Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Friday night lights at Stoneyhill
02/27/2025 02:00 PM
TO avoid relegation, bottom of the table Musselburgh must climb to ninth in the table. They are 20 points away from that target at the moment with just four games of the regular season left to play, so anything other than a bonus-point win in their Friday night clash against Watsonians under the Stoneyhill lights this weekend will seal their fate,
It is a tough ask against a Watsonians side who are on track to finish third in the table this year, and who have won the last three games on the bounce since coming up short away to second-placed Heriot’s at the end of January. Derek O’Riordan‘s side will, however, draw some confidence from their performance when these two sides met at Myreside back in October, when Musselburgh raced into a 19-0 before eventually succumbing 38-29.
Even if Musselburgh do get what they need from this match to stay in the fight overnight on Friday, there is a good chance that Kelso will deliver the knock-out blow to their survival chances if they get eve a bonus-point from their home match against Hawick on Saturday afternoon. You can bet Musselburgh won’t be letting that possibility detract from their appetite for this challenge, because regardless of wherever else they have come up short this season, they have never been found wanting when ut comes to determination and grit – and if they are going to go down, they will do so fighting to the last.
URC: Munster v Edinburgh: Ewan Ashman and Sam Skinner among seven changes for Cork trip
Rising star Jare Oguntibeju signs first pro contract with Glasgow
Arnold Clark Men's Premiership Round 18 Dream Team
How It Stands –
The Lowdown for Friday Night Lights –
Musselburgh v Watsonians
Venue: Stoneyhill @ 7.35pm
Teams –
Musselburgh: P Burns; T Foley, R Watt ©, G Heber, S Watt; D Owenson, J Rule; C Owenson, J Talac, H Meadows, A Mataitini, J Arnold, D Jakeman, M Crawford, J Lister. Subs: Z Griffith, E Bonthron, R Brown, R Smith, M McCowan, R Stott, J Longwell.
Watsonians: F Owsley; L Macpherson, R Kerr, D Coetzer, Z Walls; J Baggott ©, M Scott; C Lamberton, M Pritchard, A Williams,, A McInnes, K van Niekerk, J Minty, Z Mactaggart, S Allison. Subs: J Holligan, M Marshall, T Gracie, J Roberts, J Mitchell, C McAlpine, S Leweni.
Key clash:
Team news –
Musselburgh: Bruce Weatherhead and Nehemiah Su’a are not available this week as they are away on a school trip to the North of England 7′ meaning the Watt brothers (Sandy and Rory) return to the side, while Tom Foley rotates in with Murray McCowan Craig Owenson and Harry Meadows return to the side meaning Euan Bonthron and Ross Brown rotate to the bench also.
Watsonians: Angus Williams starts in the front-row having been allocated by Edinburgh Rugby and Merchiston Castle schoolboy Zander Mactaggart gets his first start playing at openside flanker after impressing off the bench over the past couple of weeks. In the back-line, the half-back combination changes with Murray Scott and Jason Baggott available again, allowing Dom Coezter to move into inside-centre with Ronan Kerr shifting to his preferred position of outside-centre in place of Lewis Berg who is off to Australia. Zander Walls replaces the benched Sam Leweni on the wing.
What the coaches say –
"Last week was pretty tough to take – we felt that we put ourselves in a position to win the game at 38-38 but momentum shifted and we didn’t keep our nerve to close out the game. What is really pleasing is how willing we were to take risks on the attacking side of the ball and being more threatening ball in hand. I hope we continue to build on that into this week against Watsonians …" – Derek O'Riordan (Musselburgh)
"Following a challenging fixture in round one we expect an even greater test of character playing at Stoneyhill on Friday evening. Musselburgh have had a particularly challenging season, but they have demonstrated, character and resilience to make life difficult for teams, especially at home. Watsonians will not be taking anything for granted knowing that we will need to play well and perform to our capabilities.…"– Davey Wilson (Watsonians)
Verdict: With this match being broadcast live on BBC Alba, Musselburgh will be determined to put on a show, and they have a couple of experienced heads back to help the cause (which offsets the unavailability of a couple of promising youngsters who have made their mark in recent weeks). But Watsonians should have enough to weather the storm, helped by the return of Jason Baggott and Murray Scott to provide direction if they are rattled early on.
Hard-fought away win.
The post Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Friday night lights at Stoneyhill appeared first on Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line.
