Nov
24
Muir back to winning ways after victory over Watsonians
Match report by Morgane Jarles
Photos by Dave Patterson
Boroughmuir made it 2 out of 2 wins in the Edinburgh Regional Cup this Saturday as they dominated Watsonians 34-15 at Meggetland. The game was contested throughout with Watsonians scoring 2 tries by Matt Page and Connor McLeod and a penalty by Ali Leadingham but Boroughmuir kept control and displayed an improved performance.
The tries came from Joni Hare, Greig Scott, Stevie Wilson and Murray Johnstone. David Reekie also scored 2 penalties in the first half.
The game started with a Watsonians’ ball but Muir was very present in defence right away. In fact, the home side attacked the line after a good take by Ian Moody in a lineout and gained a penalty, kicked between the posts by David Reekie (3-0).
The Myreside men regained possession and Chris Berkery made good ground before offloading to Ewan Miller. Watsonians won a penalty after a strong scrum, kicked through the woodwork by Leadingham (3-3). Muir replied with excellent breaks by Alex Cox and Greig Scott. The Meggetland men went through some good attacking phases before being awarded a penalty, giving David Reekie the opportunity to add 3 more points to the scoreboard (6-3).
Then, Watsonians worked well in attack, with a strong maul, but Muir put a lot of pressure in defence and recovered the ball. They displayed good passages of play, with an excellent pick up by Andy Rose at a scrum. Support was there, allowing Alex Cox to break through and offload to Jordan Webster. It was then Joni Hare’s turn to pick up after a scrum, and Stevie Wilson ran a fine line break. The ball quickly went through the hands on the left and the forwards were close to scoring but were held up by the defence.
Finally, Joni Hare was in for the try after the following scrum, and David Reekie added the extras (13-3). Muir kept going with Robert Cairns then Greig Scott bursting through. Ed Farquharson took the ball in but Muir got penalized. Ed Farquharson was forced to leave the pitch injured and Graeme Blackhall took his place. This was followed by keen attempts by the visitors in attack with Ross Buchan taking the ball in, but they lost the ball on a knock on.
Muir held on to possession for the rest of the first half. There was good speed at the back with Alex Cox and Jordan Webster both making ground (HT 13-3).
Boroughmuir set the pace after the restart with a great planned move at the back with Jordan Webster coming in. He passed to Graeme Blackhall who offloaded to Robert Cairns. However, Watsonians benefitted from a turnover and Stuart Niven made ground chasing his own chip kick. Robert Cairns tackled him into touch.
The Muir forwards worked hard to secure possession of the ball, and displayed an outstanding scrum after a good lineout. Nick Fraser took the ball in, allowing the Meggetland men to build their way up the pitch but the Watsonians fought hard in defence and benefitted from a turnover. Their front pack worked hard with a strong maul followed by a good chase of Chris Hunter’s box kick.
Dan Henry broke through but the Muir defence was stronger and recovered the ball. There was good communication between the forwards who attacked the line around the fringes. Greig Scott concluded those good phases with a try, converted by Reekie (20-3). Muir held on to the ball and Alex Cox attacked the line from a good angle. Watsonians conceded a penalty as Gavin Brown was yellow-carded. However, despite being one man short, Watsons managed to gain a penalty at a ruck and Matt Page was soon to score an unconverted try (20-8).
Muir replied straight away with a try by Stevie Wilson who received the ball from Alex Cox. David Reekie added the extra points (27-8). The hosts kept testing the defensive line, with a good pick up by Andy Rose who sprinted though.
This was followed by excellent work in the scrum and another good pick up, this time by Ian Moody.
Murray Johnstone found a gap in the defence on the blind side and touched down. Reekie converted the try (34-8). Watsonians held on to possession for the few minutes remaining.
Ali Leadingham ran a fine line and offloaded to Chris Berkery who knocked the ball on aver the try line. Still, the Watsonians’ scrum was powerful and Connor McLeod concluded the visitors’ late reaction with a try, converted by Leadingham on the final whistle (34-15 full time).
Boroughmuir is now more than likely to go through the first stage of the Cup thanks to this victory. The group looks more confident, which is good news ahead of next week’s home game against Peebles.
At Meggetland, Saturday 23rd November 2013, KO 2pm
Referee: Douglas McClement (SRU academy)
Touch judges: Gus Tweedale, Graeme Marshall
Score evolution: 3-0, 3-3, 6-3, 13-3 (HT), 20-3, 20-8, 27-8, 34-8, 34-15.
Boroughmuir: 4 tries (Hare 26’, Scott 57’, Wilson 69’, Johnstone 75’), 4 conversions (Reekie), 2 penalties (Reekie 4’ & 16’).
Watsonians: 2 tries (Page 66’, McLeod 80’), 1 conversion (Leadingham 80’), 1 penalty (Leadingham 8’).
Yellow cards: Watsonians: Gavin Brown 59’.
Boroughmuir: 15. Ed Farquharson (20. Graeme Blackhall 33’), 14. Jordan Webster, 13. Alex Cox, 12. Stevie Wilson, 11. Robert Cairns, 10. David Reekie, 09.Johnny Adams; 01. Scott Laird (17. Jonny Latta 53’), 02. Cal Davies (16. Darren Miller 53’), 03. Nick Fraser, 04. Greig Scott, 05. Trent Sutton, 06. Joni Hare (18.Magnus Bradbury 48’), 08. Ian Moody, 07. Andrew Rose. Other subs: 19. Murray Johnstone
Watsonians: 15. Matt Page, 14. Dominic Johnson, 13. Stuart Niven, 12. Chris Berkery, 11. Ewan Miller, 10. Ali Leadingham, 09. Chris Hunter; 01. Martin Christie, 02. Ali Ross, 03. Thomas Gracie, 04. Matt Poole, 05. Clarke Smith, 06. Niall Dennis (capt.), 07. Ross Buchan, 08. Dan Henry. Subs: 16. Ewan Martin, 17. Connor McLeod, 18. Gavin Brown, 19. Josh Thompson, 20. Hamish Campbell.
