Arnold Clark Men's Premiership preview: runners, riders and verdict

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A MARATHON Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership season – which Watsonians head coach Davey Wilson calculates started 41-weeks ago for his team – will enter the sprint finish stage for two of the front-running teams this weekend, when second in the table Heriot’s host third-ranked Watsonians in an eagerly anticipated play-off semi-final at Goldenacre.

Home advantage, a deeper squad and more consistency over the course of the campaign makes Heriot’s favourites, but Wilson is adamant that his charges will head across the capital confident that their fate is in their own hands.

“Credit to Heriot’s, they’ve been pretty consistent across the board all season – certainly more consistent than us – and they’ve got a pretty strong squad there,” he acknowledged. “There’s going to be a bit of an edge, there’ll obviously a some nerves, but I’m looking at it as if all the pressure is on them because there’s not that same expectation on us.

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“I think we’ve been quite happy being just under the radar for pretty much the majority of the season. Yes, we’ve shown glimpses of quality but we’ve also shown glimpses of absolute mediocrity, so we just have to make sure this is one of our good days. I’ve got every confidence with the group that if we turn up and we play to our potential and full capacity then it’s going to be a good game of rugby and it could go either way.

“It doesn’t take a rugby genius to identify that their set-piece is a big strength, they squeeze teams at scrum-time to get penalties, to get into the 22, to go to their driving maul, and once they get that going it’s a hard bit of machinery to stop,” Wilson added.

“I suppose we can take a bit of comfort from knowing that when we played them at Myreside [a 29-21 win for Watsonians], and when we played Ayr at home and away, we were able get parity most of the time in those areas. And when they came to Myreside, I think we dismantled them at line-out time, so we’ve got to probably do that again to stop that momentum shift that they might be able to get.”

Heriot’s hooker Michael Liness is not the only player involved in this match knowing that it will be their last outing in their club’s colours if they end up on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Watsonians co-captain Neil Irvine-Hess and free-scoring full-back Freddie Owsley are also ready to move on during the summer.

“I think Freddie has enjoyed this season playing in the Premiership with Watsonians but it looks like he’ll be heading back down south so he’ll be a loss, without a doubt,” said Wilson. “He’s got that X-factor about him that I think pretty much all the teams in the league are wary of, especially if he’s given a chance to run.

“I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Neil Irvine-Hess [who has decided to hang up his boots at just 30 years of age]. From the age of 18 or 19, he’s played either at the top end of club rugby or in Super6, and he’s been looked at by Edinburgh, so he’s got a fine pedigree behind him, and in many ways he’s a talisman for us. But he’s been going a long time and he’s decided that enough is enough.”

Opposite number Bob McKillop agrees that regular season form will count for very little come 4.10pm on Saturday afternoon.

“We just can’t wait to get going,” he said. “It’s what the boys have trained for.We’ve spoken about how we’ve had over 80 training sessions this year, and all of that is our investment for days like this. So, the boys are a little bit edgy because it is a semi-final, but it is more about excitement than edge.”

“Overall, our players have enjoyed this season and that’s partly because they’ve won a lot of games, but perversely the games that they’ve been mostupbeat after have been the two defeats to Ayr, because they were proper contests withproper crowds, physical rugby, and that’s what they’ve trained for, it’s what they putall the effort in for. I see tomorrow’s game in the same way. 

“The January game where we won quite comfortably against Watsonians at Goldenacre is, I think, irrelevant. We’ve kept our consistency a little bit better over thewhole season. Ayr have kept their consistency incredibly well, but in a one-off game,Watsonians are the equal of anybody in the league.”

Heriot's v Watsonians

Venue: Goldenacre @ 4.10pm (live on BBC Alba)

Teams –

Heriot's: D King; Z Ross, T Glendinning, A Hunter, G Coull; R Jones, F Gibson; C Keen, M Liness, E McLaren, P Spence, J Campbell, J Hill, R Kirkpatrick, R Leishman ©. Subs: D Neill, A Munro, S Cessford, M Keough, S Broad, C Townsend, P Christie.

