Sep
08
Boroughmuir 2nd XV vs Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
By Kevin Brown
A strong 2s squad arrived at Meggetland on Saturday with One dream, one soul, one prize One goal, one golden glance of what should be…………a win over our Stockbridge rivals.
The team was bolstered with the return of Mark Hare from injury and by Ian Martin, Sam Bingham and Dan O’Connell from 1st XV duty the previous week. All 3 could perhaps find themselves unlucky to be in the 2nd XV, but the release of professional players from Edinburgh Rugby saw us grateful for their services.
Accies themselves arrived with several experienced players in their ranks, including former Boroughmuir player Ramin Mathieson.
On a perfect day for running rugby, the early exchanges saw both teams carry ball at pace and with purpose. Muir showed good attacking intent with a series of surges into Accies territory. On the 10 minute mark, a catch and drive lineout was the chosen option from around 18m out from the Accies line. Patience and powerful driving saw the pack cross the line, with Sam Bingham emerging holding the ball. Unfortunately, Ian Martin could not add the extras from the conversion.
Boroughmuir 2nd XV 5 – 0 Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
Within 3 minutes Accies had clawed back 3 points, courtesy of a well struck Penalty, resulting from an offence at the breakdown. This was an area of debate throughout the course of the match, with Muir players seemingly guilty on numerous occasions for not rolling away enough, but arguments could also be made for the numerous times in which Accies players left their feet, diving over the ruck.
Boroughmuir 2nd XV 5 – 3 Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
It didn’t take long for the Magic 2s to start putting the pressure back on the Accies defence, with Craig Hunter, Gavin Welsh and Frank Yawayawa all carrying the ball hard and rolling the Accies defence backwards. Sustained pressure saw us back into the opposition 22 and forcing Accies to concede a penalty around 10m from their line.
Quick thinking from Jack Hamilton saw the ball shipped Left to midfield man, Mark Hare who offloaded from a half tackle to Craig Hunter. Craig drove the ball towards the posts and was dragged down with 5m to go.
A quick pick and drive by Adam Macfarlane kept the momentum with Muir and from the resulting ruck, quick hands saw the ball in Captain Ally Mcleods hands. Ally took the pass under heavy pressure and drove over the line with 2 Accies defenders for the score. Ian Martins conversion just drifted past the upright.
Boroughmuir 2nd XV 10 – 3 Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
Accies responded straight away, with a series of strong carries. Their 9 ran the game well throughout and their 12 was a powerful ball carrier. This pressure told and they crossed for a converted try.
Boroughmuir 2nd XV 10 – 10 Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
With 15 minutes left in the 1st half, Scott Rodgers retired from play with a back injury. Some re-jigging in the front row saw Darren Miller move into loose head and Dan move to tight.
The scrum dominance we had been enjoying was maintained and Darren showed some great technique at scrum time, especially with tricky (100% legal!) binding that upset his more experienced opponent!
The Magic continued their dominance from catch and drive lineouts when Darren Miller crossed for another pack effort. The maul over the last 2 weeks has been a useful tool for the 2s in getting some momentum, but is far from being perfect. There is more to come in this facet of the game. Ian Martin successfully converted.
Half Time Score
Boroughmuir 2nd XV 17 – 10 Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
The second half began with some sustained Accies pressure in the 22. Ian Martin was (perhaps harshly) penalised for a high shot 5 metres from the line. At this point Accies opted for the posts and successfully converted.
Boroughmuir 2nd XV 17 – 13 Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
Accies may have been left rueing taking the easy 3 as Boroughmuir then pegged them right back into their 22 for a fair bit of time. The pressure was telling on Accies, who conceded a number of penalties in quick succession. Each time, the Magic opted to kick for the corner, but the introduction of Accies stalwart Ed Stuart, halted successive attacking lineouts. A realisation kicked in that points win prizes and on the next penalty, Ian Martin stepped up to kick the 3 points.
Accies still kept coming, breaking out from deep in their own half. A chasing Muir tackler managed to haul down the bolting Accies player and the ball sprung loose to Stu Clark who romped 70 metres to score.
Only for the ref to cruelly chop it off for an offside call. From the Muir perspective there was no ruck, therefore no offside, but the Accies appeals won over the ref. It should be said, the ref had a steady game.
The game came to a conclusion with Muir having pegged back Accies into their own 22 following a deft chip kick from prop Ross Young.
All 19 players made an impact on the game this week and providing good entertainment for the small, yet vocal home support.
Final Score: Boroughmuir 2nd XV 20 – 13 Edinburgh Accies 2nd XV
The players voted for Man of the Match this week with the following result;
- Jack Hamilton – 5 votes
- Sam Bingham & Neil Rodger – 4 votes each
Jack has picked up coaches choice Man of the Match and now Players Choice in successive weeks. He is adapting to adult Rugby and is on a steep learning curve, but his enthusiasm for playing with ball in hand and fearless commitment to contact is admirable for an 18 year old.
The Magic continue their league campaign away to Melrose on Saturday. A good test for this developing team.
6th September 2014
Meggetland
Team Line Up:
Chris Rome / Gavin Welsh / Craig Hunter / Mark Hare / Frank Yawayawa / Ian Martin/ Jack Hamilton / Dan O'Connell / Sam Bingham / Scott Rodgers /Adam Macfarlane / Jon Hamblin / Richard Todd / Ally Macleod / Neil Rodger / Darren Miller / Ross Young / Tommy Docherty / Ed Zuiderent
Next Week's Game: Melrose (A)
