Stewart’s Melville 41 - 15 Newton Stewart

On a late autumnal Saturday, Stewart's Melville welcomed our friends from Dumfries and Galloway to Inverleith. The game started with the home side attacking the castle end and we took an early lead with a try from a rolling maul in the Arboretum corner, Adam Fraser converting. Around the 20 minute mark the visitors came back into the game with a period of sustained pressure and opened their try scoring account for the afternoon with a score which was converted. Newton Stewart then kicked a penalty to take a 10 points to 7 lead. Just on the edge of half time, (possibly) Chris Baikie scored and Adam added the extras to give us a 14-10 lead at the interval. The first half was a very even contest, albeit one of contrasting styles of rugby as Newton Stewart looked to spread the play at every opportunity.

The home side started the second half strongly with a try from Duncan Reid, Adam converting to extend the lead to 21– 10. Hayden then scored in the clubhouse corner with the conversion being missed (26-10). Newton Stewart replied with a try of their own to narrow Stew Mel’s advantage. Adam then chipped over a penalty and our lead was now extended to 29–15.

After a bullocking charge upfield by replacement Ally Scott, the ball was fed to the backs and a chip kick ricocheted into the hands of Mike Jamieson who touched down. The afternoon’s try scoring was completed when Jamie Thompson picked off an interception and ran fully 80 metres to score under posts for a converted try.

Final score 41 – 15 to Stewart’s Melville.

Six tries and 5 points on Saturday with special mentions in despatches to Ewan Stewart, Finlay Williamson and Jamie Sword who not only dwarfed their opponents but also provided much needed momentum against a resilient visiting team who played with both width and pace. The 1st XV have now taken 15 points out of a possible 15 in October which represents an excellent month for the players and coaches.

Next game is Saturday 2nd November vs Berwick at Scremerston. This a National League Cup tie with a 2 pm kick off.

David Calder

Photographs courtesy of Jax Mackenzie Photography