24/03/2026
Andrew Philp of Panmure RFC says he was “very surprised and delighted” to win a recent Scottish Rugby men’s try of the month award.
His effort versus Kinross in a thrilling 27-26 home win in Arnold Clark Caledonia One’s Midlands Conference at Forthill on January 31 beat off other nominees from Hillhead Jordanhill, Cumnock and Falkirk’s second team to take the prize for that month.
Indeed, the Falkirk try was one from a game against Panmure, but it was Philp who took the prize.
The 35-year-old back-row, who grew up in Broughty Ferry and played for Panmure in his youth before returning to the area and the club in 2015, said: “I was very surprised and delighted when I heard I had won the award as the other tries scored were fantastic.
“In terms of my try, I just remember that when I caught the ball things immediately opened up and I saw a bit of space around the outside.
“I managed to get past their player and thought I better cut back inside to avoid getting tackled into touch. The pitch was in a difficult condition due to the bad weather so I tried stepping a player and he couldn’t adjust enough and I got past him.
“I was then through on the full-back and our scrum half Matthew Lowdon made a great support run and it was a two on one. I was going to pass, but the full-back committed to try a possible intercept so he made the decision for me and I just kept the ball and kept on running.
“At that point I saw the try line ahead and thought ‘I’ve just got to go for it’.
“I then started losing my footing about 15 metres from the line and just about managed to stay up and made it there, but I ended up clattering into the post. Not the smoothest of finishes, but I made the line!”
The recent try is one highlight in a number that Philp, who is a process chemist for a pharmaceutical company in Montrose, has had during his time at Panmure and he enjoys playing for the club.
“The biggest highlight at Panmure was reaching the National Bowl final at Murrayfield in 2023 and playing in front of thousands of fans versus Kinloss Eagles, it was a fantastic day despite losing at the Hive,” Philp recounts.
“Another highlight was winning the 2018 Caledonia Midlands Bowl when we played during the ‘Beast from the East’ against Dundee University Medics in the final. Both teams spent two days manually clearing eight inches of snow off the pitch in the lead up to the match and we were the only rugby game in Scotland played outside that day (Currie Chieftains and Heriot’s played indoors at Oriam at the same time).”
* A version of this article first appeared in The Courier UK on Tuesday *
