Saturday 9th October 2021 @Goldenacre, Edinburgh
Match report by Colin Renton for The Offside Line
Heriotās 31 – 21Ā Boroughmuir Bears
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HERIOTāS will have home advantage in Saturdayās fifth/sixth place FOSROC Super6 play-off after getting the better of their Edinburgh rivals in what was effectively the dress rehearsal for that match. The sides produced more of the rugby that has been a feature of their performances so far, with Bears playing an unstructured game that makes them entertaining to watch and difficult for opponents to defend against, while Heriotās were well-drilled and more reliant on their power up front, choosing to deploy the undoubted pace behind the scrum more selectively. The outcome was eight tries, some good quality rugby and a result that was decided only in the dying seconds.
For Heriotās coachĀ Andrew Kelly, it was a mixed bag, but overall he was satisfied with the outcome, saying: āI think we played well, but so did the Bears. We had a poor first 20 minutes and the Bears capitalised on that but then we did really well and dug our way out of it. I would have liked to see us kick on a bit, but theyāre a good team and they kept in the game.ā
He is now looking forward to the rematch, adding: āWeāll look at the video and see where there are opportunities, and also where we went wrong. Weāll try and fix a few things, see where we went wrong, try and pressure them and finish on a high.ā
There was a hint of dĆ©jĆ vu for Bears coachĀ Graham Shiel,Ā with the negatives outnumbering the many positive aspects of his teamās performance.
āItās the story of our season a bit,ā he reflected. āWe beat ourselves again ā two interception tries, overplaying a bit in the middle of the pitch that gave them field position to mount attacks.
āA lot of it lies in our own control. Itās about not making those errors and applying pressure when we get the opportunity. Overall, I think weāve done some really good things this season, but itās punctuated by some errors and some untidy play, and ultimately that has cost us in a number of games.ā
The afternoon had started well for the visitors and, after four minutes of settling in, the first attack of note from either side produced their first points.Ā Jordan EdmundsĀ darted clear and broke one tackle then shunted back another attempt to halt him before feeding inside toĀ Robbie McCallum,Ā who raced over.Ā Martin CimprichĀ extracted full value when he booted the conversion.
Bears crossed the whitewash a second time following a driving maul, but home propĀ Michael JonesĀ rescued Heriotās by holding up the attacker. However, the score was only delayed briefly and came following the latest in a string of penalties. Recycled ball was moved out toĀ Rhys Tait,Ā who looked to have been tackled, but kept pumping his legs and shrugged off the attentions of two defenders to dot down. Cimprich again added the extras.
Heriotās belatedly gained a foothold in the match but squandered a penalty, then were called back when a pass that freedĀ Ben EvansĀ was adjudged forward. However, the momentum had turned and a penalty despatched into touch produced a well-worked score.Ā Callum MarshallĀ gathered the throw and a powerful surge allowedĀ Jason HillĀ to plunge over, withĀ Bruce Houstonās conversion trimming the deficit to seven points.
The same move appeared to have produced a second Heriotās score afterĀ Iain WilsonĀ forced his way over, but he knocked on in the process. However, Bears were driven back at the ensuing scrum andĀ Ruairidh LeishmanĀ picked up and dived over. Houstonās conversion from wide on the left scraped over the bar to leave the scores tied at half-time.
With Heriotās having more forward power, Bears had to be clever at the set-piece, and they showed they had plenty of nous at a scrum inside opposition territory. A quick strike allowedĀ Kaleem BarretoĀ to feed Cimprich, who in turn enabled McCallum to run into space before setting up Edmunds, who raced round behind the posts and left Cimprich a simple conversion.
The bonus point was now in sight and as Bears pressed for the fourth score their loose style proved expensive as Houston latched onto a pass destined for Edmunds and won a head-to-head sprint against Cimprich, who nevertheless forced his opposite number wide, taking the conversion out of range.
Heriotās ratcheted up the pressure and secured the bonus point score from a drive following a close range line-out, that ended withĀ Michael LinessĀ dotting down.
That meant Bears had to throw caution to the wind and their cause was helped when the referee showedĀ Callum YoungĀ a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Edmunds. However, as the visitors chased the game,Ā James CouperĀ pounced on a loose pass and darted clear then fedĀ Ross Jones, who drew in two defenders then chipped ahead forĀ Alex BallĀ to gather and score. Houstonās conversion confirmed that Bears will now make a repeat trip across the city next Saturday to decide which of the pair occupies the basement slot in the tournament.
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Teams ā
Heriotās:Ā R Jones; B Evans (J Couper 40), R McMichael, S Edwards, C Young; B Houston, L Wheeldon (A Ball 55); M Jones (A Nimmo 55), M Liness, D Gamble (J Scott 60), C Marshall (R Seydak 55), F Hastie, R Leishman, I Wilson (captain), J Hill (J McClean 65).
Boroughmuir Bears:Ā T Brown; C Ramm, D Munn, R McCallum, J Edmunds; M Cimprich (K McGhie 72), K Barreto (M Johnstone 75); R Dunbar (C Lamberton 50), C McKenzie (F Scott 60), M McGinley (S Habib 75), J Fisher, E Ferrie, C Keddie (M Mncube 60), R Tait, T Andrews (S McGinley 72).
Referee:Ā F Brown
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Scorers ā
Heriotās:Ā Tries: Hill, Leishman, Houston, Liness, Ball; Cons: Houston 3
Boroughmuir Bears:Ā Tries ā McCallum, Tait, Edmunds; Cons ā Cimprich 3
Scoring sequence: (Heriotās first):Ā 0-5; 0-7; 0-12; 0-14; 5-14; 7-14; 12-14; Ā 14-14 (h-t) 14-19; 14-21; 19-21; 24-21; 29-21; 31-21.
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Yellow cards Ā ā
Heriotās:Ā Young
Man-of-the-Match:Ā Official Man of the Match was Boroughmuir Bears 12 – Robbie McCallum
Gallery Images Credited to 39 Design Photography