stewart’s melville rugby news...stewart’s melville rugby news 16 march 2016 junior school rugby...

Stewart’s Melville Rugby News 16 March 2016

Senior School Rugby

Edinburgh Academy Sevens

U16s in 7s Heaven

The SMC U16s lifted the trophy at Edinburgh Academy 7s

tournament on Wednesday. The boys progressed to the

semi-finals after comfortable wins versus Dollar and High

School of Glasgow in the pool stages. The squad of ten

boys rotated throughout the afternoon and all contributed

impressively towards strong team performances.

Heading into the semi-final versus George Watson`s the

players knew that they would have to raise the bar against a

physical Watsons team. The boys came out of the blocks

and dominated play for most of the game with a terrific 41-5

win. George Heriots also had a strong win versus Dollar in the other semi-final so it was going to be a tough

final.

Stewarts Melville opened the scoring straight from the kick off which gave the players the belief that they

could go on to win well and despite a shaky two minutes early in the second half ran out eventual winners 29

-12. Despite not having a lot of preparation time for the tournament, the boys’ performances improved with

every game and were acknowledged by all teams as well deserved winners. Mr Lawrie and Mr Ruthven gave

Lewis Herd their pick of the top performers and congratulated the boys on their tournament win.

16 March 2016 Stewart’s Melville Rugby News

Junior School Rugby

JA1s v Dundee High – won 14-3

The JA1s finished their season with a strong performance against Dundee in a 10-a-side game. It was really

pleasing to see the boys adapt to arriving late and the change of game conditions to produce a good

attacking performance. There is still work to do in our defensive communication but this will come with

time. They have had a very successful season and deserve great credit for their attitude and application

throughout the year.

JA2 v Dundee High – won 14-1

The JA2s ran riot against an inexperienced Dundee High team. Even though the game was over as a contest

by half-time the boys managed to maintain their standards, scoring some well-constructed team tries. With

only one fixture remaining in the season the challenge for the boys is to bring all they have learned this year

into a single performance.

JA3s – Morrison’s Academy Tournament

A much-changed JA3s side travelled to Crieff and played a small tournament with three other schools. The

first match against Lomond was the most competitive, finishing 4-4. The other two teams were significantly

stronger and despite the boys being comfortably beaten by both Morrison’s and Robert Gordon’s they

played with great enthusiasm right until the end.

JB1s v Dundee High – won 6-1

The boys can be very proud of the style of rugby they played in difficult conditions in Dundee. Despite the

heavy ground and wet ball we played with superb continuity, constantly asking questions of the home

defence, and retaining possession well. A very satisfying performance that earned praise from the home

referee who took time at the end of the match to comment on the skill level the boys showed. Well done!

JB2s v Dundee High – won 10-4

This was our best performance for some time. We defended well and took our chances in attack. The most

pleasing try was a length-of-the-field solo run which could have been finished off by any of the five or six

players in support! Our focus this week will be making better decisions when arriving at the breakdown. The

fact that everyone was caked in mud at full-time shows that they all worked hard! Well done boys.


Junior School Rugby

Primary 5 Rugby – The JCs Report

The boys of Primary 5 have started their school rugby career in some style. Since Christmas the weather has

been kind enough to allow most fixtures to go ahead and there has been plenty of entertaining rugby played.

It is particularly pleasing that a significant proportion of the boys who chose to play rugby during Games

have represented the school in recent weeks. We even had two matches on Pitch 1 at Inverleith!

When we have tackled confidently and with proper technique we have been successful and there is no doubt

that there are many young players in Primary 5 with a great future ahead of them. At times, a lack of

confidence in our contact skills have held us back but as technique develops so does confidence. Across the

board all players need to recognise that a ball on the ground is fair game. Far better to gain possession

quickly than wait until a ruck is formed and hope that we can drive over successfully. Once we have

possession we all need to avoid the temptation to run across the pitch.

There has, without doubt, been plenty of fast flowing rugby played by the Primary 5 boys, thanks to good

handling skills, strong support running, good communication and unselfishly recognising that it's a team game

so the more we pass the ball the easier it is!

It has been a great start to their rugby careers. Well done, boys!


