Border Telegraph | Sport | Coach calls for Gala repeat

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 3rd September, 2008 09:00

Coach calls for Gala repeat

By Atholl Innes

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GALA coach Richie Gray is demanding another big performance when Stewart’s Melville FP come to Netherdale on Saturday.

Buoyant after his 14-man side beat Biggar at Hartreemill, Gray is keen to keep his players’ feet on the ground with only one match completed in a long and hard season.

"That was a great result for us (the win at Biggar), but I was delighted with the team’s effort and commitment.

"That must be one of the youngest Gala sides ever to run out of the tunnel," he said. “Our average age is probably about 21.

"But this will be a severe test for us. We were neck-and-neck with Peebles last season and they (Peebles) were hammered by Stew-Melv last Saturday."

The Inverleith side did play against 13 men for 20 minutes after the Clark brothers, Adam and Neil, were each shown red cards by referee Rupert Henderson and went on to win 40-18.

But Gray knows that this will be tough encounter.

He goes into the game without prop Martin Christie, who was shown a red card at Biggar. Christie is soon to take a year out in Australia, and the No. 2 position will be discussed this week by the coaching staff.

In Premiership 1, there is also buoyancy at Philiphaugh where Selkirk kicked off the season with a thrilling 28-24 win over Currie.

However, coach Kevin Barrie knows that Glasgow Hawks, who lost to the other newcomers, West of Scotland on Saturday, will be a tough challenge.

"We all know that it will be a different story on the road, but fortunately we have no injuries from Saturday and we have depth in our squad," he said.

Selkirk may recall David Cassidy, whose kicking was a feature of his side’s promotion last season and played a key role in the 2nd XV’s win over Kelso.

Cassidy only restarted training last Thursday and will be in line for a place alongside Michael Rutherford, Simon Willett, Alan Dunbar and Scott Hendrie.

It is a selection dilemma for Barrie and his backs coach Michael Jaffray, but they may decide to stick with the same team although Cassidy’s kicking prowess may influence their decision.

Down at The Greenyards, Melrose coach Craig Chalmers will be looking to break his team’s duck in points as well as results when West of Scotland come calling at 3 p.m.

Melrose failed to notch one point at Ayr, where they had to take the field without skipper Scott Wight, Jamie Murray and Jordan Macey in the back division alone.

Hawick, too, seek their first win after gaining only a losing bonus point in their 22-18 defeat by Heriot’s at Goldenacre.

The visitors to Mansfield Park are Ayr under former Melrose player Craig Redpath.

Meanwhile, the new list of pro players allocated to clubs have been announced. They are:

Hawick: Opeta Palepoi, Calum MacRae, Chris Paterson, Matt Mustchin, Dan Parks, Eric Milligan and Bruce McNeil.

Melrose: Scott Newlands, Geoff Cross, Mark Robertson, Kelly Brown, Kevin Tkachuk and Tim Barker.

Selkirk: Sean Crombie, Simon Cross, Ben Meyer, Gavin Kerr, Ross Ford, Phil Godman and David Blair.

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