Stewart's Melville bid to banish 2009 pain

ALWAYS one of the attractive fixtures in the domestic calendar, the latest renewal of the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Schools Under-18 Cup final takes place at Murrayfield tonight, with Stewart's Melville College and Edinburgh Academy meeting in what is expected to be a close encounter.

Stewart's Melville, winners in 1999 and 2006, return to Murrayfield less than a year after losing to Fettes in the 2009 final last March. That defeat a year ago should have a motivating effect on the six survivors in the Colleges squad. Among the six are skipper and centre Mike Crawley, and prop George Turner, both of whom are in the Edinburgh under-18 squad for the district championship. The other four are flanker Ben Johnstone, full-back Scott Cook, prop Max Campbell and lock Ross McPhail, the latter two part of the Edinburgh under-17 squad.

"In the final we know that the big players will front up but it's a matter of the other guys stepping up," said coach Bryn Lockie, who thinks both teams will play similar rugby. "We both like to play a wide game. And for that, I just hope the conditions are good."

Stewart's Melville, who have had advice from former captain Lewis Calder, who led Scotland under-20s two seasons ago, defeated Edinburgh Academy 12-10 earlier this season and subsequently lost only one game, against Dollar Academy. En route to the final Colleges had big wins over Gordonstoun and Strathallan before beating George Heriot's in the quarters and then Merchiston by 7-3 in the semis. Edinburgh Academy, whose toughest Cup game was their fourth round 6-0 win over North Berwick High School, have had a very successful season. As a team they have grown in stature and, according to their coach Mark Appleson, they are full of belief. "Their goal has been not just to get to the final but to win it," he said.

The Academy side contains four outstanding players in skipper Fraser Gillies, No8 Lawrie Seydak, scrum-half James Munro and centre Ben Brown. Gillies was the key player in Academy's semi-final win but Appleson believes the supporting cast are every bit as important.

"It's not a one-man team," he said. "I thought our pack was outstanding in the semi and we certainly dominated the line-out. There are seven guys on the bench who can all make an impact."

The Academy have never won the Scottish School Cup but have tasted success at under-15 level with their win over George Watson's College a year ago. If Gillies is allowed to take control of the game, this could be Academy's year but the veterans from last season's Stewart's Melville side will have other ideas.