School Rugby Results

Team Opposition Result Score

1st XV Dundee Won 17-10

2nd XV Morrisons 1st XV Lost 17-23

U16 A Dundee Won 57-5

U16 B Morrisons U16 A Lost 48-10

B1 Dundee Won 65-15

C1 Dundee Won 44-0

C2 Morrisons C1 Won 30-7

D1 Dundee Won 22-0

D2 Dundee Won 48-0

JA1 Dundee Won 14-3

JA2 Dundee Won 14-1

JB1 Dundee Won 6-1

JB2 Dundee Won 10-4

JC1 Heriot’s Won 6-5

JC2 Heriot’s Won 9-7


Stewart’s Melville Lions and Lionesses

A P4 lioness's view from the sidelines. What a day -

not only was it Mother's Day, but we had squads

out at the Stirling tournament, Edinburgh Accies

tournament and training at Inverleith ! The sun was

shining and having received our cards, flowers and

other gifts, it was back to the "more important" focus

of a Sunday - rugby ! The squad at Stirling did very

well with 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss against good

opposition. The attacking play and support was

excellent, progressing with every game. Tackling was

good at times, and will continue to be an area of

focus at training. Well done all the boys and thank

you to the parents who stepped up to support the

coaching team.

Onto the Edinburgh Accies tournament where our

team faced 4 strong teams, it would have been unwise for any of us to contemplate on getting into the play-

offs with such strong opposition. We played Currie, Biggar, Accies and Madras. The 9 boys faced a physical

battle in all games with strong tackling throughout. We played a pod rotation with all 9 boys having the

same game time. The Lions won all of their games, playing for each other, passing (which developed over

the course of the games), strong tackling, good defending and some outstanding tries. We all got the

message that passing was the way to win games.. The boys reached the final against a strong North Berwick

squad. The game was hard fought and resulted in a 2-2 draw. After 5 hours of the tournament with tired

and emotional boys on both teams, it was agreed that the P4 tournament should be shared between North

Berwick and Stew Mel Lions. The coaches shook on it.

You can imagine both our and the boys surprise when North Berwick were announced in second place, with

Stew Mel Lions placed first and taking the trophy. Perhaps a good message of the values that should exist

both on and off the rugby pitch. North Berwick's decision (after the hand shake) to ask for a countback of

the tries proved their undoing, and Stew Mel Lions won based on a try count of 35 to 33. We were happy

with the draw, but even happier to win the tournament outright. Well done all boys and coaches. A truly

inspiring day and it made Mother's Day very special!


Stewart’s Melville Ist XV Report vs Aberdeen

Grammar Aberdeen Grammar 25 vs 14 Stewart’s Melville

Rubislaw has been a pretty happy hunting ground for us in recent years, but, on this occasion, we were

unable to overcome a Grammar side who were just that bit more hungry for the win than us. Going into the

game, there had certainly been a couple of warning signs. Grammar were bottom of the league, having only

won four games so far, and were therefore desperate for points to prevent them dropping even further

behind 11th placed Peebles. And Grammar had also recently parted company with head coach Stuart Corsar

– would the players respond positively to the appointment of Ali O’Connor? Based on the first 40 minutes of

the game, it looked like the answer to that last question would be a resounding ‘No!’ Playing towards the

changing room end of the ground, we enjoyed almost total dominance in the set piece, pinching lineout ball

on Grammar’s throw and causing them to concede penalty after penalty at scrum time. Mike Hanning also

kicked well, despite us playing into the wind, to keep Grammar pinned in their own half. This stranglehold on

possession earned us a fairly simple try on 17 minutes. After we’d softened up the Grammar defence with a

series of solid forward onslaughts; the ball was then moved through the hands to the right and full back

Ciaran Whyte cantered over. Mike’s conversion made it 7-0 in our favour.

Grammar, to their credit, struck

back almost immediately, flanker

Alasdair Mackie touching down

just to the right of the posts. Alex

Hagart’s conversion levelled the

scores. That was all the scoring in

the first half, though we’d also

been held up over the Grammar

line a couple of times during that

period of set piece dominance.

Grammar, by their own admission,

had also been very lucky not to lose a couple of players to the bin during the opening period as the penalty

count against them moved into double figures. We would likely have troubled the scoreboard more than we

did if Grammar had lost men to the bin, but let’s leave that scenario to the ref’s assessor!


Stewart’s Melville Ist XV Report vs Aberdeen

Grammar We began the second half much the same way as we had begun the first, with the pack rumbling over to the

left of the posts with barely 5 minutes on the clock. Adam Howie claimed the try and Mike added the extras.