Watsonians: F Owsley; L Macpherson, R Kerr, D Coetzer, Z Walls; J Baggott co-©, C McAlpine; C Davidson, M Pritchard, M McGinley, L Ball, K Van Niekerk, S Cecil, Z Mactaggart, N Irvine-Hess co-©. Subs: C Davies, C Lamberton, T Gracie, S Allison, J Minty, J Mitchell, H Fisher.

Key clash: Ruairidh Leishman versus Neil Irvine-Hess

Team news –

Heriot's: Roving flanker Sam Wallace is still out with a concussion suffered from head-on-head contact against Ayr a fortnight ago, while fellow back-rowers Callum Anderson and Ali Johnstone have also picked up injuries during the last week, but the home side are hardly being forced to scrape the barrel with a breakaway triumvirate consisting of Jason Hill, Rory Kirkpatrick and talismanic skipper Ruairidh Leishman. Christian Townsend is fit again so named on the bench, alongside Paul Christie who has forced his way into the squad with some good performances in recent weeks.

Watsonians: Murray Scott, Campbell Wilson and Chris Bell are all unavailable due to long standing commitments or injury. Teenager Zander Mactaggart makes his first start at openside and Luis Ball returns to the second-row after returning from international duty with Germany in recent weeks. This will be the last games for free-wheeling full-back Freddie Owsley and co-captain Neil Irvine-Hess if the result does not go the visitors’ way.

What the coaches say –

"In terms of head to head games, it's one each this season. Up at Myreside in October, we did not perform in the first 20 minutes and left ourselves a mountain to climb. We are also aware the Watsonians team we will face tomorrow will be very different to the team that came to Goldenacre in January.  Add in the fact the two sets of players and the two set of coaches know each other very well, I would expect a tight, nervy semi-final. After the horrendous weather of last week it will be great to play on a fast, hard track at Goldenacre, hopefully with a decent crowd …" – Bob McKillop (Heriot's)

“41 weeks of training and playing comes down to a semi-final play-off against our nearest rivals at Goldenacre. The league itself is indeed a reflection of the consistency that teams have shown over the course, but Saturday comes down to knock-out rugby, a local derby, last chance saloon for some, and an opportunity to reach a final! Heriots are a good side and have shown consistency throughout the season. We know what they bring as a team and if we allow them to build momentum, they will be more than a handful. On the flip side, we know that when we get the detail right and play with accuracy and confidence, we also ask questions. We are excited about the game and looking forward to the challenge …"– Davey Wilson (Watsonians)

Verdict: It’ll be tight, but Heriot’s have winning momentum, a powerful set-piece and very close to a full-strength squad, which will make a difference going into the final quarter.

Home win.

The Fight For Survival –

MEANWHILE, two of the three regular season games still to be played have been scheduled for this Saturday, with Glasgow Hawks knowing that if they beat Selkirk at Balgray, or secure a draw with a four-try bonus point, then they will retain their top flight status next year. But anything less than that will mean that Marr can still escape the relegation zone by beating Hawick at Fullarton tomorrow and Currie Chieftains at the same venue next Saturday.

In reality, a defeat with two bonus-points for Hawks will almost certainly be enough to condemn Marr, as the Ayrshire side will then have to win both their two remaining games by an aggregate of more than 106 points – which is possible but very unlikely!

How It Stands –

The Lowdown –

Marr v Hawick

Venue: Fullarton Park @ 3pm

Teams –

Marr: C Inglis; E McAra, S Bickerstaff ©, L Jarvie, J Jacobson; C Sturgeon, G Baird; B Sweet, B Jardine, C Miller, C Young, D Andrew, M Kirk, A Orr, B Johnston. Subs: G Dick, A Apthorpe, C Steel, A King, J Braddock, J Scott, R Maiden.

Hawick: K Ford; F Douglas, A Mitchell, L Armstrong, C Welsh; K Brunton, G Welsh; S Muir ©, F Renwick, N Little, S Frizzel, H Donaldson, R Anderson, M Brogan, C Sutherland. Subs: F Bell, C Crawley, M Atkinson, G Huggan, C Riddell, M Reid, E Hamilton.

