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Heriot's vs Stew Mel,
24/10/09
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Squad
The Stewart's Melville FP RFC team to play Heriot's FC
at Goldenacre on Saturday, kick off 3 pm, is:
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15
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Hayden Lingard |
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14
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Richard Borthwick (captain) |
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13
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Alex Cox |
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12
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Craig Marshall |
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11
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Harry Boisseau |
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10
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Stuart Ker |
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9
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Rob Primrose |
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1
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Ruairi McLeod |
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2
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Sam Blackwood |
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3
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Ryan Grant |
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4
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Ben Leathes |
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5
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Scott Brewster |
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6
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Phil Hendry |
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7
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Blair Tweedie |
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8
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Calum Forrester / Stuart Clark |
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16
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Andy Statham |
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17
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Martin Stewart |
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18
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Stuart Clark / Fergus Lamont |
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19
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Ross Grant |
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20
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Jed Gordon |
A number of changes to the team that fought so bravely
against Ayr last week.
Liam Steele is away at a wedding this weekend, while Jamie
Allan and Ross Merrilees are out due to the knee and ankle
injuries they picked up last weekend.
On the plus side, Stuart Clark is available once again,
while we welcome Ryan Grant back to the front row. We may
also have Calum Forrester in the back row, depending on
the amount of game time he gets in Glasgow's game against
Connacht on Friday night.
Assuming Calum is available to us, he will start at Number
8, with Clarky on the bench; if Calum isn't available, Clarky
will start at 8 and Fergus will once again provide back
row cover on the bench.
In the backline, Marsh returns from injury to replace Liam
in the centre, while Stu Ker replaces Jamie at 10, with
Primmy starting at scrum half.
We welcome Ross Grant to the 1st XV squad for the first
time this week after some impressive performances for the
2s recently - congratulations to him.
On the subject of congratulations, well done to Richie
Vernon and Alan MacDonald on their call ups to the Scotland
squad for the upcoming Fiji test. Richie played for us the
last time we were in the top Division, while Alan is a product
of the Stew Mel minis and midis system (and is also assigned
to us this season).
Returning to the present, hope to see a healthy 'travelling'
support at Goldenacre on Saturday. If you are heading along
the road, please bear in mind that we have three teams at
Goldenacre on Saturday, with the 2s and 3s kicking off a
full hour before the 1st XV. Parking spaces are therefore
likely to be at a premium!
See you on Saturday for the big derby!
Mike Sims
Match
Report

Saturday's away match against Heriot's was
the ninth of our current campaign. The rain that had fallen
for most of the day stopped just prior to kick-off. The
weather then improved, and, with a low autumn sun, it was
unseasonably mild. It was a near perfect afternoon on which
to play rugby. With 'history' between the city rivals, this
fixture normally draws a good crowd, and, having been greatly
encouraged by recent team performances, the Stewart's Melville
support had turned out in numbers. There was a sense of
expectation among the Colleges' faithful.
Both sides were obviously fired up for this Edinburgh derby
as the exchange referee from the RFU got the contest underway.
Heriot's were immediately on the offensive and poured into
our half in numbers, testing our defences. We were coping
well, until, within a couple of minutes of the start, we
gave away a stupid penalty. Heriot's captain Graham Wilson
slotted over to take the home side into an early lead.

After this Heriot's piled on the pressure, surveying various
routes to goal. And, like those teams we've played before
them this season, they found their way - the same way -
through. With five minutes on the Goldenacre clock, the
'hoops' flanker Struan Dewar went over for a try that their
captain converted. But we didn't back down and went on the
attack, penetrating deep into opposition territory. Stew/Mel
had the better of the Nails in the scrum; they couldn't
cope with our strength and technique. We were 'harder than
nails'. The referee also seemed to have a problem with our
front row - but, no matter how hard he watched, he couldn't
see what, if anything, we were doing 'wrong'.
At the 12 minute mark, it was Heriot's who were penalised
just inside their half, leaving Stuart Ker with a long kick
that he struck beautifully to bring the score to 10-3. The
Goldenacre men rallied once more and rampaged towards our
try line. Our defence stood up well, with our forwards putting
in a power of work, but we just couldn't seem to clear our
lines. We then began to lose discipline. Stew/Mel were taking
foolish risks, and, although the referee had issued a warning,
we couldn't resist temptation. With a shrill blast on his
whistle and the appropriate signal, our English ref had
'scored' a penalty try for Heriot's. Wilson again converted
and, with 15 minutes gone, we were 17-3 down.

