Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Edinburgh Accies finish positively against distracted Watsonians
03/29/2025 03:04 PM
Edinburgh Academicals 31
Watsonians 24
COLIN RENTON @ Raeburn Place
EDINBURGH ACCIES ended a disappointing campaign on a positive note, producing a gutsy performance to post a rare win and, in the process, send departing club stalwart, Tom Drennan, into retirement on a high. The No 8 played a key role in the victory, delivering a hefty tackle count and covering every blade of the Raeburn Place pitch in a team performance that offered a glimpse of what Accies can do when all of the pieces fall into place. Sadly for them, it came too late in the season to avoid relegation.
Nevertheless, coach Iain Berthinussen praised the effort of his players, saying, "Watsonians have obviously got their eyes on other things next week. I take nothing away from the effort of our lads. There was a lot of frustration that we probably let out in terms of where we, deservedly, are in the table. We talked about finishing the season on a high and trying to take something tangible into next year. I thought the boys were outstanding."
Confirming Berthinussen's observation, Watsonians coach, Davey Wilson, was not overly perturbed by a defeat seven days before a match that will have much more riding on it.
Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Currie Chieftains pushed all the way by Hawick
URC: Edinburgh slay toothless Dragons
TOL teams up with 'Find a Player' … take the survey and find out more
"I'm disappointed because we were good enough to win it. The two tries we conceded at the end of the first half did the most damage to us. When we got it back to 24-24, I thought we could maybe sneak it. Edinburgh Accies seemed to have a bit more want, a bit more desire," he said.
"It's difficult on a day like this when, despite the fact that you've said not to think about next week, they are maybe not wanting to put their bodies on the line quite as much. We probably had about 10 guys not playing today.
"I still think we had enough quality personnel out there to win. Credit to Accies, they battled away and got their reward for it."
Watsonians started well and it took all of Accies’ defensive spirit to keep the visitors at bay in the opening 15 minutes. The home side's set-piece was solid and, aided by the tricky conditions, they upset the Watsonians line-out, as well as causing the Myreside men problems at the scrum.
Having survived that spell on defensive duties, Accies edged into the lead after a penalty to touch and several phases ended with Calum Crookshanks appearing in space out wide to take a pop pass and plunge over.
Watsonians struck back when Chris Bell attacked through the middle and, with the Accies defence stretched, the ball was shipped out to Zander Walls, who finished off in the corner.
Accies seized back the initiative when Patrick Ritchie pounced to snaffle ball at a defensive line-out in the Watsonians 22. That sparked another multi-phase assault that ended with Crookshanks diving over for his second try, and Vincent Hart converting.
The visitors restored parity when Josh Mitchell chipped deftly into space and profited from a favourable bounce to gather and race over between the sticks, leaving Bell a simple conversion
Accies responded with an attack sparked by a kick through from Hart that forced Conor McAlpine to hack the ball into touch as Robbie Chalmers closed in. A catch and drive from the ensuing line-out ended with Fraser McAslan crashing over.
Then, in injury time, a spot of quick thinking by Ritchie, who tapped from close range, ended with Crookshank forcing his way over to complete his hat-trick and send the hosts in at the break with a 12 point lead.
Both sides failed to capitalise on chances in the third quarter, but Watsonians eventually found a way through. Andrew McInnes made the break and the ball was passed through several pairs of hands to Mitchell, who squeezed in at the corner.
The momentum was firmly with the visitors and they squared matters when a powerful break by Zander Mactaggart created the foundation for a spell of pressure that ended with Bell slicing through for a self-converted try.
The growing pressure stretched the home defence and looked set to yield a Watsonians victory. Accies supporters have seen that movie several times this season. However, on this occasion, as the clock ticked into the fourth minute of injury time, a tap and go, and a searing run by Chalmers carried possession deep into opposition territory where slick handling ended with Richard Thompson dotting down between the sticks to leave Hart a straightforward conversion that completed a sixth win of the season for Accies.
Teams –
Edinburgh Accies: S Wells; J Townshend, M Wallace, N Armstrong ©, R Chalmers; V Hart, P Ritchie; C Imrie, F McAslan, C Crookshanks, R Thompson, S Whittaker, E McVie, G Davis, T Drennan. Subs: G Shannon, P Hayes, A Wood, R Walsh, K Gossman.
Watsonians: J Ferguson; J Mitchell, S Leweni, D Coetzer, Z Walls; C Bell, C McAlpine; C Lamberton, B Cooper, M McGinley, A McInnes, K Watt, S Cecil, C Wilson, N Irvine-Hess ©. Subs: J Holligan, C Davidson, D Voas, M Fyffe, Z Mactaggart, M Scott, H Fisher.
Referee: J Smith
Scorers –
Edinburgh Accies: Tries: Crookshanks 3, McAslan, Thompson; Cons: Hart 3 .
Watsonians: Tries: Walls, Mitchell 2, Bell; Cons: Bell 2.
Scoring sequence (Edinburgh Accies first): 5-0; 5-5; 10-5; 12-5; 12-10; 12-12; 17-12; 19-12; 24-12 (h-t) 24-17; 24-22; 24-24; 29-24; 31-24.
Man-of-the-Match: There were huge defensive contribution by several Accies players, and a number of contenders for their attacking efforts. Tom Drennan's performance in his final game for the club also brought him into the debate, but a hat-trick from Calum Crookshank, plus an impressive showing in open play and a couple of thumping tackles earned the prop the accolade.
Talking point: Watsonians had enough possession to win the game, even with a host of key men being held back for next week. This game offered no insight into how they will approach the play-off but their astute coach, Davey Wilson, can be relied upon to field a team that will go to Goldenacre confident of beating Heriot's.
The post Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Edinburgh Accies finish positively against distracted Watsonians appeared first on Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line.
