Nov
10
Good start to the Regional Cup campaign in Haddington
Muir dominate 32-19 at Neilson Park
Match report by Morgane Jarles
Boroughmuir won their first Cup game of the season away in Haddington this Saturday, beating the East Lothian side 32-19. The tries came from Will Kay, Jordan Edmunds and Mark Hare in the first half, followed by a double by Craig Marshall in the second half. There was also a penalty by Graeme Blackhall.
There were quite a few changes in the Muir team, with Will Kay, Jordan Edmunds and Ed Farqurharson coming back from injury. Graeme Blackhall, Johnny Adams, Adam Best and Ian Moody all had their first start of the season.
The game started with Haddington stealing the Muir ball in a lineout. Left winger Kyle Adams made good ground on the blind side. Boroughmuir soon recovered the ball and was close to scoring after Craig Marshall ran a fine line break.
There was a knock on, but Muir’s strong scrum won a penalty right in front of the posts, kicked through the woodwork by Blackhall (3-0). The Meggetland men held on to possession and there was good communication with Craig Marshall then Neil Rodger both going forward. Haddington got penalized in defence, allowing Muir to take the ball further up and display a very strong maul that went over the try line, but was held up. Haddington had to attack from there, but Muir soon benefitted from a turnover.
Will Kay found the right interval in the confused defensive line and scored the first try of the afternoon. Blackhall added the extra points (10-0). Haddington replied right after the restart with a line break by Stuart Miller who offloaded to Isaiah Mamea for the touchdown. James Ferguson converted the try (10-7). The hosts held on to possession and Andrew Symington broke through on the right. Boroughmuir’s tight defence soon recovered the ball, and there were fine passages of play with the ball going quickly through the hands on the backline, then Jordan Webster made ground on his wing.
This was followed by another clever move with Craig Marshall coming in, which resulted into an unconverted try by Jordan Edmunds on the right (15-7). The Boroughmuir back kept the ball moving fast with an excellent switch between Stevie Wilson and Mark Hare.
Then Craig Marshall and Jordan Webster communicated well on the left wing and ran up half of the pitch. They were close to scoring but there was a knock on. Haddington thus had the ball, and their forwards worked really hard on the left, taking the ball up little by little. The Muir defence made it impossible for them to open wide, and soon gained a penalty.
However, good pressure in defence by Isaiah Mamea resulted into a Haddington lineout, but Muir’s defence was keen, with good hassle by Johnny Adams at scrums, and Neil Rodger stole the ball at the back of a lineout. The Muir backline put pace on the ball, and Mark Hare scored a try after a fine line break, converted by Blackhall, giving Boroughmuir a comfortable advantage at half-time (HT 22-7).
The ball was still going through the hands of the Boroughmuir backs after the restart, with Mark Hare crashing in after a good lineout. Webster made ground on the left, then the ball went back to the midfield and Haddington conceded a penalty in defence, allowing the Edinburgh side to take the ball further up.
However, there was a knock on over the try line, giving the hosts the opportunity to regain possession, but only briefly. Indeed, Boroughmuir soon benefitted from a turnover, and Craig Marshall scored an unconverted try on the left, therefore widening the gap on the scoreboard (27-7).
Muir kept testing the defensive line, with good hits by Nick Fraser and Jordan Webster as well as a break by Jordan Edmunds, but Haddington gained a penalty, and held on to the ball after that. The match became more contested with Haddington more present in attack and tighter in defence.
Still, after the forwards won a lineout, Marshall sprinted through and scored another unconverted try, on the right this time (32-7). Haddington kept the ball for the rest of the game, and Andrew Symington scored 2 tries successively. The first one was unconverted and came after a huge tackle on Craig Marshall (32-12). Then Symington found a gap in the defence and ran a fine line before touching down. James Ferguson added the extra points on the final whistle (32-19).
Coach Ben Fisher commented after the game:
“Today was a moral victory to Haddington. We are going to have to raise our level for the rest of our league campaign. The players are looking forward to harder training this week”.
At Neilson Park, Haddington, Saturday 9th November 2013, KO 12.30
Referee: Gordon Corry (Gala Wanderers)
Score evolution: 3-0, 10-0, 10-7, 15-7, 22-7 (HT), 27-7, 32-7, 32-12, 32-19.
Boroughmuir: 5 tries (Kay 17’, Edmunds 28’, Hare 40’, Marshall 53’ & 70’), 2 conversions (Blackhall 17’ & 40’), 1 penalty (Blackhall 6’).
Haddington: 3 tries (Mamea 18’, Symington 75’ & 80’), 2 conversions (Ferguson 18’ & 80’).
Boroughmuir: 15.Craig Marshall, 14. Jordan Webster, 13.Mark Hare, 12. Stevie Wilson, 11.Jordan Edmunds, 10. Graeme Blackhall, 09.Johnny Adams; 01. Nick Fraser, 02. Callum Taylor, 03.Angus Wallace, 04. Adam Best, 05. Trent Sutton, 06. Will Kay, 08. Ian Moody, 07. Neil Rodger. Subs: 16.Darren Miller, 17.Scott Laird, 18.Magnus Bradbury, 19.Ed Farqurharson, 20. Sam Johnson.
Haddington: 15.Stuart Millar, 14.Andrew Symington, 13. Euan Herkes, 12.Isaiah Mamea, 11.Kyle Adams, 10. James Ferguson, 09. Jamie Paterson; 01.Garry Cockburn, 02.Craig Harrison, 03. Phil Smith, 04. Ben Laing, 05. Harry Hamilton, 06. Colin Stuart, 08. Paul Pritchard, 07. Alex Spence. Subs: 16. Graham Paris, 17. Mike Legget, 18. Calum Champion, 19. Alex Watt.