It was at this point that Grammar, to their credit, rolled up their collective sleeves and decided to show their

new coach what they were made of. Their tackling became more effective and they took better care of the

ball. A penalty from Hagart on 53 minutes took the score to 14-10, then full back Knudson scored in the left

hand corner after some good recycling by the Grammar pack. That made it 15-14 to Grammar after 59

minutes, then another Hagart penalty stretched their lead to four points after 67 minutes. It was Grammar’s

redoubtable Fijian centre, Peceli Nacamavuto, who finished the scoring after 73 minutes. ‘Naca’ may not be

quite the speedster he once was, but he still knows how to run a good line, as he demonstrated when he

slalomed his way through our stretched defence from close range. Hagart’s conversion from in front of the

posts made it 25-14 to Grammar.

And what of us in the second period? Truth be told, we didn’t do much to trouble the Grammar line after

Adam’s touchdown early on, despite the introduction of Ross McCann to the midfield at the interval. Ross

did manage to spark a couple of decent backs moves with his quick hands, but, on both occasions, the final

pass was overcooked and went to ground. Apart from that, we huffed and puffed but seemed to lose the

focus we’d displayed in the first half, with handling errors and missed tackles creeping into our play as the

second period wore on. The heavy pitch also seemed to offset our forward dominance, with Grammar

adopting a more open game to prevent us from settling into any kind of rhythm. Our coaches emptied the

bench over the course of the half, and the players certainly fought hard to steady the ship – but, ultimately,

our perspiration wasn’t enough to overcome the inspiration that Grammar somehow managed to summon

up as the match went on.

At the end of the day, our hosts needed the win to have any chance of staying up, whereas we’ve managed

to find ourselves in something of a mid table comfort zone care of those hard fought wins over Musselburgh,

GHA and Peebles. Our stop-start season resumes

on 26th March when we welcome Kelso to

Inverleith – I think it’s fair to say that the Grammar

players and committee would love us to return to

winning ways in that match!

Bill McNie


Stewart’s Melville 3rd XV Report vs Lismore

2nd XV Lismore 2nd XV 07 54 SM Mighty 3’s

If one takes “BSR” out of the equation (a difficult thing to do) this must have been one of the

youngest Mighty 3’s ever fielded by the club with several players still in the teens and the majority of

others in their early 20’s (even Andy Bryce and Rob Ogley looked old!). As such this rather dictated

the pattern of play with one side keeping the ball alive and moving it wide at every opportunity, while

the other preferred a more route one approach using a big and beefy pack. All credit to Lismore who

retained possession well and kept a well organised and strong defence on it toes for long periods of

the game. Inevitably, however, when the ball was turned over the mobile and quick RBG created

some excellent tries through slick handling, good support and an ability to move the ball accurately

into space. The cream of the crop, which went from one end of the pitch to the other and involved

most of the team, was sadly ruled out by a final forward pass inches from the line. Watching with

admiration from the half way line, “BSR” was most put out when he had to trundle 50 metres to join

the resultant set piece.

The SM scrummage, even with two reluctant No 7’s in the second row, and a stand-off at open-side

proved to be a strong unit and a source of good set-piece possession, while Calum MacDonald

garnered some useful first phase from the line-out. If there was an achilles heal then it was perhaps

goal-kicking. Captain Connor MacKay (playing only his second game after a long injury lay-off) self-

appointed himself to this role; an unusual one for a front rower. Perhaps 10 tries scored and only

two converted to the full tariff tells the tale! To be fair to the skipper, a team mutiny saw him usurped

latterly from this role and his replacements had no more success!

All in all, an enjoyable and very entertaining game played in great spirit. Next Saturday (12th March)

sees the last match of the

season when the Mighty 3’s

entertain Preston Lodge 2nd XV

at Inverleith in a rearranged

fixture which should have been

played on 16th January. It would

be good to finish off the season

in style.


Stewart’s Melville 3rd XV Report vs Preston

Lodge 2nd XV SM Mighty 3’s 80 10 Preston Lodge 2’s

As this leviathan strolled down Ferry Road, the ground trembled, the traffic slowed and an air of

expectancy descended over Inverleith. The Preston Lodge dressing room hushed at the sight of the

behemoth passing through the gates - was he playing for the SM Mighty 3’s? - while the home

dressing room, doubting the evidence of the team sheet, let out a collective sigh of disbelief; the

“Pool Man” was indeed back! By

the time Ally had taped himself

together (studiously avoiding the

warm-up), emerged from the

bowels of Room 1 and gingerly

wandered over to pitch 3, the bush

telegraph had produced a sizeable

crowd, and the referee was ready

to start the match with a shrill blast

of his “Acme Thunderer”.

