West Of Scotland vs Stew Mel, 22/9/07

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Squad

The Stewart's Melville FP RFC team to play West Of Scotland FC at Burnbrae on Saturday, kick off 3 pm, is:

After the promising performance against Aberdeen Grammar last week, there are no changes between numbers 1 and 10 in the squad to face West at Burnbrae on Saturday.

In the backs, Coxy drops out due to injury and Johnny Adams comes in for his second start on the wing, Christy switching to 15 and Murray moving to outside centre to accommodate this.

The team bus will leave Inverleith at 12 noon sharp on Saturday if any supporters would like a lift through to cheer the boys on. Glasgow hasn't been a happy hunting ground for us of late, so maybe this will be the week where the hoodoo is finally laid to rest!

If you're driving, directions to Burnbrae are here.

Ben

Borth's Bulletin

On Saturday the 1st XV travelled to West of Scotland, optimistic after a much improved performance against Aberdeen Grammar.

The opening few minutes were promising, with our scrum holding its own and Craig Marshall using the wind to kick us into West's territory. West were, however, awarded a penalty try after Donny was judged to have taken out their winger after he had chipped ahead following a turnover. We countered soon after, though, when Christy O'Donnell chased his own kick into West's 22 to put his opposite man under pressure. The charged clearance fell to Craig Marshall, who crossed the line to give us 5 points. Christy's game ended shortly after that, unfortunately, when he injured his head in a try saving tackle on West's winger. Christy has now left for university in Exeter, and we wish him all the best. He has taken his opportunity in the 1st XV well and we hope to see him in Stew Mel colours again.

West then began to assert their dominance at the set piece. Poor scrummaging and weak tackling led to their second try. Our defence was undoubtedly the most disappointing aspect of our play on Saturday, and we missed far too many tackles. We were then subjected to a sustained period of pressure on our line, and it seemed inevitable that West would drive over from a lineout. But we were saved by a brilliant turnover from Blair Tweedie, allowing Marsh to clear the lines. We ended the half well when Blair and Pete McLean chased a Rob Primrose kick to force a penalty, which Marsh knocked over for 3 points.

At 14-11 down at half time, we had no doubt that the game was there for the taking. A 'spirited' team talk form Macca and Millan urged the boys to believe in themselves. We started brightly, with Johnny Adams frequently crossing the gain line and offloading in the tackle. Andy Davidson, on as a substitute, followed a promising display last week, carrying the ball strongly in the loose. Our good start was, however, undone when Adrian Duncan was incorrectly penalised for being offside in the midfield. It is frustrating when decisions like this go against you - Aidy timed his run perfectly and smashed the West ball carrier, only to be penalised. We allowed this decision to affect our concentration and West crossed our line again in the next phase of play.

West had their tails up by this stage and continued to play with confidence. Another lost scrum saw their 12 breaking four tackles to score in the corner. Though the contest was over, Liam, Shaun, Dalgy and Rob, in particular, took the game to West and kept battling away. We put more phases together and enjoyed a long spell of possession in the opposition half. We were unable to convert the pressure into a score, though, and the game ended with a final try for West after another turnover and some impressive counter attacking.

Overall, it was a disappointing performance- we can't hide away from that. There were, however, some positives. Liam Casey was outstanding and was by far the best player on the pitch. Even when the scrum went backwards, he continued to drive us forward and was equally impressive in his defensive duties. The 2nd and 3rd XVs both won and there were strong performances from a number of individuals within both teams. We still have players such as Sam, Jimmy Moran and Stu Ker to come back, as well as Ek and Woody from longer term injuries.

It is essential that we stick together and work our way out of this situation. The fact that only 16 players turned up to training last Tuesday had a massive effect on our preparation for the West game. I think a lot of us underestimate the work that the coaches put into organising sessions, and how damaging a poor turnout can be. I have no doubt that we can still put a good run together, but it will require a lot of commitment and hard work. If we go into our shell now, it will be a long season. We have to regroup this week and meet Biggar head on. There will be no better way to kick start our season than to take the game to Biggar and show everyone what sort of rugby we are capable of playing.

And, if you need any more motivation, Ally 'Macho Man' Duncan has pledged not to shave or cut his hair until we win. Help the poor man out!

Borth

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