Jed-Forest vs Stew Mel, 8/11/03

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Squad

The Stewart's Melville FP RFC team to play Jed-Forest at Riverside Park on Saturday, kick off 3 pm, is:

The starting XV was only finalised at training this evening after fitness checks were carried out on a number of players. There are three changes from the team that started against Strathendrick, with Borth, Woody and Derek dropping out.

Nick Penny replaces Derek in the 2nd Row, while Tyronne returns to the wing to let fit again Sam Hendry start at 15. Shiely replaces Woody at Stand Off.

Riggers' Review

With ten minutes gone in the second half and trailing by 22-7, memories came flooding back of our last floodlit visit to Riverside Park in 1995, when we were on the receiving end of a Royal Blue hammering. Despite opening the scoring with a well worked Graham Shiel try, the remainder of the first half had seen us on the back foot, playing ill disciplined rugby and unable to do the basics at set pieces well enough to ensure ball.

Half-time came and went with no major improvement in our fortunes or performance, we were struggling .... and then suddenly somebody hit the switch. We were winning set piece ball, we were playing with control, using the wind to put the ball in behind Jed, the follow up tackles were being made, the passes were sticking and, in fifteen glorious minutes, we went from 22-7 down to 26-22 ahead through tries by Tyronne Anderson, Nick Wood and Stuart Bartwicki. That was the real Stew/Mel. Standing up and being counted. Doing what they have practised so long during the Summer and the season to date. Shiely then added a drop goal - similar to Chris Paterson's against the Aussies, only 30 yards nearer the posts! - and we were in control. Even when we were reduced to fourteen men late on with Dalgy being sin-binned, it didn't matter, as we were still more than a match for a fifteen man Jed side.

When the final whistle came, there was joy all around. A visit to the Borders had produced a bonus point win and took us back to a 50% league record. It also saw the first time ever that Macca, whose summation of events after the game is usually spot on, was lost for words. His shrug of his shoulders said it all. How can we be so poor and so good in the same afternoon? Only the players can answer that, and they need to start soon.

West of Scotland come calling to Inverleith next Saturday afternoon and, certainly, a revenge mission from us is on the cards. West, if you can remember, administered the hammering of all hammerings to us at Burnbrae on 30th November 2002 and, nearly a year on, we finally get the chance to make amends. There may only be five or six of that squad playing next Saturday, but Benzo was involved that day as a player and it is still a painful memory for him.

West is the start of another hard run of games for us. A match with near neighbours Edinburgh Accies comes the following week in the Cup, and I'm sure I know what they'll be using for motivation for that one. We then start the second round of league matches with promotion contenders Biggar coming to Inverleith. With Kelso, Haddington and Grangemouth all to be played before Christmas, there is no let up in the intensity or demands asked of the players. With the 2nds continuing to win - and win well - and with our injury list hopefully starting to reduce, we can look forward with some hope that a finish in the top half of the table is not beyond us.

Riggers

Stew Mel Stats

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