Chalmers insists Melrose ready to kick-start title bid against Currie

Published on Friday 4 December 2009 23:12

WHILE focus has tended to centre on Currie and Ayr trying to outdo each other at the top of the Premier One table, Melrose have been quietly tagging along in third place. Coach Craig Chalmers has been happy to tell anyone prepared to listen that his side can also win the league, but given that they have already lost to both front-runners this season, his bravado has tended to fall on deaf ears.

That could all change this afternoon when Currie arrive at the Greenyards. The Edinburgh side are too far ahead to be caught by the Borderers today, but a home win would send out a clear and unequivocal message that this is no longer a two-horse race.

"We have been floating along under the radar, hardly anyone has paid any attention to us at all, and that has suited us fine," said Chalmers. "But I am in no doubt that we are good enough to win this league. We have as talented a bunch of players as any side we have come up against during the first half of the year. The only team I am worried about is my own. If our guys are right mentally and play as well as I know they can, then we can beat anyone – including Currie this weekend."

The former Scotland star, who will coach the Scotland under-20 backs this season, added: "We should have beaten them up there at the start of the season. We were 13-0 up and should have gone 20-0 up but we didn't execute a two-on-one, and they came back and made us pay for that. This is our chance to make amends.

"It has reached the make-or-break stage for us this season. If you want to win the league you've got to win your home games and you've got to beat the teams above you, so this a huge match for us on both counts."

With the exception of Garry Elder, who picked up a knee injury in the first minute of last week's low-key draw at Glasgow Hawks, Chalmers had a full squad to select from this week – something he happily admits created the type of headache which is sheer bliss for a coach to endure.

"When you are winning, luck tends to go your way and you don't pick up many injuries," he said. "We're playing good rugby at the moment, we're playing attractive rugby, and most importantly we are playing winning rugby. I had to make some tough decisions this week and leave a few guys out who have done a great job for us this season, like Nick McTaggart and Lindsey Gibson, but Brodie Runciman and Richard Ferguson have been training and playing well so deserve a shot."

Chalmers makes the point that Currie and Ayr rely heavily on imported manpower, while his team's success – with the exception of kiwi winger Ben Allen – has been built upon the efforts of local talent. Critics, and there are a few, would counter that by cherry-picking some of the best talent from their local rivals, Melrose have played a crucial role in creating the current situation whereby there are only two clubs from the Borders in the top flight of the domestic game.

Who is right and who is wrong? It is one of those endless debates which the Scottish rugby community is so good at tying itself in knots over. But one thing Chalmers will say on the subject is that he is as keen to see the other Border clubs thrive as anyone. "It is far better for us. We love Border derbies because we get bigger crowds and they tend to be really good, exciting games," he insisted.

"It looks like Hawick will come back up this year, and Gala could get promoted as well – which would be great. And Selkirk have done fantastically well to dig themselves out of the hole they seemed to be in at the start of the season – although they are not safe yet – which is great news because we'd hate to be the only Borders team."