Gala vs Stew Mel, 25/10/03

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Squad

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

The team shows four changes from last weekend, with Chris Bissett and Peter McLean both being ruled out injured. Paul Wharakura is ill and Stuart Thom is away for the weekend to celebrate his wedding anniversary.

This means recalls for Stuart Bartwicki, Euan Clark, Malcolm MacColl and Alex Edmonstone. Nick Penny and Graham Shiel are welcomed back to the squad, but have to make do with starting on the bench.

With two Stew/Mel teams travelling down to Galashiels on Saturday, there won't be much space on the coach for anyone else, so I'm afraid that supporters will have to make their own way down this week. We still hope to see you for what promises to be a hard fought match.

Riggers' Review

How do you look after a prized possession? Do you covet it? Care for it? Hold on to it? Make the most of it when you've got it? Well, that is what we are going to need to do with the rugby ball. It has to become our most prized possession, and we need to start treating it with the respect it deserves. All too often on Saturday we gave the ball away cheaply and carelessly. We have to start using the ball better, making better decisions and be content with going through phases of recycling until the opportunities we are looking for come. That is the main lesson we need to learn after our hard fought defeat down at Netherdale.

Gala maybe just deserved their victory on Saturday, but, as in so many of the matches this season, we made it easy for them by giving them a plentiful supply of ball. We had shown in the first half that we could get in behind them, with Fraser Deeming at outside centre doing plenty of damage. Once in behind them, however, the ball was too easily lost and chances went a begging. If, on the stroke of half-time, we had managed to convert the chance created by Stuart Clark's 40 yard blindside No.8 pick up, then a possible 15-7 lead could have been the difference between winning and losing. Unfortunately, it was the referee who got in the way and helped the Gala defence to survive on this occasion, and they went into the break only a point down.

Despite giving Gala so much ball, our defence was generally much improved on previous games. It still has a few notches to go to get to the level that we want it to, but it is getting better week on week. Certainly, defending is what we spent most of the second half doing, which was disappointing coming after our first half performance that promised so much. It is certainly a benefit for the Border teams that they seem to get their 'Pro' players far more often than City teams. That is twice this season - Kelso being the other Borders side in question - that the opposition have been able to bring on Professionals at half time and turn the game in their favour. Certainly, George Graham gave their pack the direction it needed, and, in the end, proved to be the difference between the two teams.

So, nine games played and five of them are losses. In all honesty, that is very disappointing, and, Dundee apart, we have had chances in every game to have come away with the spoils. That is the big difference having stepped up a level this season. If you don't take your chances when they are on offer, you'll get punished. There are a good few teams in the league who are fairly similar in standard and it is the teams who take their chances that have won games. We have Jed away and West at home to complete our first round of matches and these will be two tough encounters. Certainly, Jed at Riverside will be another learning curve for this team. They now know what it is like to go down to the Borders and compete. They now have to go to the Borders and win.

Talking of winning, we go to Strathendrick in the Cup this weekend, and that really is a must win game. Memories come flooding back of our last trip up there and let me assure you that none of them are good! We have a vastly different team to the one that lost in Fintry four years ago. I think only Chris Bissett and Paul Keith survive in the current squad from the team that day. The Cup gives us a different focus and a good Cup run can bring confidence to the league form. We came so close earlier in the year to ousting GHA, but that game and the style we played it in carried over into our remaining league games. We will certainly afford Strathendrick the respect they deserve, but nothing short of getting to the next round will be good enough.

Riggers

Match photos by Alwyn Johnston (01896 75751083) and c/o Gala's excellent club website

Stew Mel Stats

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