South of Scotland rivalry renews as Premiership returns with Melrose hosting Hawick in Borders Derby

Hawick head coach Graham Hogg says his players are ‘ready to rip into this week’ as they travel to the Greenyards to face Melrose in the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership.

It looks set to be a thrilling Borders Derby after players from both clubs joined up for a South of Scotland District side training session on Tuesday, adding an extra bit of needle heading back to their respective towns. The home side are the current league leaders in Scottish rugby’s top flight and although the former Scotland Sevens international knows his team are underdogs, he believes the rivalry can help change that dynamic in these types of matches.

“I think without me having to say too much, based on the conversations and the WhatsApp messages and stuff that I've had from boys, they're massively ready to rip into this week, especially our South boys who have been around that environment,” explained Hogg. “All the players from the different clubs were obviously mingling together and the feedback was that our boys are ready to go, so you can take from that what you want.”

“The passion and the will to play in these games are still there” - no shortage of rivalry when Borders club face off

Hogg added that the rivalry between clubs in the Borders still has a ‘massive part’ to play in these fixtures and he is expecting an exciting contest this weekend, saying: “To still have three clubs from the Borders in the Premiership is a massive achievement for the geographical area that we are in.

“We just played a Borders League game against Jed, who are obviously in National 1, last Friday night. The passion and the will to play in these games are still there.

“This week will absolutely be no different. We've had some pretty positive results at the Greenyards over the last couple of years and a lot of that's down to mentality and who wants it more. I'm pretty sure that will come into it again this week.”

Melrose head coach Callum Anderson echoed those sentiments, saying: “It becomes more than just a game and a lot more about the community. Everybody's thoughts and feelings of when they played and then the youngsters looking up and seeing how you're doing against these Borders towns. There's bragging rights, especially with us being at home, it definitely adds a bit of edge.

Anderson also revealed the key message that he has given his players this week, urging them to play with confidence and without fear. He added: “I said to our boys, don't go and fear losing, because you worry about losing face. You've got to go and still be excited to play and be excited to do well rather than fear losing.

“I think they often get weighed down with the expectation to win or the expectation of what happens if we lose? Don't worry about that. Just go out there and perform and we'll look after ourselves.”

There’s another local rivalry being played out in the Premiership this weekend as Watsonian host Edinburgh Accies at Myreside. Elsewhere, Heriot’s welcome GHA to Goldenacre as Stuart Edwards’ side look to get back to winning ways.

Reigning champions Ayr, who are just one point behind Melrose in the table, are at Glasgow Hawks while Currie Chieftains return from their two week hiatus with the visit of Kelso. The Malleny outfit postponed their match with Hawick a fortnight ago following the passing of former head coach Ally Donaldson.

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