Own goals are, unfortunately, an occupational hazard for defenders in football.
But an overenthusiastic Scottish teenager has managed to score a vanishingly rare rugby version and deny his team a win.
As a last-minute conversion kick from the opposition was falling off target, the player for Hawick Youth under-18s, based in the Scottish Borders, took a triumphant but wild swipe at the ball.
Sadly for the scrum-half, his intervention diverted the ball over the posts and, quite rightly, the referee awarded the two conversion points to their rivals Gala Wanderers, meaning they drew a game 33-33 that they had been about to lose.
The club remained sanguine, posting a video of the moment on its social media feed.
First time for everything I suppose 🫣 #HawickYouthRugby #DOTD pic.twitter.com/LFy3uFS0JU
— Hawick Youth Rugby (@HawickU18s) September 30, 2023
“The game went to and fro,” said the Hawick Youth assistant coach Elliot Jack, 56. “The conversion was the last kick of the game. The boy went out thinking he was just going to kick the ball – unfortunately, it flew off his boot and in between the posts. These things happen – it was an accident.
“The referee called the two captains and the coaches over and explained the situation. There was dead silence in the rugby pitch, because nobody knew what was happening – and then there was a big roar when he gave the conversion.”
Both Hawick and Gala were surprised but saw the funny side of it. Jack said: “The camaraderie started after – it became a real good laugh. The boys went out with some of the Gala players afterwards and they dressed our player up in a Gala kit.
“I spoke to someone who’s been involved in rugby for more than 60 years. He said he’s never seen anything like it and has no doubt that some of the young players will never see anything like it again. It’s not about winning, it’s about the boys having fun and enjoying their time in rugby.”
The referee, Malcolm Changleng, said he had not witnessed anything like it in his 30 years of officiating and watching rugby.
He told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “You can’t get an own try because if you take the ball over the line and dot it down, then the opposition get an attacking scrum.
“But if it goes over your own post and you’ve kicked it over, I suppose that’s technically an own goal.”
He added: “Their wee scrum-half will learn.”
