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Boroughmuir have become used to haute cuisine this season, but today
they served up the rugby equivalent of stew and dumplings.
They were harried into mistakes throughout the eighty
minutes by an Accies side that were desperate for a win to
ease their troubles at the wrong end of the table. They even
fell behind for the first time in the eighty-second minute,
but showed enough character and determination to come back
and claim the victory.
It was perhaps ironic indeed that a match so void of points scoring
swung either way so late in the day, and Accies will no
doubt feel that they once again contrived to lose a game
they should have won, but Boroughmuir likewise believed they
had done more than enough to merit coming away with the four
points.
In hindsight, the game was never likely to be a high scoring affair.
On a cold day with a strong wind whipping across Raeburn
Place, Accies only had to look as far as late last season
for inspiration as to how to stop the Boroughmuir machine.
On that occasion at the same venue, the hosts claimed a
thoroughly deserved victory and a place at Murrayfield in
the Scottish Cup Final. Today, their tactics were much the
same, trying to stifle the Meggetland attacking threat and
play a territorial game to the strength of their forward
pack.
For much of the match they managed just that, the lineout was
dominated by blue and white shirts and they flooded the
breakdown in an attempt to win vital turnover ball. However,
it was ’Muir who scored the first points, and they did so
attacking quickly after stealing ball from the Accies pack.
As so often it was Angus Martyn who pried the ball from
opposition hands and tore away into space. He was chased
down before reaching the line, but good support and quickly
recycled ball saw Rory Couper in at the corner.
Accies replied with a penalty through Edinburgh professional
fly-half Greg Laidlaw and they continued to apply the
pressure for the rest of the half. In this period, and the
opening ten minutes of the second half, when Accies
controlled both possession and territory, they threw
everything they could muster at the Boroughmuir line. Time
and again though they were repelled, always a ’Muir shirt
was to be found in the way at the crucial juncture, and with
fifty minutes gone, only a trading of penalties between
Laidlaw and Elgan O’Donnell had added to the score.
In the run up to Laidlaw’s second successful kick, both sides had
been reduced to fourteen men. Boroughmuir’s Olly Brown and
Accies’ Greg Campbell took exception to each other at a ruck
on the ’Muir line. Punches were swung, some connected, and
both were sent to cool down on the touchline for ten
minutes.
Laidlaw and O’Donnell swapped penalties for the second time in the
match either side of the hour mark to keep the gap at a mere
two points, 9-11, but by this time it was Boroughmuir who
were in the ascendancy. They camped themselves on the Accies
line, a series of scrums ended in Olly Brown, newly returned
to the field, being stopped just inches short of a try in
the corner whilst replacement lock forward Stuart Waddell
made a strong burst towards the line and only the close
attentions of the Accies defence forced a knock-on as the
line beckoned.
Accies finally cleared their lines as the game moved into injury
time, and when they swept up an over throw at the
Boroughmuir lineout, they had the perfect platform. A
penalty was awarded for a high tackle and Laidlaw lined up
the kick from forty metres. There never seemed a doubt in
his mind that it would dissect the posts, and the roar that
greeted its success belied the small numbers of the crowd.
The hosts’ problem may have been that, at this point, it looked as
if the players believed they had won the game, as much as
the fans did. Boroughmuir had no intentions of letting go
that easily, however, and Tom Bury flew up the pitch to
charge down a clearance on the Accies twenty-two. The home
side won a scrum, but again ’Muir showed their winning
character, Sean Crombie striking against the head and when
scrum-half Mike Campbell encroached offside, O’Donnell
slotted a penalty from in front of the posts to finally
claim the victory.
It was not the champagne rugby that we have become used to this
season; it was not even a five point haul as had been
collected in each of the previous nine matches. It was,
however, a win where such results are notoriously difficult
to come by. There is little doubt that Accies will beat
teams at Raeburn in the second half of the season, playing
as they did today they are not a bottom-of-the-table side,
and as coach Eamon John said afterwards, not every game can
be won by knock-out, sometimes it’s just enough to take the
decision on points.
Boroughmuir: Stephen Ruddick;
Tom Bury, Malcolm Clapperton, Elgan O'Donnell, Rory Couper;
Matt Cannon, Calum Cusiter; Freddie Lait, Sean Crombie,
Cam Ward; Fergus Pringle, Graeme McCallum; Olly Brown, Euan
Matheson,
Angus Martyn. Subs Used Conor Costigan, Stuart Waddell, Greg Cottrell
- Not Used: Davie Cunningham, Ed Mills |
