THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
COLIN RENTON AT MYRESIDE
NEWLY-RETURNED Currie winger Geoff Caldwell shrugged off the disappointment of a painful 13-12 BT Premiership defeat at the hands of high-flying Watsonians and promised that the Malleny Park side will be ready to bid for a rare double over Glasgow Hawks in their BT Cup clash on Saturday.

Looking forward to a repeat of the encounter that last year produced a win for Currie, Caldwell, said: "We now have Hawks two weeks on the trot.


"Currie beat them last year. The cup is very different from the league. It's all about what happens on the day."

Saturday's game was a low note on which to start his second spell with the club, but Caldwell admitted it was good to be back on familiar territory after returning from Melrose. And, he insists that this is a more rounded side than the one he left several years ago.

"I have been training with the boys for four weeks now," he said. "I am still learning how the boys operate and how they play. It will take time but I think we showed against Watsonians some of the qualities we have and gave an indication of what's to come.

"We are now trying to play the ball. Currie have always had a big pack. Obviously we will play to our strengths and that means using our forwards but when it is on to move the ball we will move it."

And he credits Currie coach Ally Donaldson - a team-mate before Caldwell left for pastures new - for the introduction of a desire to deliver a more open style of rugby.

There was no fairytale return for Caldwell, as Currie succumbed to a Watsonians side that is still clinging to an outside chance that long time leaders Hawks will falter on the run in and allow the Myreside men to snatch the silverware.

However, they looked well short of being championship challengers with a stuttering display that left them fortunate to record the win that sees them seven points adrift of Hawks in second place. Currie full back Dougie Flockhart gave the visitors the lead with a try converted by Don Raw, but 'Sonians struck back to lead 10-7 at the break through a touchdown by Bryan Rennie - his 11th of the season - converted by Will Campbell, who also slotted a penalty.

Hawks started the second period strongly but failed to add to their points tally and Currie battled back into a deserved lead when skipper Andy Adams forced his way over from close range to set up a win that would have eased the relegation jitters.

However, Campbell proved to be the match winner for 'Sonians with his second penalty of the afternoon, although the home side gave their supporters a few nervous moments as they were forced to endure a tense finale to secure the league points.

It was particularly galling for Caldwell, whose farewell appearance for Currie during his previous spell at the club was a painful experience at the same venue - he broke an ankle after only 40 seconds.

"This result hurts a lot. The last five minutes we were down at their end and we just couldn't get anything. We gave away too many penalties at crucial times," he added. "But credit to Watsonians. They are not where they are in the league for nothing. I don't think they played particularly well but it's a sign of a good team that they can win without playing well."

That was a view shared by the home side's assistant coach Darren Burns, who insisted that talk of winning the title has not been on the agenda in the Myreside changing rooms. He said, "It was a win but we will now want to put that one behind us and move on.

"We are just trying to keep focused on ourselves and keep performing as well as we can to try and keep the pressure on Hawks. The ball is really in their court.

"We just need to play as well as we can and if it comes this season then brilliant, if not we'll have to look to next season."

In the Currie camp, Donaldson remains upbeat on the prospects for the rest of the season, despite the implications of the defeat, which means his side are now just above the drop zone.

"We'll take a lot of heart from the performance," he said. "I thought our effort, our work rate and our determination were first class.

"If we display that effort in the games that we have left we will be in no danger, but it is yet another bonus-point defeat for us. It was definitely one that got away."

This article was posted on 16-Jan-2006, 23:08 by Hugh Barrow.