Rugby: Hughes optimistic despite heavy loss on home turf

Musselburgh coach Brian Hughes has pointed to the performance of his men in the second half of Saturday's Premier Cup tie at home to Dundee High as reason for optimism for the rest of the season.

'Burgh produced a Jekyll and Hyde performance in the 50-3 defeat, with all but five of the Taysiders' points coming in the opening 40 minutes. A few choice words by Hughes at the break transformed the hosts who produced a second-half defensive effort brimming with character, as well as creating several scoring opportunities.

"We had a bit of a heated debate at half time and the guys fronted up as they should have for 80 minutes and put on a good show in the second half," said the Borderer who took the reins at the start of this season.

"We said it's about time to stand up and be counted," he added. "In the second half there was nothing in it."

Hughes admitted to a feeling of frustration that his players had failed to heed his pre-match briefing and trailed 19-0 after only eight minutes - the searing pace of Dundee's wingers illustrated to great effect as James Fleming raced in twice and Stuart Coleman also touched down, with full-back Jamie Urquhart on target with two conversions.

Brian Walls clawed back three points for the home side when he kicked a penalty, although Dundee responded with two further tries for Coleman, who was joined on the score sheet by Danny Levison before the referee awarded a penalty try which, combined with three more conversions by Urquhart, gave Dundee a 45-3 interval lead. The half time address by Hughes had the desired effect and the 'Burgh defence harried their opponents in a way they had failed to do in the opening 40 minutes. Most conspicuous in that effort was No. 8 Robert Lovett, who produced a massive tackle count as the hosts repelled wave after wave of Dundee attacks.

There was also a transformation in 'Burgh's attacking effort, with Joe Hickman keen to run from deep, while the classy half back pairing of Neil Robert and Walls began to ask questions of the visitors' defence.

And the commitment was typified by veteran prop and assistant coach Grant Talac. His effort was an inspiration to his fellow frontrowers as they gave the Dundee pack a more testing second half.

There had been some chat among the Dundee support before the game of notching a century of points and, while that had looked within their grasp at the interval, the vigour with which 'Burgh approached their task in the second half ensured a tally of three figures was not going to occur.

Despite numerous chances for Dundee and a handful for the Stoneyhill men, neither side managed to boost their points totals until two minutes from the end, when Dundee substitute Struan Cessford powered over after a close-range surge for the only score of the half.

Hughes pointed to the commitment of his men during the second period as reason for optimism as 'Burgh seek to move clear of the lower reaches of Premiership Division Three when league duty resumes on Saturday with the visit of Ardrossan Accies.

"I wouldn't take anything out of the first half - I thought we were poor. When we did kick, we chased poorly," added the coach.

"The second half is where we want our structure to be defensively - working as a unit, attacking with a series of breaks."

And he is in no doubt that, given the luxury of a settled side, 'Burgh will secure their Premiership survival.

"We have definitely moved on as a club. We have been up and down with injuries and we've had a different squad every week," he explained. "But as a unit I feel we are starting to get a structure together again. I'm quite confident for the rest of the league games and I think we are going to improve as the season goes on."

And, reflecting on the format of the cup competition, which produced several tight encounters in Saturday's opening round of fixtures, Hughes said: "It's a tough ask for teams like us to play Prem 1 and Prem 2 sides but I don't feel it's a poor structure. It's given us the chance to switch off a wee bit.

"We were maybe on a bit of a hiding to nothing playing against Dundee but it gives the boys a bit of a challenge to see where they are."

Scorers:

Musselburgh: Pen: Walls. Dundee High: Tries: Coleman (3), Fleming (2), Levison, Penalty, Cessford; Cons: Urquhart (5).

Musselburgh: J Hickman, S Ryan, A Cook, J Doig, M Alexander, N Robert, B Walls, G Hume, C Ferreira, G Talac, W Fleming, N McNairn, P Brown, L Slaven, R Lovett. Subs: R Black, F Millar, A Robinson, M Scott

Dundee High: J Urquhart, S Coleman, H Duthie, C Strachan, J Fleming, R McKenna, A Dymock, N Dymock, S Forrest, A Brown, A Linton, R Hawkins, R Milne, R Cessford, D Levison. Subs: D Russell, S Cessford, E Grewar, J Morrison, M Brown.