FRASER THOMSON was at his scintillating running from full-back for Melrose against Boroughmuir on Saturday, an early brace of tries from right wing Craig Robertson set Heriot’s on their way to a convincing victory over Hawick at Goldenacre, and Ben Robbins on the opposite touch-line kept himself up there at the top of the league try scoring table when touching down for Currie Chieftains against Edinburgh Accies.
Ewan MacGarvie scored a great 60-yard try for Stirling County in their victory over Glasgow Hawks and has been a consistently excellent performer for the Bridgehaugh men this season, and he is partnered in the centre by Rob Kay of Heriot’s.
Match reports from this weekend’s Tennent’s Premiership –
Tennent’s Premiership: Heriot’s clock-up 50 after Hawick run out of steam
Tennnent’s Premiership: Stirling County punish Glasgow Hawks lapses
Tennent’s Premiership: Melrose race to comfortable win but Boroughmuir salvage a bonus point
Tennent’s Premiership: Watsonians bring Ayr’s unbeaten record to a halt
Tennent’s Premiership: Chieftains come good as Accies add voice to calls for relegation clarity
Lee Millar pulled the strings masterfully for Watsonians in their excellent victory over Ayr, which opens the league right up, so is handed the number ten jersey, ahead of Andrew Goudie of Stirling County, Ross Thompson of Glasgow Hawks and Lee Armstrong of Hawick, who all made strong cases for selection.
Alex Ball has spent a lot of time this season as a frustrated understudy scrum-half at Heriot’s, but grabbed his opportunity with both hands when Andrew Simmers was ruled out this week with a rolled ankle – scoring a hat-trick of tries in a high-energy performance for the Goldenacre men.
In the pack, Grant Shiells is at loose-head as a key component in a dominant Melrose forward performance, and he was also busy round the park, making ten tackles (including two dominant ones) with a 100 percent success rate, and having 12 carries.
Ross Graham was similarly industrious for Watsonians with 13 tackles and 18 carries; and while it was a disappointing day for Ayr, losing their unbeaten record in the league this season, tight-head prop Steven Longwell is straight into the team, ahead of Murphy Walker of Stirling County and Struan Cessford of Heriot’s, largely because of this –
James Head put in a huge shift in the Melrose boiler-house during their 45-29 victory over Boroughmuir as his team’s joint top tackler with 12 (including an excellent stop of Boroughmuir’s flying winger Jordan Edmunds), and joint top carrier in the pack with 12. He is joined in the second-row by Charlie McKill of Watsonians, who missed the start of the season through injury, but showed the work-rate and athleticism against Ayr which made him such a valuable member of the club’s highly successful Sevens squad last spring. Callum Marshall of Heriot’s made a strong case for inclusion but misses out on this occasion, as does Robert Lovett of Edinburgh Accies.
Yet another big performance gets Thomas Gordon of Currie Chieftains earns him the number seven jersey, while Hamilton Burr’s monstrous 22 tackles and nine carries makes him the third Stirling County players in the team at blind-side flanker.
Michael Fedo stood out for Watsonians during their heroic defensive performance in the second half against Ayr, clocking 19 tackles with a 100 percent success rate; but he misses out to Rory Drummond, whose 17 carries (including eight tackle-breaks and a try) were instrumental to Boroughmuir’s second half rally against Melrose to salvage a bonus point
15. Fraser Thomson (Melrose)
14. Craig Robertson (Heriot’s)
13. Ewan MacGarvie (Stirling County)
12. Rob Kay (Heriot’s)
11. Ben Robbins (Currie Chieftains)
10. Lee Millar (Watsonians)
9. Alex Ball (Heriot’s)
1. Grant Shiells (Melrose)
2. Ross Graham (Watsonians)
4. James Head (Melrose)
5. Charlie McKill (Watsonians)
6. Hamilton Burr (Stirling County)
7. Thomas Gordon (Currie Chieftains)
8. Rory Drummond (Boroughmuir)
National One clubs request a 12-month postponement of Super 6
Good boy David – you listened and acted on an old man’s avice.