Stew Mel vs Glasgow Hawks, 25/3/06

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Squad

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

The team for Saturday's must-win game against Hawks sees only one change to the one that performed so valiantly in defeat against Watsonians last week. That single change involves Struan Samson replacing Stuart Thom on the bench, providing us with more complete back cover.

This will be Paul Wharakura's last game for the club after three seasons at Inverleith, and I know that our fans will turn out in their numbers to see him off in style. Paul has brought a huge amount to the Club, both in terms of skill and also his work ethic, and he will be sorely missed. Hoti will also be heading back to New Zealand after this game, and also deserves great credit for the part he has played in turning our season around after Christmas.

One player who will hopefully be sticking around for a good few years to come is Struan Samson, who features in a league squad for the first time this season after having been out for most of the year with a hamstring injury.

Saturday isn't just about bidding farewell to departing players, of course, as, before Paul and Hoti head off, we hope that they and the rest of the team will have secured a vital victory over champions Hawks. This really is a must-win game for us if we are to maintain our lead over Boroughmuir, who have a game in hand. While Hawick will doubtless pose some serious questions of 'Muir at Meggetland on Saturday, we really cannot rely on Heriot's putting up much of a fight in late April when they have nothing to play for.

So - now is the time for anyone with even the slightest interest in our wonderful Club to get themselves down to Inverleith and cheer the boys on. The players have been magnificent all season, and so have the fans - you really have made a difference, and we couldn't have done it without you. The players are ready to give their all on Saturday, and I know that the fans are, too. Let's fill the stand and really make our presence felt.

Malky's Musings

The large crowd which descended on Inverleith on Saturday was served up with an excellent spectacle as the Stew Mel team kept alive its ambitions of retaining Premier 1 status. The boys gave a clear demonstration of the extent to which they have developed during the season and ran out deserved winners against championship winners Hawks.

Our visitors enjoyed the majority of the possession during the opening exchanges, however their powerful midfield runners were well policed by our defence, with Alex Cox and Graham Shiel both making vital first time tackles. Our forwards were also forced to dig deep during the first ten minutes, with Hawks building a number of driving mauls deep in our territory from lineouts. Our pack showed that it was up to the task, however, and it was also pleasing to see that we were a good match for our opponents at the set piece.

As Hawks began to run out of ideas, we started to gain more of the possession, and put together some good passages of attacking play. We were awarded a penalty on fifteen minutes, and the reliable Richard Borthwick injected confidence into the team by striking it well and edging us into the lead. For the following twenty minutes we played with real purpose; the pack dominated at the lineout and Nicky Wood orchestrated events from fly half. We were starting to stretch the Hawks defence, and, with around five minutes left before the break, our three quarters exploited quick ruck ball to release the prolific Jed Gordon to score in the corner. Borth added the tricky conversion and we went into the break with a 10 point advantage.

The team looked understandably nervy during the first ten minutes of the second half, and we started to make unforced errors which threatened to let our opponents back into the game. Indeed, with around fifty minutes on the clock, some scrappy cover play gifted former Stew Mel favourite, Ally Maclay, a relatively straightforward run in from our ten meter line. Strang converted and our lead was cut to three points (Stew Mel 10 Hawks 7).

Thankfully, Strang failed to capitalise on a further Stew Mel error five minutes later when he missed a penalty goal attempt from within our '22'.

From this point onwards we regained control of the game, thanks in no small measure to the tactical kicking of Woody and Shiely and to the close driving play of the forwards. Paul Wharakura, Stephen Dalgleish and Phil Hendry were all carrying ball well and repeatedly breaking the gain line. Hawks were struggling to repel our attacks and to play their way out of their own territory.

We were awarded a penalty with twenty minutes left, and Borth stretched our lead to six points. Five minutes later, a further Hawks infringement halted a flowing attacking move deep in their '22', and a further well struck goal gave us some breathing space at 16 points to 7.

Thankfully we did not take our foot off the pedal and we continued to pressurise Hawks deep in their own half. Towards the end of regulation time, our relentless driving play again created an opening, and Jed Gordon scampered home in front of an elated home stand to complete the scoring (Stew Mel 21 Hawks 7).

I cannot praise the players highly enough for their efforts. Since the Biggar game in mid December, we have won eight games out of nine and maintained a 100% record at Inverleith. All of this has been achieved during a period when we have lost a large number of players to age group commitments. A number of the first team regulars have stepped up to the mark and demonstrated that they have the skill level, the physical attributes and the attitude to compete at this high level. A number of players have also come into the squad from the second team and shown that we have huge strength in depth at the club.

This win leaves us on 48 points for the season, having won exactly half of our league fixtures. Unfortunately, we now have an uncomfortable wait to see whether or not our top flight status will be retained; we either need our neighbours, Heriot's, to beat Boroughmuir on the 22nd of April or a scrapping of the current league restructuring proposals.

This was, sadly, also the final game for two of our overseas players, with both Paul and Hoti returning to New Zealand, and for our forwards coach, Benzo. They have all had a hugely positive impact on the Club, and I would like to thank them for all of their efforts. I would also like to thank our head coach, Macca; our conditioning guru, Graham; and the second team coaches, Dave and Stu. Finally, I would like to extend our gratitude to what is arguably the best support in Scotland; hopefully you will be cheering us on in Premier 1 again next season.

Malky

(Thanks are also due to Malky, Riggers and Tony for their superb match reports over the course of the season - plus all the other hard work they put in for the Club! Bill)

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