An even younger Mighty 3’s than the week before played exhilarating rugby and scored some

wonderful tries to round off the season in great style. Rob Truscott, well served by both his scrum-

halves (Aaron Porteous and latterly Jonny Gilfillan) displayed great authority at stand-off, and this

allowed centres Andy Bryce and Corey Betham to display their powerful running skills with the

former, in particular, running some great lines to produce a number of promising attacking chances.

Wingers, Matt Harold and Rob Ogley gleefully accepted the opportunity of being put in space and

using their pace to finish off a number try-scoring opportunities. The latter, in particular, was lethal

bagging a hat-trick; although it was pointed out later in the bar that the presence of a certain young

lady on the touch-line perhaps had something to do with his performance!

Riccardo Burrows, at full-back, again displayed his great promise, counter attacking from deep with

an exciting mixture of mesmerising footwork and deceptive pace. Not to be outdone, replacements

Stuart McLaren and Rory Anderson (son of club legend and prop “Wing Commander” Anderson) ran

with authority and defended well. Rory scored a great try from 50 metres out flying down the wing to

evade several would be tacklers and diving over in the corner. A completely different type of flying to

his father who often found himself airborne in the scrummage!


Stewart’s Melville 3rd XV Report vs Preston

Lodge 2nd XV The forwards also enjoyed a fruitful

afternoon although they did have to

work hard to contain the visiting

pack. Ally Duncan, Malcolm

MacColl and Lewis Millar provided

fine solidity in the scrum while it

was great to see Ross McPhail and

William St Clair back in harness in

the middle row. Both are very good

rugby players and both have

threatened to train and aim for

higher things next season. The former’s distraction in Cambridge is moving to Edinburgh next year

and he promises to be available on a more regular basis! The latter has just taken up a new job in

Edinburgh. As ever, the strength of SM rugby is often in the back row and in this roll TJ Pese,

Andrew Wilson, Callum MacDonald did not disappoint as they put in dominant performances. Any

round-up of the game cannot be completed without mentioning Yosser Hughes’ cameo role. He has

been a great servant of the club and the 3’s in particular and it was really pleasing to see him finish

the season (and perhaps his playing career?) on a winning note.

Thanks to our opponents Preston Lodge who never gave up and thoroughly deserved their two well

constructed tries. They contested every phase of the game with vigour and the score was in no way

representative of their efforts. The men from Prestonpans perhaps suffered a backlash in that they

had defeated the Mighty 3’s earlier in the season at Pennypit Park.

So the season has ended with with a final playing record of played 17, won 12 and lost 5 (with one

game being forfeited because SM could not raise a team). Many players can now relax until next

September secure in the knowledge that they will not be harangued or pestered by the management

team into playing. A new regime led by Finlay Calder takes over for season 2016-2017 so do not

expect any hiding place!

Finally, a big thank you to everybody, players and otherwise, who have supported the Mighty 3’s

during the course of 2015-2016.

Phil Waine


International Matches

Scotland Under 19s to play Japan National Schools Team at Inverleith

Inverleith is delighted to host the first of Scotland Under 19’s double header* against Japan National Schools

Team on Sunday 20 March 2016. Scotland under-19 head coach Don Caskie said “We’re looking forward to

getting our development squad together for the first time next month. We will then look to announce a 26-

man squad for our games against Japan, which we believe will be extremely competitive fixtures”

Colin Rigby, Chairman of Stewart’s Melville RFC commented that the club were proud to continue with the

tradition of a Scotland team playing at Inverleith and wished to extend a very warm welcome to Japan on

their return to the club. He also added “This is hugely inspirational to all our young players and we will

be encouraging all our youngsters to come along and support Scotland on the day!”

Entry to the game is FREE

Scotland Under 19 Fixtures

Sunday 20 March, kick-off 1pm – Inverleith,

Edinburgh (free entry)

Sunday 27 March, kick-off 1pm –

Meggetland, Edinburgh (free entry)

Picture Scotland U19 v Japan National

Schools at Inverleith on 15 March 2015


Stewart’s Melville RFC Report vs Peebles

Saturday 20th February be crucial at the end of the season. Stewart’s Melville had now twenty minutes to score a bonus point try and

like busses Ali Greig scored two at the death. The first looked to have been closed down by his opposite

number but Ali’s strength carried him free and the second in the last play of the match as a result of a well

worked overlap.

