Stew Mel vs Dundee HSFP, 12/9/09

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Squad

The Stewart's Melville FP RFC team to play Dundee HSFP RFC at Inverleith on Saturday, kick off 3 pm, is:

Fairly extensive changes to the squad this week, with Coxy and Marsh injured, Phil Hendry on holiday and Borth acting as Best Man at his brother's wedding.

Fit again Ruairi returns to partner pro Ryan and Sam in the front row, while Dougie Naismith replaces the presumably suspended Scott Brewster in the Boiler House. Ricky Simms returns to replace Pip in the back row.

Behind the scrum, Liam moves out to form a new centre partnership with Rob, Stu Ker slotting in at stand off. Harry shrugs off the head knock he took in the Accies game to reclaim his wing berth, while it's great to see Hayden back at 15. Hayden also takes over as captain with Borth away.

Moff himself will provide backs cover on the bench, where Michael Doneghan appears for the first time - congratulations to him. Blair also appears in the red, black and gold for the first time this season - great to see another 'old head' from last season back in harness again!

This is a big game for the boys, with our old mates Dundee also struggling to adjust to life in the top flight. Hope to see you down at Invers as we try to get our season back on track.

Bill

Match Report

"Oh it's such a perfect day, we're glad we spent it with you." Ian Rankin and the whole Dundee squad could have been forgiven if they had been heard to sing that Lou Reed classic as they boarded their team bus for what must have been a very happy journey back to Mayfield.

On Saturday, both players and supporters of Stewart's Melville had every reason to be optimistic prior to kick off. Dundee High hadn't won at Inverleith since 2002. Last season, when both clubs were in Premier Two, we had overcome them to win in a tight game at home. In the week leading up to Saturday's encounter, our coaches Graeme Moffat and Andy Kelly had taken the players through every possible play, rehearsing phases and drilling skills into our young squad. We also had Ryan Grant the Edinburgh prop available, once again, to play for us. On match day we had glorious weather; with the sun shining it was unseasonably warm; we also had a perfectly prepared pitch.

Then it all went wrong for Stewart's Melville. From the moment referee Malcolm Changleng blew his whistle to signal the start of the game, Dundee put in a performance that would suggest that they are unlikely to be returning to Premier Two at the end of the season.

On the other hand, things rapidly turned very sour for us. Dundee took command and played some excellent rugby, making us look both inadequate and, at times, outclassed. The fact that we allowed a total of seven tries to be put past us pretty much sums the game up.

Stuart Clark, one of our better players on the day, managed to touch down for our one and only score, thus saving us from a second whitewash in as many weeks. Our only score came when the Dundee pack was reduced to seven while their tighthead was in the sin bin.

Throughout the game, Dundee players gave Stew Mel no peace. The men from Mayfield were forcing errors and repeatedly disrupted the set-piece as they hunted for tries. Yes, we did occasionally put in some good defensive work, but, in a match where the visitors' attacking really never let up, it was inevitable that the inexperience of our players would be exposed.

It wasn't all one sided, however, as we did have some (but all too few and far-between) periods of attacking play, and did, apart from conceding a late try, improve a little towards the final whistle. This improvement may have been due to the introduction of 'fresh legs' and coach Moffat coming on as a replacement so that he could, presumably, give some direction at first hand to our team in their efforts. Alternatively, our slight improvement in the closing period just might have been down to Dundee making their own substitutions and their very fit squad eventually running out of gas.

Individually, we did have players who stood out, with Dougie Naismith making a return to first team rugby after a long absence and marking the occasion with one of his much acclaimed bravura performances. Dougie caused the opposition quite a few problems in both the ruck and lineout. Our young props, Colin and Ruairi, with their as-yet modest skill sets, were once again put through it in the scrum, but were not totally overwhelmed by the sheer weight and physicality of the experienced Dundee pack and battled hard.

Our forwards did make some 'big hit' tackles which stopped some onslaughts and may also have dissuaded a few of the High players from getting on Saturday's score sheet. But, ultimately, the match was decided by the back threes of the two teams.

Hayden, returning to the field for the first time minus his appendix, was Colleges' captain for the day and he did his best, showing some of his form from last season. But, against a Dundee back three who are ever prepared to run from anywhere, exploiting weak tackling and thriving on poor kicking, our backs certainly struggled, once again.

Perhaps the only good thing for the home support was the referee blowing for full time two minutes early.

On Saturday two (old) club worthies, Gordon Rigby and Finlay Calder, were engaged in conversation. Mr Calder reminded Mr Rigby of some advice they had both received in past difficult times at the club, the former saying, "Perhaps, Gordon, the team should now STOP knowing how to lose and START learning how to WIN!"

Sound advice from a man who (to say the least) knows his rugby - to (mis)quote another song title, "The Lion speaks wisely tonight".

Hope to see you at the Greenyards next weekend, when our team will, yet again, need - and deserve - all the support we can give them.

Mercury

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