Stewart's Melville temper excitement with realism

Published on Monday 24 August 2009 22:53

LAST season both West of Scotland and Selkirk made a pretty good job of disproving the theory that what goes up in Scottish club rugby tends to come straight back down before long.

Having been promoted from Premier 2 at the end of the 2007-8 season, they succeeded where clubs such as Stirling County and Dundee HSFP have failed in recent campaigns, by being competitive against every team they played as they cemented their places in the top flight for at least one more year.

The fact that they did so on modest budgets with squads consisting mainly of local talent makes their achievements all the more impressive, and underlines their credentials as cracking role-models for newly- promoted Stewart's-Melville as they embark on their first season back in the top flight since the 2005-6 season.

"Both those sides did really well and obviously it is something we have taken notice of," said Graeme Moffat, the head coach at Inverleith. "We're fairly lucky in that we have maintained the majority of the players from last season, and we've got a few additions to the squad. We're not in a position to throw money around like some other clubs have done, we've not brought in anyone new from overseas or anything like that – we're just going to work hard with what we've got," he added.

The youngest head coach in Premier 1 – he celebrated his 27th birthday just a few weeks ago – may not have been able to splash the cash during the summer, but that hasn't prevented him indulging in an energetic recruitment drive focusing on youth rather than reputation.

Alec Jessop has joined from Melrose, while teenagers Seamus Mackenzie and Ross Sutherland have arrived from Murrayfield Wanderers, along with their fellow Scotland under-19 squad member Sam Blackwood from Glasgow Hawks. Moffat is also excited by the potential shown by utility-back Liam Steele – son of former Scotland and Lions winger Billy – in last Saturday's match against Peebles.

"A few of the guys like Richard Borthwick and Stephen Dalgliesh played the last time the club were in the top division, but for the majority of us – including the coaching team – this is a step into the unknown. We want to make that work in our favour," said Moffat.

"We've got a very young team and we like to go out and play rugby – we go out to win every game we play. We won't go into our shells if things start going wrong, we'll keep playing, keep trying to express ourselves and keep looking to attack at every opportunity. There is no way we'll go into any games with the mindset that we are trying to avoid being beaten by too many points.

"We're also looking for a big input from guys like Scott Brewster, Ben Leathes and Jed Gordon, who have been round the club for a long time now. We are looking for them to step up and become senior players."

With first pick in the recent pro-player draft, Moffat went for Edinburgh prop Ryan Grant – which gives an indication of one area where his team might struggle in the coming season.

"We will have to be clever. We are not the most physical side in the league and clearly we are not going to get anywhere if we do things like going to Ayr and try to take them on in a physical battle," he said.

"Every club want to have a good tight-head prop – it gives you a platform to play off at both the scrum and line-out. Ryan can play both sides of the scrum and he's an enthusiastic guy, so we're pretty hopeful that he'll make a big impact for us when he is available."

Moffat is also hoping that Edinburgh hooker Andrew Kelly, who has taken over as assistant coach from Ben Gissing, will be able to mould the pack into a unit capable of going toe-to-toe with any of their Premier 1 rivals. The club have had a disappointing pre-season, with losses to Dunfermline and Peebles during the last fortnight meaning that they are going to have to generate some momentum from nowhere when Edinburgh Accies come calling on Saturday. Moffat also has to contend with injuries to a number of leading players, including lock Dalgliesh, who broke a wrist at the weekend, front-rower Alex Edmondstone and full-back Hayden Lingard.

"There is a lot of excitement but we're realistic about how things are likely to shape up," he concluded. "It is about us finding our feet and keeping our place this year, then building from there. It's going to be a big ask."

STEWART'S MELVILLE

Formed: 1875

Ground: Inverleith

Colours: Scarlet jersey with black and gold bands, black shorts.

Coaches: Graham Moffat, Andrew Kelly and Jimmy Moran

Captain: Richard Borthwick

Players in: Alec Jessop (Melrose), Paul Voy (Preston Lodge), Seamus McKenzie and Ross Sutherland (both Murrayfield Wanderers), Sam Blackwood (Glasgow Hawks), Ricky Simms (Musselburgh), Liam Steele (Edinburgh University), Ales Cox (back after a year out), Michael Doneghan, Sean Murchie, Stuart Shaw, Jordan Kynoch and Ross Grant (all school)

Players out: Shaun McMurchy, (Boroughmuir), Christian Pera (moved to London)

2008-9 finish: runners-up in Premier Two

Prediction: 12th