Rugby: Coach hails Heriot's guts as Currie fall

Leading 20-0 after as many minutes Heriot's didn't trouble the scoreboard thereafter.

The reason they didn't need to was explained by McKillop, who said: "Jason Hill, who was only called into the side a few hours before kick-off, Jamie Parker and Peter Eccles all laid their bodies on the line.

"I don't normally single players out but Jamie's tackle count and strength in contact was immense.

"When it was easier for Ross Weston to score Cammy Ferguson turned him over and in that contest, weight-wise, there should have only been one winner. Typical Cammy, he has always been a brave player.

Currie coach Ally Donaldson was magnanimous in defeat when acknowledging a thoroughly engaging spectacle albeit one in which his side "gifted" three tries through a couple of interceptions and a loose pass which enabled Heriot's to show their ruthless streak.

Whatever was said in private Donaldson gave the impression of wanting to throw an arm around his side rather than lambast them after a third game without a win (one draw]. Said Donaldson: "We showed a lot of character to come back into it. We didn't go chasing the game and edged our way back.

"Obviously we were very close to winning by the end and it is tough when you don't take your chances.

"But, if Heriot's are complimenting their defence, then that says something about the way we attacked. So much of our performance was really good.

"One or two of our guys are lacking a bit of confidence because things haven't quite gone as well as we would have liked.

"That's three games where we have played a lot of good rugby but haven't won but I don't think anybody who watched this one would say Currie are in a crisis or have problems.

"We (just] need to cut out unfortunate errors."

Failure to collect a bonus point for scoring four tries leaves Heriot's a point behind Glasgow Hawks as one of four unbeaten teams.

But in every other aspect Heriot's showed touches of class and the Goldenacre faithful must scarcely have been able to believe what they were seeing as a 20-0 gap was quickly opened up.

The initial try after ten minutes was set up by an interception from prop Wullie Blacklock who galloped deep into Currie territory before the ball was eventually worked out for Colin Goudie to cross. Graham Wilson missed the conversion but added a penalty before Struan Dewar was next to intercept and set up a platform from which Max Learmonth sprinted over from a scrum, Wilson converting.

Things went from bad to worse for Currie when Goudie exploited an error for his fifth try in three matches - and that was it so far as home scoring was concerned.

Incredibly, Currie have notched 11 tries without achieving a win and the latest touchdowns came just before the interval from Ross Weston and Matthew Scott.

Trailing 10-20 at the change-around Hayden Abercrombie kicked a couple of second half penalties and with ref Cammy Rudkin allowing seven minutes of additional time nobody was leaving early amidst relentless Currie pressure.

But Heriot's resilience against opponents who made just too many handling errors paid off for a major morale boost ahead of a trip to Ayr. "After facing the champions we now visit the Cup holders followed by a home game with the third Scottish representatives in the British and Irish Cup, Melrose, so it doesn't come tougher than that," said coach McKillop.

The task ahead of Currie is a home encounter with leaders Glasgow Hawks and despite their lack of winning form so far the feeling is that only fine tuning is required of a team whose lock, Ryan Wilson, covered acres of ground for them to be back challenging for another crown.

Scorers:

Heriot's: Tries: Goudie (2), Learmonth; Con: Wilson; Pen: Wilson. Currie: Tries: Weston, M Scott; Pens: Abercrombie (2).

Heriot's: C Goudie, G Bryce, M Learmonth, G Hunter, M Nimmo, C Ferguson, G Wilson (c), A Dymock, S Burnett, W Blacklock, R Martin, J Hill, J Parker, S Dewar, P Eccles. Subs: F Gillies, G Cameron, L Seydak, P Saunders, M Goldie.

Currie: T Brown, H Abercrombie, J Johnstone, A MacMahon, D Fife, M Scott, R Snedden, J Cox, F Scott, A Hamilton, R Wilson , A Adam (c), M Cairns, R Weston, M Entwhistle. Subs: N Scobie, R Merrilees, S Burton, A Whittingham, J Smith.