Stew Mel vs Dundee HS FP, 23/3/02

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Squad

The Stewart's Melville FP RFC team to play Dundee HS at Inverleith on Saturday (kick off 12.30 pm) is:

The starting XV shows two changes from last Saturday's defeat at H/A. Grant Smith replaces the injured Stuart Bartwicki at scrum-half. Stuart pulled his hamstring last Saturday and, whilst being close to fitness, it was decided it was too big a risk to play him on Saturday. Smithy is delighted to be back in the team and has promised a big performance so he keeps the no. 9 jersey the following week.

The other change is in the back row, where Richard Munro returns for Sky Laurie. Sky is in Hong Kong representing the British Police team this weekend.

Onto the bench comes Chris Bissett, who has successfully steered the 2nd XV to promotion to Division 1 of the 2nd XV league, and also into the squad for the first time comes Stewart Clark, who is home from University and has been outstanding in the last couple of 2nd XV games. Stewart can cover anywhere in the back five of the pack.

Our final league is a must win game. We need to score 4 tries and win by 13 clear points to make Biggar have to take something out of their final fixture with H/A. Hopefully, come 2 pm on Saturday afternoon, we will be in 2nd place in the league and the pressure will be all on Biggar.

Inverleith is very wet at the moment due to the incessant rain. With the Scottish Students playing their French counterparts at 4 pm tomorrow, we have taken the precaution of arranging with Heriot's for us to have the use of their main pitch at Goldenacre should Inverleith prove unplayable. The decision on this is likely to be taken at the conclusion of the Student International, and will be notified via the web site as soon as possible.

Riggers

Match Report

(To follow)

Riggers' Review

The league season ended on Saturday with a comprehensive 45-19 victory over Dundee High School at Inverleith. Not the greatest of first half performances, with Dundee causing us many problems, but not as many, perhaps, as we were causing ourselves. We have found it difficult at times to play composed and controlled rugby this season, especially when looking for a four try or more win, and Saturday proved no different. The 12.30 kick off and general lack of atmosphere were factors in a lacklustre first half, but, saying that, we turned round 19-12 up, with 3 tries in the bag.

Thankfully, the fourth try was quickly secured in the second half, and the boys relaxed in a quality second half performance which was a nice way to finish the league campaign. Whether we have done enough remains to be seen, but the view of the players and coaches is that this week is all about the Shield Semi against Kirkcaldy. Trying to work out what will happen at Hartree Mill on Saturday is a futile exercise. We have done all we can do, and it is now up to others to determine our fate. The only thing we can influence is whether we finish the season with an appearance at Murrayfield.

The Kirkcaldy game is a massive challenge for the team. Playing against Premier One opposition will be a big step up in pace. Having spoken to people from Heriot's, Boroughmuir and Currie regarding our opposition, the one thing coming through the conversations is that Kirkcaldy are not as bad as their league performance this season suggests, and, certainly, with a little bit of luck and confidence, they might have finished the league season with three wins, rather than three narrow losses. The change in coaches seems to have had the desired effect at Beveridge Park, so an intriguing battle lies ahead.

I know that, if we play as well as we can, then we will be in with a chance. A few of our team had confidence - producing performances against Dundee, notably Fraser Deeming, who was back to causing problems in the opposition back line. It was also great to get Stewart Clark into the action, and he showed that he has the talent to become a major player for us over the next few years. Stewart capped his 1st XV debut with our final try. It will take these type of performances again this week to beat Kirkcaldy, but, as we are choosing from a fully fit squad, including Andy Kelly, then we have the players capable of getting the result and taking us to Murrayfield.

The Murrayfield appearance would cap an incredible hat-trick for the club, with the S1 and S2 teams both having qualified for their finals on Sunday 14th April. It is a fantastic achievement by the Mini section at the Club to be so successful, and, hopefully, the Senior club will reap the benefits in a few years' time. Well done to John Campbell and his team of coaches, and, most importantly, well done to the players.

All that is left for me to say is, please come down to Inverleith on Saturday and cheer the team on. I know that the boys appreciated the support against Biggar a couple of weeks back, and, hopefully, if you come and support on Saturday, we will give you something to cheer and be proud of.

Riggers

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