Berwick vs Stew Mel, 11/9/04

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Squad

The Stewart's Melville FPRFC team to play Berwick RFC at Scremerston on Saturday, kick off 3 pm, is:

One change to the team for this week's top of the league encounter down at Scremerston. Euan Clark is still troubled by the back knock he took against Kelso, so Kenny Bowie makes his competitive debut for the club. After impressing in the pre-season games, it is just reward for Kenny, whose first season at the club last year after his switch from Stirling County was blighted by injury.

The only other change this week sees Dougie Rycroft come back into the squad for the first time since the game against Kirkcaldy in the Integrated Premier 2 & 3 Tournament in March 2003. Dougie, of course, spent last season in Canada as part of his University course, so we are delighted to have him back, available and fit.

Returning to action down in the 2nd XV this weekend are Sam Hendry, Ben Leathes, Sandy Storrar, Jamie Hood, David Warwick, Andrew Fraser and Scott Riddell. This means the pressure is definitely on the guys in possession to keep performing as there is some quality below just waiting for a chance.

Any supporters wishing to travel on the bus down to Berwick should assemble at Inverleith by 11.30 a.m. on Saturday.

Riggers' Review

In days gone by, the only thing we ever used to leave Berwick with was a large carry out from Safeways for drowning our sorrows on the way home. Thankfully, those days are, at the moment, behind us, as we now seem able to leave with the league points, which, along with the carry out, makes for a much happier journey up the A1.

Saturday's performance in the first half was workmanlike. You could sense that we could step it up a gear if we needed, but we got sucked into a war of attrition up front with Berwick and never took advantage of overlaps or mismatches when they occurred. Playing with the wind in our favour, we dominated territorially, but were seven points down to a Berwick try which stemmed from a missed tackle after a short lineout. To be fair, it was about the only tackle missed all day, as, otherwise, the defence was outstanding once again.

We crept back into the game through a couple of penalties from the trusty right boot of Richard Borthwick. Borth's 5 out of 6 return in that department over the 80 minutes represented a considerable improvement over recent showings, and, considering the windy conditions, was an excellent performance. To turn 10-6 down at half-time, though, wasn't how we had imagined the first half going, and, with the Berwick defence holding up to everything we threw at them, there was the danger that they could punish us in the second half if they used the wind.

The second half saw a massively improved and more controlled performance, however, and, allied to the discipline and defence, there was very little Berwick could do. Big Clarky chipped in with another try and then Jed made a timely interception of a pass - which could have led to a score against us - to run it back from our half to score near the posts. What a difference it makes when the extra two points are added after each kick! Suddenly a bit of daylight appeared between the two sides.

We then kept the pressure on Berwick and, when Lindy went over for a try about 5 minutes from the end, we could sense a bonus point, but, alas, it never came. We did manage to get in behind Berwick on a number of occasions, but the Berwick defence, which had been outstanding throughout, held firm till the end. But we got the win that we wanted, and that is all that matters.

The only area of our performance that deserves criticism is our decision making in attack. We need to be more clinical than we are being at the moment. That may sound strange after scoring 17 tries in three outings, but, if we were being ruthless, it could easily have been many more. We need to get this ruthless edge over the coming weeks.

We return to Inverleith next Saturday to face Murrayfield Wanderers, who have started with two wins from their three outings. Another tough encounter with local rivals awaits, and, with the return to full fitness of Euan Clark, Michael Elliott, Stephan Burger, Nicky Wood, Sam Hendry, Ben Leathes, Alex Clark and Gareth Flockhart expected this week, the competition for places in the squad is getting tougher and tougher.

Riggers

Stew Mel Stats

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