Hutchesons' Aloysians vs Stew Mel , 16/3/02

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Squad

The Stewart's Melville FP team to play Hutchesons' Aloysians at Auldhouse on Saturday (kick off 3 pm) is:

One change from the squad from last week, with Brian McDougall coming onto the bench in place of Simon Capaldi, who is unavailable due to exams. Murray Thomson was due to start on the bench, but has been struggling with the flu all week, and doesn't feel fit enough to be involved. His place is taken by Mark Welch.

After the performance last week, we couldn't really make any changes, with the collective and individual effort being as good as it was. This is a massive game for both teams, but especially for ourselves. We cannot afford to come away from Auldhouse without having secured the win, and the focus in training this week has been purely on our game and how we can impose it on H/A. A repeat of the Shield win at Auldhouse in early December would be nice, but that will only happen if the performance is at a similar level to that of last Saturday. That is the challenge now for the team. Three 'cup finals' on consecutive weekends. It is what the team have trained so hard for all season, and that is all the motivation they need.

Riggers

Match Report

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Riggers' Review

What can I say this week? Mathematically, we can still get promoted. We need to beat Dundee by 13 clear points next Saturday, whilst also securing a try scoring bonus point, and then hope that H/A go to Berwick on the 30th and beat them by more than 7 points and that Biggar don't get a try scoring bonus. Still with me? As the old saying goes, it ain't over till the fat team manager has sung, and I ain't been singing over the weekend! It would be good if we could do things the easy way, but, in all my time supporting, playing for and managing Stewart's Melville FP, if there is a hard way of doing something, we'll choose that route.

Saturday was quite a disappointing performance from the team, never reaching the intensity achieved in the Biggar game. In many ways, the first half followed a similar pattern to the Biggar game the week before, where we were under the cosh for the first 20 minutes but great defence, especially from Struan Samson, kept us in the game. We then managed to get a hold on the game and, after a fantastic try by Michael Elliott, we were in the lead and, at that stage, it looked like we might get the all important win. At half-time, the talk was about playing the game in the H/A half of the pitch and putting them under pressure, again similar to the Biggar game. Unfortunately, this never happened due to a combination of errors and a certain lack of composure when under pressure ourselves. H/A were gifted 10 points from errors and, from being in control, we found ourselves chasing the game. H/A, it has to be said, were very adept at taking points when they were on offer, and that is maybe something we need to improve on.

Our second half performance wasn't assisted by losing Stuart Bartwicki after about 10 minutes with a pulled hamstring. This resulted in Mike Elliott moving to scrum half, Fraser Pollock up to stand off and Mark Welch into full back. These changes affected our rhythm somewhat, and, despite Mike doing a great job at No. 9, the threat he posed as a runner from stand off was missed. H/A managed to stretch their lead to 10 points, and it looked like it was going to be the first game this season that we hadn't taken anything from. Thankfully, Fraser managed to secure the all important bonus point with the last kick of the game, and we are still clinging onto the ledge with our fingernails, although the Biggar boot ready to stamp on our fingers and propel us over the edge is getting closer and closer.

H/A must be congratulated on securing their promotion. They are the only team in the league that I don't think we have really looked like beating. We can't have any complaints at the final result, as they were better than us on the day. The main difference in the two league games compared to the 'cup' game was the performance of Anthony Posa, the H/A stand off. At Inverleith and at Auldhouse on Saturday, he dictated the game with his kicking. He was also more direct with his running on Saturday. In the cup game, we managed to get him running sideways and his kicking was put under more pressure. He seemed to be sitting a bit deeper on Saturday, and was therefore able to avoid the trouble we had him in at the cup game.

People have been saying that Saturday's result has cost us the chance of promotion. On face value, yes, it might well have done. I think, however, if you look at the following statistics, it's only too apparent where the problems lie. Against the the other top 5 teams - H/A, Biggar, Haddington & Edinburgh Accies - our statistics are as follows:

Played: 8 - won 1, drawn 1, lost 6
Points For: 130
Points Against: 130
Try Bonus: 1
Losing Bonus: 6
Total Points: 13

Yes, 13 points out of a possible 30 against our closest challengers probably more than tells the story of the season, rather than putting the season down to losing on Saturday. The thing we must remember is that, despite these statistics, we can still go up. We go into the last league game of the season on Saturday with something to play for. In the last few years, all we have had to play for at this stage of the season has been the avoidance of relegation, and I think the fact that promotion is still a possibility when we start our 18th and final league game is a sign of the progress we have made over the season.

Whilst the boys were down after the match on Saturday, the news that filtered through from Jordanhill School, where the 2nd XV were playing, of the 52-17 win and the fact this clinched promotion to the 1st Division of the 2nd XV league gave everyone a lift. The 2nd XV still have a couple of games to play and an outside chance of the Championship. It is a great achievement by the squad and, again, is another sign of the progress that has been made. Grant McKenzie, Jason Conlin, Ken Sharp and captain Donald Scott deserve all the congratulations of the club in achieving a return to the highest level of 2nd XV rugby. Some massive challenges await them next season, but, when you look at the talent in their team, it shows that the club is probably in the best state it has been in for years. That, without doubt, is another sign of the progress that has been made.

Riggers

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