Border Telegraph | Sport | Home record has to be improved to settle nerves

Monday, 8th September, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 14th December, 2005 11:19

Home record has to be improved to settle nerves

By Border Telegraph Sport

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Gala 17, Selkirk 19

SELKIRK’S first double over Gala since 1988-9 didn’t come easily.

An ebbing and flowing game at Netherdale saw Gala twice in the lead before Selkirk’s late try and Michael Rutherford’s winning conversion.

It was a bit short of the comfort zone created when they won the Philiphaugh game in September, but good enough to edge them further ahead of the Maroons in Division 2.

Gala have reached the point in their season when they must start winning to prevent acute anxiety setting in. They have the unenviable record of having lost six of their eight home games, and are far from happy to be sitting in the lower half of the league.

Selkirk had the edge in creative play, showing an imagination and enterprise, which Gala seldom equalled. They also had a fair degree of speed and in Fraser Harkness the man of the match, if such awards were given out in the Premiership.

Since Selkirk’s performance, and Gala’s sturdy challenge, came from teamwork it’s probably just as well they are not.

The Gala forwards nearly had the winning of the game. Their driving mauls were effective, powerful, and just kept on coming at Selkirk.

But behind the scrum the inexperience of the young Gala backs showed up. No one played badly, but still no one managed to put much in the way of pressure on Selkirk.

The Souters, by comparison, had a more mature look about them, and with Harkness intruding well they always looked a degree more threatening.

The front rows were well matched, with all six players heavily involved in more than just the set pieces.

Gala’s John Anderson took over Malcolm Horsburgh’s line-out responsibility, and, especially in the first half, cleaned up some good ball.

Gala’s performance in that department was effective, with a variation in the throwing allowing a variety of catches which led to some effective drives.

Selkirk missed Denver Rumney when he was stretchered from the field just before the interval, but their squad has a lot of depth to it, again an area where Selkirk were the more mature.

Stevie Scott, assistant coach at Philiphaugh, said that Gala had taken the game to Selkirk up front, which was where the game was going to be won and lost. `But all credit to Selkirk - we managed to get some good set piece ball and we have some dangerous backs. They did very well.`

`Our guys are really fit - we’ve worked hard and we will be working hard again over the Christmas period.`

Paul di Rollo, the Gala coach, thought his side were improving every week. `We should have won that one. A couple of errors costs us the game. But there were a lot of really good personal performances today. ` He singled out Andy McLean, Paul MacDonald, Scott Chapman, and John Anderson.

Right from the start Selkirk showed their intent and a Rutherford chip to near the line set them up well. Harkness was stopped just short of the line, but the visiting pack were on a roll and Martin Murray was unstoppable from a couple of yards out.

Rutherford’s conversion produced a seven point lead in as many minutes.

A massive clearance from McLean got Gala into the Selkirk half, the first of many occasions on which play swung rapidly around the field.

A good take by Graeme Bryce saw the home forwards piling in and some good momentum saw the ball go left, right and back again. A quickly taken penalty let McLean side step his way in at the corner, but the kick was unsuccessful.

Harkness fielded on his own 22 metre line and made fully 50 metres up field before a desperate defence cut down the move.

Gala were denied a penalty when Dalgleish was hightackled, but the Maroons were having a good spell. When Rumney was taken from the field with what appeared to be concussion Gala stepped up their game and Chris Weir was credited with a try after another good drive over the line.

Again the kick, from the corner, went astray, but Gala had earned their halftime lead.

Selkirk created a good looking run involving most of their threequarters and the timely appearance on Harkness out on the right allowed him to notch his second try in two games against Gala this season. Rutherford missed the conversion, and Gala came back again.

Heavy pressure on the Selkirk pack followed, with Ben Rawcliffe getting a yellow card. It was at first thought that things were even worse for Selkirk with the referee showing both yellow and red cards at the same time.

The Gala pack made sure they didn’t miss out, and Selkirk were forced into taking down the scrum, conceding a penalty try goaled by McLean.

A let off followed when a Rutherford penalty hit the post, MacDonald doing a good job of clearing, but Selkirk were far from out, and Murray’s second try came when the visitors got the better of a drive to the line.

Rutherford’s conversion was enough to put his side in front, a lead which they held on to in the frantic closing minutes.

For Selkirk to have scored their highest ever total against Gala in September, and then to have completed their first double over the Maroons for 17 years, makes this season something special in the Philiphaugh annals.

Gala : S. D’Agrosa; A. Wood, C. Dalgleish, S. Chapman, C. Lawson;A. McLean, J. Berry; A. Johnston, P. MacDonald, E. Johnstone, C. Weir, J. Anderson, G. Bryce, M. Christie, T. Weir. (Replacements R. Livingston, M. Christie, A. Ballantyne, G. Frater).

Selkirk : F. Harkness; G. Blair, A. Lyall, D. Cassidy, S. Hendrie; M. Rutherford, M. McVie; B. Rawcliffe, D. Hoggan, M. Murray, N. Darling, M. Barnett, S. Jeffrey, D. Rumney, A. Heatlie. ( Replacements E. Robbie,G. Patterson, R. Aglen, J. Ross).

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