Boroughmuir won one of their first five games
while Heriot's won all five, scoring an average of over 50
points a game. No one in the Boroughmuir camp was under any
illusion about this game and a hard encounter was expected.
'Muir fielded a strong squad and obviously decided to take
it to their hosts right from the start. With Euan Matheson
and Stuart Waddell leading the rampage up front and the
backs playing with pace and precision the visitor troubled
Heriot's from the word go.
The first 10 minutes saw breaks from Ed
Mills, Euan Matheson and Chris Hill all come close but the
final pass was not quite there. Before the quarter hour
'Muir opened the scoring when Bruce Aitchison slotted a
penalty after Euan Matheson stole ball at the maul and
Heriot's were caught offside.
Confidence is a fragile thing and 'Muir
immediately infringed at the restart to allow Heriot's a
kick at goal to level the scores which the duly accepted but
this only served to enervate 'Muir even more. With the pack
rucking Heriot's off their own ball, quick hands behind the
scrum allowed James White to come in at a fine angle to go
in under the posts. Aitchison added the extras to stretch
the lead. Before the half-hour 'Muir went further ahead when
a fine line-out take at the front by Andy Clark saw the pack
drive close to the line. When the momentum was stopped the
backs let fly and Johnny McGaughey took a pop pass from
captain James Fish to dive over. Aitchison again converted
the score to put 'Muir 14 points clear.
Heriot's were never going to lie down and
capitulate and they started to dominate territory and
possession as the first half drew to a close. 'Muir held
them out but the pattern continued well into the second
half. Only some superb pressure defence form 'Muir held
their hosts at bay.
With five minutes remaining and Heriot's
desperate for a score Ed Mills went wide on the right and
with a quick change of pace left his man behind and scored
the clinching try. That wasn't enough for 'Muir as as the
clock ticked down Andy Knight rescued loose ball and the
bald brigade (Knight, Aitchison and Fish) pounded upfield.
Ed Mills was again on hand to take a one-handed offload from
James Fish to score on the wing.
After several narrow defeats it was a real
tonic to trounce the league leaders and to do so in style.
The season starts here.
