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“We’re playing with better balance, there’s no doubt about
that. We’re able to mix it with teams in a number of
different areas now.” So said Boroughmuir coach Eamon John
after watching his side claim a ninth consecutive win in the
Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership Division One. Ayr were
always likely to provide a hugely testing time for the ’Muir
pack, in Scott Lines and Damien Kelly they have two of the
best exponents of second row play in the division, but
Boroughmuir proved their equals today and came away with a
deserved bonus point victory.
Having opened up a nine point gap over closest rivals
Melrose last weekend, it was important that ’Muir didn’t let
any sort of over confidence creep into their performance,
and they began well, taking the game straight to the Ayr
pack. With Fergus Pringle and Ben Fisher missing for the
home side, Stuart Waddell and Euan Matheson stepped in as
replacements, and both did sterling work throughout the
match, in
both
tight and loose play.
Frustratingly, however, ’Muir had to wait almost quarter of
an hour into the match before they managed to cross the Ayr
line. Mistakes were always likely on such a cold and windy
day, but the number of times they turned ball over was
causing frustration amongst the fans. Elgan O’Donnell had
already slotted a penalty from thirty metres before Freddie
Lait picked up from a metre out and drove his way over the
line.
There was little chance that Ayr were going to shrink
quietly away into the Edinburgh afternoon though, and they
soon manufactured a try of their own. When Boroughmuir were
penalised for offside at a ruck just inside their own half,
Ayr fly-half Kenny Diffenthal thumped the penalty deep into
the ’Muir twenty-two. The initial catch-and-drive was
repelled, but there was nothing could be done when Damien
Kelly picked up at the base of the ruck and powered over for
a try. Diffenthal’s missed conversion kept the gap at three
points.
’Muir’s superiority in both territory and possession
deserved bigger than that three point gap and after five
minutes further hard work, trying to grind down their
opponents, they extended the lead with a score from veteran
lock forward Graeme McCallum. Opting for a scrum when
awarded a penalty five metres from the Ayr line, Matheson
picked and drove from the base, and when the ball was
quickly recycled, McCallum saw his chance and showed great
strength to bag the try. O’Donnell added the conversion from
just right of the posts.
A Diffenthal penalty was the only further scoring in the
half, but that was not through a lack of trying. Both sides
had opportunities but neither could quite take that final
step and hold onto the ball long enough to cross the line.
With the strong wind blowing straight across the pitch,
there was no advantage to be had from attacking either end,
and ’Muir must have been confident that, as they have
throughout the season, they could hold onto their lead.
What they did, however, was extend it early in the second
half to the point where they were almost home and dry. The
rolling maul has been a weapon that ’Muir have made far
better use of this season, and it came to the fore to bag
Olly Brown his second try in as many games. After Sean
Crombie had a score chalked off for a forward pass, a
penalty was kicked to touch just five metres from the Ayr
line, and with Brown acting as rudder at the back, the maul
powered its way over the line and the blindside flanker
touched down for the five points.
Boroughmuir’s next – and bonus point – try was Angus
Martyn’s ninth of the season, and somewhat typical of the
South African born flanker. When the ball squirted out of a
tackle near half way, Stuart Waddell ensured it came back on
the ’Muir side and slipped a pass to Martyn. Still just
inside his own half, it appeared as though Andy Dunlop had
tight hold of him. Martyn managed to shake the number
eight’s grasp though and find himself with a clear run to
the line. O’Donnell just missed both conversion attempts,
but with a seventeen point gap and just over twenty minutes
left to play, ’Muir would have to work hard to lose the
match.
Ayr knew that they had to score, and quickly,
if they were to salvage anything from the match, but for ten
minutes after Martyn’s try they found nothing but a green
and blue wall blocking their way. A tremendous defensive
effort, led by the on-form Olly Brown, repelled Ayr until
finally, nine minutes from the end of the match, Kelly found
himself on the end of a catch-and-drive move to score his
second try of the match. Diffenthal’s conversion reduced the
gap further, but when he missed a penalty with five minutes
remaining, Ayr’s chance seemed all but gone.
Boroughmuir still had time to have the final say in the
match, they went close on the left wing when perhaps a few
passes more sympathetic than the ones thrown might have seen
them score, but it mattered not as O’Donnell dropped a
shoulder and glided through a gap to score just right of the
posts. He added the extra two points with the final kick of
the match to close out a highly encouraging win for the home
team.
The old cliché of “one match at a time” comes to mind when
things are going so well, but it is difficult to ignore that
Boroughmuir have now won their first nine games of the
league season. To make it ten, however, they must overcome
one of the sternest challenges of the season when they
travel to Malleny Park next week. The devastating defeat
that Currie inflicted in the same fixture last season will
not have been forgotten, and will surely only provide extra
motivation for ’Muir to go out and claim yet another win.
Boroughmuir: Stephen Ruddick;
Tom Bury, Malcolm Clapperton, Elgan O'Donnell, Rory Couper;
Greg Cottrell, Calum Cusiter; Freddie Lait, Sean Crombie,
Cam Ward; Stuart Waddell, Graeme McCallum; Olly Brown, Euan
Matheson,
Angus Martyn. Subs Used Conor Costigan, Davie Cunningham.
Andy Hadden - Not Used: Joni Hare, James White |
