Boroughmuir v Heriot’s: Relegation fears will motivate city rivals

By DAVID FERGUSON
Published on 12/10/2012 02:04

BOROUGHMUIR kick off a big weekend of matches for Scottish rugby tonight after bringing forward their RBS Premiership game with city rivals Heriot’s for a floodlit match.

The Heineken Cup launches tonight and moves into a higher gear for Scots tomorrow when Edinburgh host Saracens at Murrayfield, while the British and Irish Cup kicks off north of the border with Gala hosting London Scottish in the Borders and Neath pitching up in Stirling. However, the centre of relevance for fans of Heriot’s and Boroughmuir remains the drive for league points and an opportunity to move up the table.

Tonight marks a return to Meggetland for Phil Smith, now the Heriot’s head coach, who is keen to continue a good run of late. The Goldenacre side have won three of their past five games, and in the two they lost it was by less than a try. They now sit in fifth, but still Smith is more concerned with moving away from the bottom of the table than yet talking of the title race.

“The season is fast approaching the halfway stage,” he acknowledged, “and we are desperate not to be dragged into the relegation dog fight, which, at the moment, eight teams could still be involved in, so a win is absolutely key. While we feel we are putting good pieces of play together both in defence and attack our aim is to do this for longer and put our opposition under more pressure.”

Craig Owenson is handed a start by the visitors with Gavin Cameron given a rest, and Harry Boisseau wins a place on the bench. Boroughmuir welcome back Ali Warnock, Andrew Rose and Iain Moody from injury, 
Stevie Wilson starts at inside centre and Edinburgh wing Sep Visser returns to the side.

The Meggetland club this week announced that it was creating a Boroughmuir Rugby and Community Sports Club, with former internationalist and SRU president Bill Watson as its chairman. The new club will embrace football, hockey, cricket and rowing as well as rugby.

However, keeping rugby in the top flight of the Scottish game remains important and after striking a first home win on their last Meggetland outing, against Stirling County, a victory tonight could move the club into the top six and ease relegation fears.

Boroughmuir: K Buchan; D Hoyland, M Clapperton (capt), S Wilson, S Visser; A Warnock, A Watt; R Wilson, G Turner, K Coertze, G Scott, A Davidson, A Rose, A Henderson, J Swanson. Subs: G Jones, J Latta, I Moody, S Johnson, R Gedroudj.

Heriot’s: M Penn; A Scott, M Learmonth, R Carmichael, C Goudie; G Wilson (capt), S Hidalgo Clyne; C Owenson, K Bryce, S Cessford, R Nimmo, B Morrissey, F Brown, C Mulligan, J Hill. Subs: G Cameron, CJ Ozawuma, J Naya, OJ Brown, H Boisseau.