SATURDAY was clearly not a day for expansive rugby but Jed-Forest duo Lewis Young (full-back) and Gary Munro (left wing) showed up well on limited rations during their defeat away to table-toppers Marr, so earn selection to this week’s Dream Team alongside Cammy Meager, who stuck in well for Currie Chieftains in appalling conditions against GHA at Malleny Park.
Andrew Mitchell scored the first and last tries for the Hawick and his pace, power and running angles proved just too much for a brave Musselburgh defence so it as at outside centre, and he is accompanied in the middle of the park by Neil Armstrong of Edinburgh Accies, who was a threat with the ball and frequently made ground despite the conditions and being on a losing cause against Aberdeen Grammar.
Sam Knudson‘s smart kicking and generally clever use of possession was key to Grammar’s win over Accies so he gets the 10 shirt. Honourable mentions go to the relentlessly assured Gregor Hunter of Chieftains and his opposite number Jamie MacKinnon of GHA. Paddy Boyer of Glasgow Hawks is at scrum-half having impressed once again until injury cut short his involvement and it is surely not purely coincidental that things started to unravel for the home side after his departure.
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Teenage hooker Finlay Campbell was a late call-up for Jed and did well in the tight and loose against a formidable opposition, even charging down a kick and gathering himself to set up his team’s second try, but he misses out on the No 2 shirt on this occasion to Roy Vucago, who was equally impressive at open-side flanker and hooker for Currie Chieftains.
There is also a Chieftain at tight-head with Cairn Ramsay getting the nod for his aggressive carrying and ferocious tackling, while Craig Owenson of Musselburgh is at loose-head. Tip of the hats go to Grammar’s Matthias Schosser for his aggressive defence and destructive scrumming before sustaining a nasty injury, and Luke Pettie, whose arrival from the subs bench solidified Selkirk’s scrum against Glasgow Hawks.
Selkirk second-row Donald Nichol tackled hard and scored the match-winning try so he lines up in the engine-room alongside Marr’s consistently impressive Fraser Grant. That means Mike Vernel misses out this week despite another big performance for the Chieftains.
There is a couple more Marr men in the back-row with two try hero Mackenzie Pearce at blindside and Robert Brown on the open-side.
It could easily have been an all Marr back-row with Benedict Grant having a big game against Jed, but he misses out to Nigel ‘Nat’ Coe, who opened the scoring for Aberdeen Grammar through a quick tap-penalty and played a huge role in his team’s valuable win on the road with relentless ball-carrying. Musselburgh’s Paddy Brown, Selkirk’s Ewan MacDougall and Glasgow Hawks’ Ryan Sweeney also made strong cases for inclusion.
15. Lewis Young (Jed-Forest)
14. Cammy Meager (Currie Chieftains)
13. Andrew Mitchell (Hawick)
12. Neil Armstrong (Edinburgh Accies)
11. Gary Munro (Jed-Forest)
10. Sam Knudson (Aberdeen Grammar)
9. Paddy Boyer (Glasgow Hawks)
1. Craig Owenson (Musselburgh)
2. Roy Vucago (Currie Chieftains)
3. Cairn Ramsay (Currie Chieftains)
4. Fraser Grant (Marr)
5. Donald Nichol (Selkirk)
6. Mackenzie Pearce (Marr)
7. Robert Brown (Marr)
8. Nigel Coe (Aberdeen Grammar)