Edinburgh Accies 16 - 36 Gala: Gala are Premier leaders for first time but Graham expects more

Gala this week sit at the top of the RBS Premier Division One for the first time since the leagues were created in 1995, demonstrating just why the name of the Maroons is rarely mentioned in Scottish rugby these days without the adjective ‘high flying’ attached to it.

It was way back in the 1980s that Gala ruled the roost, winning three National League titles, and it has been a long hard road since then. It was with a sense of real satisfaction that club officials greeted the news that Border rivals Melrose had stumbled at Stirling and Gala were now out on their own, overtaking Melrose thanks to a brutally convincing demolition job on an Edinburgh Accies side who accompanied Gala up from Division Two at the start of the season but who just couldn’t live with them at this level. Accies are now unlikely to feature in the top eight when the leagues split next month.

Four tries and a guaranteed bonus point by half-time, a bit of a rollicking from Coach George Graham to iron out some deficiencies, and another two tries in the second half saw Gala coast to an easy victory, leaving Accies as disjointed and forlorn as the pile of rubble in a far corner of Raeburn Place that used to be their famous clubhouse.

Earlier, Accies had briefly threatened to make a game of it after going behind. The lead actually changed hands four times before Gala imposed their stubborn will on the game and ran away with it in what was a deeply impressive performance. Not impressive enough for the coach though.

“I was very disappointed with our defence in the first half,” Graham said. “We spoke all week about how Accies would play with a bit of width and throw the ball around and we just didn’t deal with it. There were one or two choice words spoken at half-time because, as I said to the boys, I have really high expectations of them and of the standards I want them to live up to.

“I am quite hard on them but it is only because I know there is a really good side struggling to get out there and you can see it at times.

“We played poorly in the first half, yet we scored four tries. I thought we were better by a country mile than Accies today and could easily have put 50 or 60 past them. We made a lot of silly mistakes before playing a lot more to our strengths in the second half; being more organised in defence and dominant at the breakdown.

“I am pleased with the way we are playing at this stage of the season. We have shown a bit of attitude and a bit of character and we are sitting at the top of the league, having overtaken Melrose, but that is this week and next week is a different kettle of fish. We’ll see what it brings.”

The first step in the journey that took Gala to the top came in the third minute when stand off Lee Millar chipped the ball over Accies full back Jamie Sole and ran round him to touch down for a try and take himself beyond the 100-point mark for the season.

Accies hit back when lock Greg Campbell crashed over in the corner, exposing the frailties and sloppy standards that worry Graham. Professional tighthead Lewis Niven barged through the middle to set up a two-man overlap that was wasted before fly half Stuart Evans knocked over a penalty to put the home side ahead. Gala winger Craig Robertson restored the advantage with a try that resulted in him being led away to have a head wound stitched, but Evans landed a second penalty to snatch the lead back for Accies. Next Gala No 8 Euan Dods latched on to a loose ball at a lineout to claim his first try, adding the second – and the bonus point – on the other side of the pitch minutes later as maroon bodies overwhelmed the home defence.

The score at half-time was 11-22 but it wasn’t long before Gala reinforced their superiority as Dods took a high catch at a lineout and slipped the ball to scrum-half George Graham, who went straight through a yawning gap to score and effectively end the match as a contest with more than 30 minutes still to play and the visitors in total control. Hooker Russell Anderson scored a sixth try as Gala penned Accies inside their own 22 but a lapse in concentration at the end allowed Accies Jake Knight to escape and run 60 metres for an injury time try that provoked a punch up amongst players in the in-goal area with Accies once again coming off second best.

Scorers: Edinburgh Accies – Tries: Campbell, Knight. Pens: Evans 2. Gala – Tries: Millar, Robertson, Dods 2, Graham, Anderson. Cons: Millar 3.

Edinburgh Accies: J Sole; M Coupar, R Browne, I Berthinussen, J Knight; S Evans, M Campbell; D Morrison, M Liness, L Niven, G Campbell, D Teague, C Reid, J Taggart, T Drennan. Subs used: S Jeffers, K Blyth, N Pike, A Lamb, R Bonner.

Gala: B Turner; S Law, C Auld, A Emond, C Robertson; L Millar, G Graham; L Bertram, R Anderson, E McQuillin, C Weir, O Palepoi, D Marshall, G Lowrie, E Dods. Subs used: J Gilding, C Keddie, G Graham, A McLean, C Borthwick.

Referee: C Rudkin