Cassandra – heard of her? – The curse of Cassandra, daughter of Priam: she was doomed by Apollo always to

speak the truth, but to have no-one ever believe her. The key to breaking down defences is not to attempt

too much when the opposition is lined up in front of you. The key is to get them turning – running alongside

you – then use off-loads and threat of overlaps to confuse. There is no point in trying to run through five

onrushing defenders rather move the ball to an area that is more thinly populated. We now have huge

potential in the threequarters : Gus straightening the line, two wingers that can beat a man one on one, Ross

at full back and Ali fulfilling his schoolboy promise. Maybe the time to release this potential is Friday at

Jedburgh against Herkess and the Young’s.

Stewart’s Melville 31 Peebles 6

Gavin Calder


Stewart’s Melville RFC Report vs Jed-Forest

Friday 26th February


Stewart’s Melville RFC Report vs Jed-Forest

Friday 26th February

FLIP FLOP SALE

Place Stew Mel Club House, Inverleith

Date Sunday 20 March

Time 11am onwards

This is Matt Robertson P7 and me and my team mates have

been set a challenge by Gavin Hastings as part of our Lions It-

aly Tour May 2016 to raise £50 each for this charity.

I set up a facebook page last year as part of my JASS to sell

Gandys flipflops and donate the money I make to their chari-

ty. Here are the links to check out all the designs available

and to find out more information on their story.

https://www.facebook.com/Gandys-Edinburgh-863450110384544/

http://www.gandysflipflops.com/

I will be donating 20% of my sales to The Wooden Spoon so

would love your help to raise as much as I can.

https://www.facebook.com/Gandys-Edinburgh-863450110384544/

http://www.gandysflipflops.com/


FP Rugby

Coming home? Rugby playing opportunities for you!

If you are completing your studies at the end of term and returning to Edinburgh please let Bruce or

Malcolm know. We are all keen to continue the hard work that Phil Waine has done in the past and see

players returning to the RBG. The club has had a good season with a play-off spot still up for grabs with the

Premiership in sight. The 2nd XV have gained promotion on Saturday after a strong season with many

promising young players enjoying their rugby. There are a number of initiatives and programmes currently

being discussed which will streamline the club for

next season and enhance the rugby culture at

Inverleith with the ever present aim of developing

players.

If you are looking for work in Edinburgh or within

commuting distance of Inverleith, please get in

touch and register your playing interest for next

season. Also if we can be of any assistance if

helping you with job opportunities please let Bruce Ruthven know. No promises can be made

but communications are at an all-time high with

various networks available.

The Coming Season 2015/2016

Stewart’s Melville RFC vs Kelso at Inverleith, Saturday 26th March, 3pm Kick Off

The Stewart’s Melville Academy Session on Sunday 20th will be a specialist skills session from 10:30

-11:45

Scotland U19 vs Japan U19 at Inverleith, Sunday 20th March, 1pm—Free Entry

http://www.stewmelrugby.com/scotland-under-19s-to-play-japan-national-schools-team-at-

inverleith/

Dates for Your Diary


School and Club Contacts

Get In Touch…

Bruce Ruthven Rugby Coordinator [email protected]

07780 467 309

Colin Rigby F.P Rugby Club

President

[email protected]

Malcom MacColl Director of F.P Rugby [email protected]

Jimmy Moran Head of Games at SMC [email protected]

Mark Burgess Head of Junior School

Boys’ Sport

[email protected]

Alistair Stewart P1-P7 Lions Chairman [email protected]

David Allan

Joe Boyle

Ralph Campbell

U14s Academy Manager

U16s academy Manager

Academy Manager

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

School website: www.esms.org.uk

Stewart’s Melville F.P Rugby Website: www.stewmelrugby.com

If you need information about whether a match has been cancelled due to bad

weather please call the school cancellations hotline on 0131 311 1080. For any other

information, please contact the relevant person below.

http://www.esms.org.uk

http://www.stewmelrugby.com

stewart’s melville rugby news...stewart’s melville rugby news 16 march 2016 junior school rugby...

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