Match Report | FOSROC Super6 Southern Knights 19 – 14 Heriot’s Rugby

“It was disappointing to lose a couple of tries in quick succession in the second half but that then tested the character of the boys. We deserved to win that game. We could have lost it in the last few minutes but grit and determination saw us through”.

Ruthven added: “Everybody stepped up today but in terms of development I thought Sam Derrick and Rudi Brown were outstanding. These are two young players still in the under-20 bracket pushing for national honours. They both played beyond their years today. They’ve both had good game time over the past few weeks. We’re now seeing the reward fo giving these guys opportunities.”

Heriot’s head coach Andrew Kelly put his side’s defeat down to a failure to make headway with ball in hand. “We lacked a bit of penetration going forward but their defence was very good. As a whole we lacked the killer edge especially in the that first quarter. Not converting in the first half was costly,” suggested the former Edinburgh professional.

On a perfect playing surface and with bright sunshine boosting the endorphin count the paucity of points scored in the first half seemed in dissonance with the conditions.  The reason: well, it was simply that defences ruled OK.

And notably that of the Southern Knights, who in the first quarter had to tackle twice as much as the men from Goldenacre, whose steady supply of possession and a willingness to put the ball wide added up to constant threats in attack.

Fortunately for Knights, Callum Grieve twice saved the day with timely tackles when Heriot’s worked overlaps on the left flank. Sadly, though, Grieve was forced to leave the field five minutes before half-time after suffering a bout of sickness. The other Knight to impress in the tackling department was Paddy Anderson, the winger setting the tone for the home side with crucial interventions to check Heriot’s surges.

Finally Knights were rewarded for their first-quarter endeavours when they earned a penalty just outside the Heriot’s 22. From the ensuing line-out in the corner, Fraser Renwick charged at the line and when the ball was recycled flanker Allan Ferrie crashed over for the game’s opening try, converted by Nathan Chamberlain to give his side a 7-0 interval lead.

The expectation was that Heriot’s would produce a second-half backlash, but in the event quite the contrary ensued with Southern Knights adding to the points tally with a couple of tries. The first came from aggressive defence that forced a handling effort in the Heriot’s backline. Robbie Chalmers scooped up the loose ball before breaking clear and then passing to Aidan Cross, who had the pace to outstrip Sam Pecqueur for a try under the posts, leaving Chamberlain with an easy conversion.

Chamberlain, playing his final game for the Knights, then showed his running skills by retrieving a pass that went behind him before weaving his way through a bemused Heriot’s defence for an unconverted try in the corner to put Knights 19-0 ahead.