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Melrose vs Stew Mel,
4/2/06
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Riggers' Review
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Squad
The Stewart's Melville FP RFC team to play Melrose at the
Greenyards on Saturday, kick off 3 pm, is:
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15
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Richard Borthwick
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14
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Pete McLean
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13
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Craig Joiner
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12
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Graham Shiel
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11
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Jed Gordon
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10
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Nick Wood
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9
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Ross Samson |
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1
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Paul Wharakura (captain)
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2
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Shaun McMurchy
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3
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Hotili Asi
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4
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Alex Clarke
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5
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Ben Leathes
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6
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Stephen Dalgleish
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7
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Stuart Clark
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8
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Graham Lind |
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16
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Euan Paterson |
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17
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Andrew Statham |
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18
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Phil Hendry |
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19
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Alex Cox |
Players are asked to meet at Inverleith at noon on Saturday,
as the bus to Melrose will leave at 12.15 pm sharp.
Supporters should note that, as the 2nd XV will also be
on the bus to Melrose, there will not be any spare places.
But please make your own way down to Melrose to cheer us
on - with a partisan crowd behind us, anything is possible.
Malky
Riggers'
Review

What a weekend! You can be no prouder than
a Stewart's Melville and Scotland supporter after the last
couple of days. In both games, a huge amount of heart and
determination enabled victories to be secured against all
odds. Enough of Scotland, though - they will rightly get
plenty of coverage - the Stewart's Melville display at the
Greenyards was fantastic, and that was even with us trying
to make it difficult for ourselves.
The first half started with Melrose looking fairly slick,
with Toony slotting quite seamlessly into their systems
in a way that left many Melrose supporters bemused. Only
three minutes in, his mere presence had created space for
the Melrose left wing to be put away, allowing him to score
near the corner. When Toony slotted the conversion, even
some of the Melrose faithful who found it difficult to accept
a 'pail' playing for them applauded. We were on the ropes.

Our lucky break came when the Melrose prop decided to use
Shaun McMurchy as a punch bag. An understandable incident,
of course, but the yellow card he received was justice for
Shaun. In the ten minute period he was off the field, the
belief that we could win this game rose markedly. Captain
Paul was held up over the line, and we went through a period
of territorial domination. Melrose still looked dangerous,
though, and there was a worry that we were needing to commit
more men than usual to secure possession in rucks and mauls,
and that any turnovers could be fatal. But excellent defence
by the whole team kept Melrose at bay, with old warriors
Jackie and Sheesh leading the way and the youngest warrior
of them all, Ross Samson, ably assisting.

With Melrose back to their full complement, the game was
being slugged out between the two 22s, and no quarter was
being asked for or given. Our break came after we managed
to hold on to possession for a number of phases and Jed
Gordon was finally released; he duly scuttled away to score
his 18th try in 35 games for the 1st XV. A fairly good strike
rate, I'm sure you'll agree. Borth couldn't add the extras,
but we were back in the game. We should have taken the lead
during the remaining ten minutes of the half, but our error
count was unusually high and our line out decided to stop
functioning, so life was tough. Our chances increased, though,
after Toony decided to try and tackle Hoti and came off
second best. He had to leave the field with a shoulder injury,
to rousing applause.

Half time came and went, and there was every chance of
securing another vital victory. Then a try, started on the
Melrose line with a break by their big inside centre and
finished under our posts, meant we had it all to do again.
14-5 down with 38 minutes to play. The game was going to
be tough, but you could sense that the forwards were, once
again, putting in a big shift, and chances would come. Our
first chance came with a penalty, which Borth converted
to narrow the gap to six points. We were fairly dominant
in territory terms, but not really creating any clear cut
chances.

This all changed with about ten minutes to go, when turnover
ball ended up in the hands of Borth, who, with a bit of
space, went tearing down the pitch then rounded the Melrose
winger to score in the corner. 14-13 to Melrose and a tricky
kick to follow. The kick was missed, but, before we knew
it, Borth had the ball in his hands again for a second attempt
due to being on the receiving end of some verbals from the
Melrose team as they tried to charge the first kick down.
The second attempt sailed between the uprights and we were
in the lead for the first time.

The last ten minutes seemed to take an eternity to pass.
The Stewart's Melville support were making themselves hoarse
on the touchline, encouraging the team on. Our biggest fear
was a penalty, and, indeed, with a couple of minutes to
go, Melrose were awarded a penalty on our ten meter line.
The kick had the length, but sailed inches wide. The effort
of the boys defensively at this stage was huge, and all
were urging the referee to end our agony. The game kept
going until the boys were told that the scrum they were
in was the last play of the game. We had the put in, Shaun
secured the ball, young Sammy picked up and booted the ball
out of the ground and the whistle went.

What a fantastic effort by the team. To a man, each and
every one contributed to the success. With Ross Rennie away
with the 7s and Dave McCall, Andy Easson, Colin Goudie and
Richie Vernon away with the U19s, we were stretched to the
limit, but those that came into the team played their part.
We certainly now have more players capable of playing at
the level we need to than we did at the start of the season.
Our destiny remains in our own hands. It's bizarre, looking
at the league table after our fifth win on the trot, still
to find ourselves in the relegation zone. Four more performances
like that, however, and we will have a chance of moving
out of that zone and ensuring another season in Premier
1. The next game is already on the horizon, with Hawick
at Inverleith next Saturday. We will still be 'understrength'
for that game, but, if the boys can lift themselves to another
massive effort, then, hopefully, the memory of the last
encounter with Hawick will be banished. I, for one, can't
wait for the game, and look forward to seeing a big crowd,
ready to help cheer our team on to another win.
Riggers
Stew
Mel Stats
| Result |
Won 14-15 |
| Sequence |
5-0,
7-0, 7-5
(half time), 12-5,
14-5, 14-8,
14-13, 14-15
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| Tries |
Jed Gordon (30 mins), Richard Borthwick
(65 mins) |
| Conversions |
Richard Borthwick 1 (second try) |
| Penalties |
Richard Borthwick 1 (50 minutes) |
| Cards |
Melrose prop Richard Higgins yellowed for fisticuffs
after 5 minutes
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| Referee |
David Changleng of Gala |
| Single Sentence Summary |
When Black Al called this one of the finest
performances he has ever seen from a Stew Mel team,
he got it spot on - the boys played their guts out today,
and thoroughly deserved the win |
| Leading Lion |
Verging on a collective award this week, as all of
the players are deserving of recognition. The pack
were immense, steady in the scrum and stealing some
vital lineouts, with big Clarky, Phil Hendry and Shaun
catching the eye.
The backs were largely successful in policing their
dangerous Melrose counterparts, intelligent kicking
from Woody and Sheesh keeping us away from our line
for much of the game. Borth also deserves a mention
for his try, which he ran in through heavy traffic
from nigh on the half way line.
Both Shiely and Craig Joiner played really well on
their return to their old stomping ground, and this
week's award goes to Shiely
- class.
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| Bevvy Bulletin |
Actually not the berserk bus trip you might expect,
given the scoreline today - Edinburgh isn't exactly
a long drive from Melrose, and the players were understandably
knackered after their exertions at the Greenyards.
Managed a couple of pints of ale before the game,
though, in the fab King's
Arms on the High Street in Melrose. Three ales
on tap, Six Nations on the big screen, saloon doors
in the Gents, a caricature of Shiely on the wall -
superb!
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| Pie Points |
Hard not to find decent grub in Melrose,
really. Went for a huge mince bridie then a tasty steak
and mustard wrap from a deli called 'For Those About
To Cook' on the High Street - top nosh. |
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