Key clash: Blair Jardine versus Fraser Renwick

Team news –

Marr: The return of experienced half-backs Grant Baird and Colin Sturgeon is a big boost in a must-win, match while Ben Johnston’s availability at No 8 sees Blair Jardine move forward to hooker and Brandon Sweet shift out to loose-head prop. Alex Apthorpe and James Braddock add firepower to the bench.

Hawick: Gareth Welsh comes in for Hector Patterson, who is not released from the Edinburgh Rugby Academy in the only change to the starting XV from last weekend. Connor Crawley could debut from the bench after stepping up from Under-18s rugby. Matt Reid and Eli Hamilton return to the squad.

What the coaches say –

"After last weeks horrible weather, we look forward to welcoming Hawick to a sunny Fullarton. We know what we need to do and just have to execute. Boys have put in a good weeks prep and are aware of the challenge so are ready for the weekend …" – Kenny Diffenthal (Marr)

“Our final league game of the season and there are not many tougher places to go than Fullarton, especially when Marr are fighting for their survival. We know what they will throw at us and its up to us to absorb that, get ourself into the game and execute our plan. The boys have again trained well this week and are looking to sign off the season on a high …" – Gary Muir (Hawick)

Verdict: It’s a long road trip for Hawick, especially at this stage in the season. A couple of key men returning, home advantage and the carrot of potentially escaping the relegation zone all points towards a Marr victory.

Home win.

Glasgow Hawks v Selkirk

Venue: Balgray @ 3pm

Teams –

Glasgow Hawks: E Muirhead; J Couper, F Callaghan, N Thompson, R Flett; L Brims co-©, B Jackson; I Malaulau, P Cairncross co-©, M Walker, M Crumlish, C Nolan, L Stewart, R Howie, S Hastings. Subs: F Muir, M Goodwin, A Syme, Y Shaheen, S Steele, G Cruickshanks, M Godsman.

Selkirk: C Anderson; J Welsh, A Grant-Suttie, R Nixon, B Pickles; A McColm ©, O McClymont; L Pettie, C Tait, B Riddell, F Smith, J Fisher, D Bronlund, T Wilson, K Westlake. Subs: C Cochrane, B Malcolm, R Joyce, L Cassidy, F Malin, B Cullen, C Easson.

Key clash: 

Team news –

Glasgow Hawks: Ryan Burke and Jonny Morris have not been released by the Glasgow Warriors Academy, so are replaced by Craig Nolan and Ryan Howie. It is all change at half-back with Brent Jackson taking over at scrum-half while Scott Steele drops to the bench, whil Liam Brims comes in at stand-off for Andy McLean,who is injured. Chris Elliot sustained a concussion so Nicky Thompson comes in at 12, while Ben Morriss is unavailable which sees James Couper return on the wing. On the bench Andrew Syme, Gavin Cruickshanks and Murray Godsman come into the squad.

Selkirk: Josh Welsh, Ben Pickles and Ross Nixon return to the starting backline after missing last weeks game. Finlay Smith gets a start in the second-row, with Kieran Westlake reverting to the back-row and Corey Tait moving to hooker.

What the coaches say –

"This week we face a Selkirk side who are probably the team of the season given how much they have progressed from last year. The way his players have played week in and week out is a real credit to Sesh [Gordon Henderson] and his team.  For us, this week is about getting one or two things right while maintaining our recent levels in other areas. If we can do that for the majority of the 80 minutes we will put ourselves in a position to win the game, and the challenge is to turn these narrow defeats into a win …" – Andy Hill (Glasgow Hawks)

“Although this is our last game of this season, we are desparate as a squad to head to Glasgow and put in a positive performance to finish off this tough Premiership campaign. We know how hard this will be against a Hawks side at home who have scored a lot of tries in their last few games. We will need to be disciplined in our defensive shape and not give them easy opportunities to find space or they will hurt us …”– Gordon Henderson (Selkirk)

Verdict: Never underestimate the potency of survival insitinct.

Home win.

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