THIS match was a cracking good advert for club rugby, with two teams at Myreside committed to making best use of near-perfect conditions by playing with the ball in hand whenever possible. There was industry, endeavour, skill and tries galore, seven in all with four going to the victorious home team.
It was breathless, end-to-end, ping-pong rugby and utterly exhausting for the poor players still adapting to the new laws. There was much to admire and some of the off-loads in the contact area, especially from the home team, were breathtaking.
Th
e match could have gone either way, both teams deserving plaudits, but Watsonians did just about enough to walk away with the points after a nail-biting finish. The home team had pulled out a 14 point lead in the second half but a try from speedster David McCall brought Heriot's back to within seven points.
The Goldenacre men threw body, soul and the kitchen sink at the Watsonians' line in those final ten minutes all to no avail. Even at the death winger Michael Short made a half break five metres from the opposition line but his desperate pass picked out a home player and Watsonians gratefully hoofed the ball off the pitch to signal no side.
"I thought that some of the rugby we played today was just phenomenal," said Watsonians coach Bruce Aitchison. "I was very proud of the boys. Some of the doubters said that this team doesn't know how to win but we proved them wrong today. I thought that Heriot's put in a good shift but I think that we had a bit more in the tank at the end."
Heriot's dominated the early exchanges but were unable to get much evidence of it on the scoreboard. An early penalty by Graham Wilson was followed by an ugly-looking drop goal by fly-half Greig Rutherford that wobbled over the cross bar like a haggis supper.
But it was Watsonians who grabbed the early tries with two in a row, both of which owed something to Jonny Pelter. The flanker lived up to his name by putting in brutal tackle that forced a turnover for the first score and the backs did the rest; Ben Di Rollo passing to Mike Ker who put Richard Minto in for the try.
Pelter then grabbed the second one himself after a simple pick and drive from the base of a five metre scrum that took full advantage of the new laws and some wayward tackling from the visitors.
In danger of being swamped, Heriot's hauled themselves back into contention as the half drew to a close. Their first touchdown came from the ever-industrious Tam McVie after come good continuity play gave the flanker acres of room to go over in the left-hand corner. Then on the stroke of half-time Finlay Gillies threw to an attacking line-out and the little hooker was the last man off the deck when the referee's hand went up.
The net result of all this was a one-point lead for Heriot's at the break but two tries and a brace of penalties in the third quarter finally gave the home side some breathing space as Heriot's had to man the barricades just to prevent Watsonians from cutting lose and running amuck.
Jeff Nicholson and Jamie Blackwood scored the touchdowns, the second going through half the home team before the scrum-half/centre stretched out to score the best try of the match. Ker added one conversion and two penalties, the second of which saw Heriot's staring at a 14 point deficit while reduced to 14 men, centre Richard Mill being shown a yellow card around the 60-minute mark.
McCall got one of the two scores that Heriot's needed but, try as they might, the visitors were unable to grab that all-important equaliser.
Watsonians: A Nash (A Rowe 35 min), T Saena, B Di Rollo, D Brown (E Howie 8 ), R Minto; M Ker, J Blackwood; A Fisher, G Wood, K Coertze, T Callander, J Nicholson (S McInally 7 ), J Pelter, G Hills, A Tweed.
Heriot's: C Goudie, D McCall, G Thomson, R Mill, M Short; G Rutherford, G Wilson; A Dymock, F Gillies, W Blackrock (JP Ward 25 ), J Stevens (G Anderson 60 ), I Nimmo, T McVie, J Syme (S Dewar 60), J Parker.
Scorers: Watsonians – Try: Minto, Pelter, Nicholson, Blackwood. Conv: Ker (3). Pen: Ker (3). Heriots – Try: McVie, Gillies, McCall. Conv: Wilson (2). Pen: Wilson (2). DG: Rutherford.
Referee: Graham Knox (Greenock).
The full article contains 774 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
