THE league leaders negotiated their way past a potential banana skin at Malleny Park on Saturday, and even managed to grab a four try bonus point against a Currie team which went toe-to-toe with the Borderers for the full 80 minutes, but were punished mercilessly for poor decisions at key moments.
The home side have some of the most exciting young backs in the league. The likes of Harvey Elms, Robbie Nelson, Cameron Gray and Cameron Hutchison can really tear it up when the mood takes them, as Gala, Glasgow Hawks and Boroughmuir have discovered to varying degrees in recent outings – but this wasn’t that type of game.
Head coach Ben Cairns will take comfort from the fact that his players showed that they are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and scrap it out if they need to, but the overriding emotion was frustration after watching his team battle back from a slow start to snatch a half-time advantage on the scoreboard; then lose, recapture and ultimately lose the lead again during the second 40 minutes.
“At the start of the second half we gave a penalty away in the middle of their 22, we get it back then kick it out on the full, and then we give away another two penalties – we’ve essentially just opened our arms and let them help themselves to seven points at a crucial moment in the match,” he said.
“We said we wanted to use forward momentum to relieve pressure but instead we used it to try and play a bit more rugby. We ended up waiting until it had slowed down before we kicked and it was easy for them to deal with, or we turned it over and ended up defending again – so we just didn’t get that balance right.”
A classic example of this was with about fifteen minutes to go, when Currie had edged their way to a 24-20 lead after Ryan Grant had rumbled over under the shadow of the posts, and then stood strong on their own line against a ferocious Melrose onslaught. They eventually got their reward by being awarded a scrum five yards out, and their talismanic skipper Ross Weston showed that there is life in the old dog yet by picking up at the base and rampaging 25 yards up field to relieve a big chunk of pressure. A long kick from quick ball would have had Melrose scrambling backwards and earned some more invaluable breathing space, but the ball was sent across the park instead, with far too much lateral running.
Grant knocked on as he charged towards the touchline. On such fine margins whole season can turn. From that turnover Melrose established the field position from which Ruairidh Knott bulldozed over for the game’s decisive try.
“We were never going to win this comfortably. It was always going to be a tight game based on pressure, and the boys need to understand how to play in that sort of environment. For me that is about being a bit cleverer in terms of where in the park we are playing, using that front foot ball to get in the right areas, and then trusting our defence and discipline to make sure we stay in those areas and build pressure,” reflected Cairns.
Opposite number Rob Chrystie was in no doubt that his team had just worked their way through a thorough examination of their title credentials. Jason Baggott had given the visitors an early lead, and Fraser Thomson doubled the account after taking advantage of Ratu Tagive’s poor positioning when chasing an up-and-under; but Currie struck back before the break through tries for Elms and Weston to go with three successful kicks from Jamie Forbes.
Nyle Godsmark gave Melrose the lead at the start of the second half, then it was Grant’s intervention, before that winner from Knott.
“It was a really tough game. I thought it was a pretty good standard. It was fairly dogged – it wasn’t fast-flowing, open rugby – but some big collisions and really good stuff defensively,” said Chrystie.
“You’ve got to work out ways to win games and the boys did that. There was loads of guts and desire, which is fine, but when you blend that with the ability they can play with, it is excellent.”
“I think a lot of people looked at this fixture and thought Melrose would slip up, so it was nice to show that we can come away to a place like this, where it is really tough to win, and put in a performance like that.”
It was a good day for Boroughmuir, who climbed out of the relegation zone with an emphatic 55-17 win against Watsonians. They are not out of the woods yet, but a few more performances like that would almost certainly see them safe.
Hawick upset the odds to secure a 15-15 draw with Heriot’s at Mansfield Park, while Ayr and Glasgow Hawks kept pace at the top of the table with bonus point victories over Gala and Stirling County respectively.
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