Melrose vs Stew Mel, 4/2/06

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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:

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

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