition half.

The move was continued by Robbie Hardie, then by Jack Harrison who carried the ball down the blindside before passing to brother, Robert.

The ball was swept open, allowing Liam Forsyth to step inside a defender and offload to a grateful John Gray who cantered in unopposed.

Within minutes of the restart, Peebles unleashed another long-range attack which culminated in a beautifully timed pass by Matty Carryer to Louis Whyte, which gave the flying winger the yard of space he needed to reach the outside of his opponent. Whyte outpaced the cover defence to double the home team’s lead.

While Falkirk still had their share of possession and tested the Peebles defence, there was no relaxing in the ferocious tackling from the Gytes players, which had a constricting effect on the visitors.

With a few minutes to play before half time, Peebles launched another quick and co-ordinated attack, which culminated in a skilful off-load by John Gray to fellow prop Robbie Hardie who strolled in under the posts for try number three. Another successful conversion by Liam Irvine stretched the lead.

Minutes later, John Gray, try provider in the last play, turned into try scorer as he finished off a series of forward drives at the Falkirk line. The try brought up the bonus point and had the home team leading by 28-0 at half time.

If there was to be a fight back, Falkirk would have to mount it at the resumption of play, but the Peebles defence continued to thwart every attack and it was they who scored again, the inevitable try from short range by Carryer.

Fifteen minutes into the second period, Tom Weir made the most of a tiring defence to burst through the Falkirk line and add the fifth try of the afternoon.

Minutes later, Robbie Hardie finished good work at the lineout from his fellow forwards to touch down, and complete a remarkable statistic as both home props scored two tries.

As the match entered the last five minutes, Robbie Smellie (who had been in great form all afternoon) was ordered to the sin bin in punishment for the team’s repeated offending and the Falkirk team made the best of their numerical advantage by scoring twice in quick succession.

However, last word went to home stand-off Liam Irvine who showed a fine piece of individual skill when he regathered his own chip through to splash down in spectacular fashion. Irvine kicked the conversion to complete the scoring.

For The Gytes faithful this was one of the most complete displays they had witnessed from their team in many years. The resolute and well drilled defensive effort was the foundation for a creative and exciting offensive display. The size and manner of the victory over such strong opponents was mightily impressive, and will have surprised teams throughout the league.

There is now a break of three weeks before the resumption of the National league competition, but Peebles will be hoping to take their good form into Border League games in the next few weeks.