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Stew Mel vs Haddington,
27/2/05
Inverleith Angle
Good afternoon and welcome to today's rearranged league
game against Haddington. In our previous encounter, after
being 20-0 down early in the second half, we recovered to
end up with a 20-20 draw. Today, as we press for that second
promotion spot, we will be hoping for more than that, but
I have no doubt that their president Gordon Bathgate, his
committee and players will be hoping to put a spoke in our
wheel. They did us a big favour last week when they beat
Jed-Forest by 14-5, which ensured that we increased our
points lead up to seven. I've no doubt that today's game
will be hard and highly competitive.
Last week, in an excellent game against Stirling County,
we went down by 24-18 and lost our unbeaten home league
record. It was, however, a fine game of rugby, played in
good spirit by both sides, and was a testament to the standard
and quality of rugby in Division 2. Stirling were worthy
winners of the title, and I wish them every success in Premier
1 next season. They did, however, have a distinct advantage
in the shape of their full-back, Brian Archibald, who scored
all their points through two tries, one conversion and four
enormous penalties, one of which was kicked from his own
half.
If we play with the same commitment and passion as we did
last Saturday, I'm sure that we will collect the points
we need over the next three games. Our try scorers on Saturday
were Graham Lind and Sam Hendry, with Sam also kicking one
conversion and two penalties.
Unfortunately the 2nd XV also lost to Stirling County by
29-26, and they are still looking for that one win which
would secure them first division status next year.
Last Saturday saw our annual Sportsman's Dinner, where
we had a sell-out crowd to hear our three guest speakers,
Murdo MacLeod, Willie Allan and Joe Camay. They were all,
in their different ways, superb speakers, and everyone left
Inverleith in good 'fettle' after a most enjoyable night.
I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Allan
Munro for his hard work in organising this event. Exchange
House Catering provided an excellent meal, and, once again,
thanks to Denise and her staff for putting up with us. We
managed to raise a substantial sum from the auction and
raffle, and could I also thank all the people who contributed
auction items and raffle prizes for the evening.
I am sure most of you will have noticed last Saturday that
the school crest was painted onto the pitch; this involved
a lot of hard work by Willie Purdie. As always, the pitch
is in superb condition, and is a credit to him and his staff.
Could I take this opportunity to thank him for all the hard
work that he does for the FP rugby club over the course
of the season.
Black Al
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