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Can do better
Despite the four tries and five point haul
that followed Boroughmuir back from Old Anniesland this
afternoon, those three words were on everyone’s lips. Just
as they had against Melrose, Boroughmuir made a game far
harder for themselves than it should have been, however,
those league points are fair consolation.
Twice – once in each half – the Edinburgh
side were in a position on the scoreboard where they should
pushed on and put acres of daylight between themselves and
Hawks. Indeed, they may have done so were it not for their
poor execution throughout the eighty minutes, and
particularly in attack where so many advantageous field
positions were given up that even the most dedicated lost
count.
The game had started brightly, although Hawks
had much of the territory, ’Muir found themselves twelve
points up after just seven minutes thanks to two
scintillating breakaway tries. The first of those came from
Malcolm Clapperton after two minutes of the game, during
which time the ball was always in play.
After Ben Fisher had driven up to the halfway
line, a dummy run from Fred Lait – back in the more familiar
position of prop after last week’s sojourn in the second row
– created a gap in the Hawks defence which Fergus Pringle
stormed through. He linked up with fly-half Matt Canon, and
Clapperton rounded off the final thirty metres, touching
down under the posts, giving Elgan O’Donnell a simple
conversion.
Hawks continued to have more than their fair
share of the ball, but ’Muir continued to score the points.
When outside centre Gavin MacDonald spilled a ball into
Stephen Ruddick’s arms in the ’Muir twenty-two, the visiting
full back put his head down and set off on a run. Ten metres
inside his own half, he found a supporting runner in Tom
Bury, and though three Hawks defenders tried to stop the
flying winger, he made the touchdown look easy.
Shell-shocked by events, Hawks spent the next
ten minutes fully on the defensive as Boroughmuir took the
game to them. It was a period of the game in which the
visitors really should have made the result safe, but
whenever a break was made the ball was either knocked-on,
turned over in the ruck or simply too slow away from the
breakdown, allowing the home defence to reorganise.
And it was these mistakes for which they paid
when Hawks catapulted themselves back into the game. ’Muir
were penalised at a scrum just inside their own half and
back row forward Ally MacLay’s quick tap caught them off
guard, releasing John Fitzpatrick and Stuart Low down the
left, flanker Fitzpatrick finishing the move off in the
corner.
And their next score came directly from the
kick-off. O’Donnell’s restart floated straight into touch,
and from the scrum awarded, former winger Ally MacLay darted
round two would be tacklers before feeding his captain,
Stevie Gordon, who touched down seven metres in from the
touchline. Fly-half Ruaridh Jackson converted both tries,
giving his side a two point lead.
The first half was becoming a thoroughly
pulsating encounter, and took another twist after
twenty-five minutes when Hawks’ lock-forward Richard Gray
was sent to the sin-bin after a cynical offside offence.
Boroughmuir spurned the chance to go for the three points,
and it initially backfired, but just before Gray returned to
the field, Angus Martyn pounced to score. As Hawks looked to
attack from their own ten metre line, Martyn pick-pocketed
Jackson and outpaced Gordon to score; O’Donnell added the
extras.
The half-time team talk for both sides must
have centred on the need to cut out the myriad mistakes
which were plaguing their game, and at least for the opening
part of the second half, it was something that Hawks
managed. Sterling defence from ’Muir, however, kept them
down to an Ian Noble penalty in that time, and they remained
in the lead.
Having weathered the Glasgow storm, ’Muir
shifted themselves up a gear, and very nearly claimed their
fourth try after a wonderful break from Sean Crombie. The
hooker ghosted between the Hawks midfield, and the try was
only foiled when an erroneous decision for a forward pass
was made.
’Muir remained in the ascendancy until they
finally did claim their fourth try of the game with only
fifteen minutes remaining. The move began when Olly Brown
took a superb catch at a lineout and drove a good ten yards
before being hauled down. Matt Canon then showed his class,
easing between Noble and Rory Kerr before finding Bury in
support for the youngster to claim his second try.
O’Donnell’s missed conversion left the gap at
a precarious seven points, though again they had
opportunities to extend it before Hawks mounted a comeback.
Once Hawks had regained a measure of their confidence,
marshalled expertly by Kenny Sinclair from scrum half, there
was an inevitability that they would score again in the
match.
’Muir held out for as long as they could, but
just into injury time, replacement prop Gavin Mories
battered his way over. Jackson had come back onto the field
and resumed kicking responsibilities from Noble, but his
effort to tie the scores was pushed to the right, and ’Muir
held on to the final whistle to claim the win.
There are, of course, many things to work on,
neither performance this season has been near perfect, and
we can all rest assured that efforts will be made to
overcome those deficiencies ahead of next week’s tie against
Dundee. However, the positive that can be taken from the
opening of the season, is that the room for improvement
comes from a base of nine points already gained. When push
comes to shove, it’s points on the board that matter, and
though it’s early yet, there’s no one with more than
Boroughmuir.
Boroughmuir: Stephen Ruddick;
Tom Bury, Malcolm Clapperton, Elgan O'Donnell, Rory Couper;
Matt Cannon, Calum Cusiter; Freddie Lait, Sean Crombie, Cam
Ward; Graeme McCallum, Fergus Pringle; Olly Brown, Ben Fisher,
Angus Martyn. Subs Used Andy Hadden, Davie Cunningham. Nigel
Drapper, Phil Bloomer, Greg Cottrell |
