Heriot's 2nd XV vs Stew Mel 2nd XV, 8/9/07

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Squad

The Stewart's Melville team for Saturday's league game against Heriot's at Goldenacre, kick off 1.30 pm, is:

Players are asked to meet at Goldenacre at 12.15 pm on Saturday. Please bring shirt and tie for after the game.

Tubbs

Match Report

The second XV travelled the short distance to a sunny Goldenacre on Saturday to play their second match of the current league campaign.

Somewhat disappointingly, the team was missing a number of the forwards who performed so well the previous week against Watsonians, as injuries within the 1st XV squad had a knock-on impact on the 2s.

The game started brightly, with Stew Mel gaining their fair share of possession, however early chances were spurned and it soon became clear that the team were facing a strong and well drilled Heriot's outfit. Despite the numerous enforced changes in the front five, the Stew Mel set piece functioned well, with a solid foundation being set up by Brian McDougall and Lindsay Ross at the scrum and some excellent work from Dougie Rycroft in the lineout. The pack struggled to compete effectively at the breakdown, however, and were all too often turned over when taking ball into contact.

As the first half developed, the home team started to take a strong grip on the game, and some hard running from their inside centre and outside backs led to a number of line breaks and resultant scores. The Stew Mel team continued to battle hard, but it was becoming evident that this was going to prove to be a long day for the visitors. Half time score was 35–0 or thereabouts.

The second half followed a similar pattern of events, though there were a number of promising passages of Stew Mel play, and we were ultimately rewarded with two excellent scores from Cedric Unholz and Andy Bryce. These two players, along with Mickey McDonald, Blair Tweedie and Dougie Rycroft, deserve significant credit for their performances on a very tough day.

In summary, a depleted team was well beaten by a good Heriot's side. We will train harder, hope for better luck on the injury front, and go forwards to tackle the Rodneys head on at Raeburn Place next weekend.

Malky

Stew Mel Stats

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