Again we came right back at Heriot's, playing the game
in their faces; we knew we had recently played better teams
than this. We stopped - if only for a short period - giving
the ball away through aimless kicking and began to use the
superiority of our pack. Our two pros, Ryan Grant and Calum
Forrester, were making their considerable presence felt.
We were continuously threatening the home side's line, until,
on 21 minutes, Scott Brewster burst through to touch down
for our first try of the day. Ten exciting rugby minutes
later we were rewarded with another penalty. It was 17-11,
and we were catching them.
Then our lineout throw went too long. This presented Struan
Dewar with an opportunity, and, recalling how easy we had
previously made it for him, he used the nail marks in the
mud from his earlier run to retrace his exact route and
score his second try. Once again Wilson was on hand to convert
successfully. This took the score to 24-11.

From the restart we were right back at them. Throughout
the half, the home side had been allowed to commit various
misdeeds, but, to our amazement, the 'out to impress' referee
finally decided to take action. On 37 minutes, the ref carded
the home team's big second row, Philip O'Connor, and awarded
us the penalty. Stuart was again on target, bringing the
score at half time to 24-14.
At the interval we didn't visit our dressing room for the
'chat', presumably because there was very little that needed
saying. Perhaps our coach said something along the lines
of, "Don't let them have any more points, score a try
or two, convert all our kicks and we'll have the win."
Certainly the Inverleith men played as if this had
been said.

We didn't just put up the shutters after the break - we
were also prepared to make good tactical runs and kicks
to gain territorial advantage. Nine minutes into the half,
Ryan Grant, using his superior strength, carried the ball
over for our second, well-deserved try. Stuart again obliged
with the conversion, taking us within three points of the
home side. Heriot's continued to come at us, on one occasion
attempting to chip over the heads of our defence. They may
have succeeded but for a fingertip save at full stretch
by our 'goal-keeper', Ruairi McLeod, whose stylish interception
put paid to their chance. Then the home side mounted one
last huzzah and threw all they had at us. But our brave
red line stood shoulder to shoulder and repelled each onslaught,
driving them backwards.
Heriot's had, by this time, lost all composure, and, being
unable to overcome us, they resorted, once again, to cynicism.
The referee intervened on behalf of fair play and sent home
flanker Peter Eccles to the sin bin. We did have a chance
from another penalty late on to draw level but miskicked.
But we didn't want a draw, we wanted a win. If Heriot's
won the match, they must presumably have been the better
team? Definitely not!

We didn't play as well as we had against Ayr
last week. But it would have been unnecessary to play at
that level against this Heriot's side. The Goldenacre men
did little for their win - they couldn't even score all
of their points. Today we weren't beaten, we just let victory
escape our grasp. So roll on next week, and yet another
derby, this time against Watsonians. So, hopefully, our
first win.

Stew
Mel Stats
| Result |
Lost 24-21 |
| Sequence |
3-0,
8-0, 10-0,
10-3, 15-3,
17-3, 17-8,
17-11, 22-11,
24-11, 24-14
(half time), 24-19,
24-21 |
| Tries |
Scott Brewster (25 mins), Ryan Grant (45
mins)
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| Conversions |
Stuart Ker 1 (Ryan's try) |
| Penalties |
Stuart Ker 3 (12, 33 & 45 mins) |
| Cards |
None for us, though our hosts had a forward yellow
carded in each half - and we did concede a penalty
try in the first half as the Nails mauled towards
our line
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| Referee |
Michael Tutty (exchange) |
| Single Sentence Summary |
Another missed opportunity - after gifting Heriot's
three soft tries in the first half, we then completely
bossed them for the rest of the game, only our inability
to get points on the board in the second half preventing
us from snatching the win
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| Leading Lion |
Another fine performance from the pack today, the
only noticeable wobble being a botched lineout that
led directly to the third Heriot's try.
The second and back row players all shone in the
loose, with Ben, in particular, looking well up for
the derby. Ryan Grant took his try well, popping up
on the wing to finish off a great handling move, and
generally seemed to contribute more than he has done
in previous appearances for us.
Our backs seem to have a wobble of their own early
doors, leaving large gaps in the midfield that the
home backs were quick to exploit. Things soon settled
down, though, and their handling and support running
was excellent for the rest of the game.
Have to single the half backs out for particular
praise today, though. Primmy put in a great shift,
despite only having played 60 minutes for the 2s thus
far this season, and displayed a great willingness
to dive into rucks like an auxiliary back row as and
required.
Stu Ker's place kicking may not have been all that
great, but his tactical kicking was - he sprayed
the ball about with great aplomb, and provided an
oasis of calm as the healthy travelling support demanded
points during the second half. Stu
therefore gets this week's website award.
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| Bevvy Bulletin |
No ales on offer at Goldenacre, bar bottled IPA,
but the draught Strongbow was both cold and (at £2.50
a pint) cheap!
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| Pie Points |
Sampled a couple of the Goldenacre pies at half time,
and was fairly unimpressed - while the filling was
tasty enough, it lacked any kind of bite or texture.
And, ironically enough, the encasing pastry was so
hard you could have knocked nails in with it ...
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