THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

Barnes launches blistering attack on SRU as Accies storm into final
DAVID FERGUSON AT RAEBURN PLACE
Edinburgh Accies 38
Boroughmuir 14

A GREAT day in Edinburgh's bustling Stockbridge, a meaningful and exciting rugby match, talk of a £9 million development of the grand old Raeburn Place, and the involvement of a coach who delights his supporters and eager media in equal measure. Who said club rugby was on its knees?

There was something familiar about this Edinburgh derby, as a pack drilled by Ian Barnes, below, the legendary former Hawick and Scotland lock, strangled the life out of a much-fancied opponent before the man himself launched a withering, expletive-filled after-match invective at the Scottish Rugby Union and, seemingly, all who sail in her. This was supposed to be a day to escape the recent political wrangling at Murrayfield and simply enjoy Scottish rugby. Many observers in the crowd of 800 would not have been disappointed - other than the Boroughmuir supporters who saw their hopes of another cup final appearance head into the distance by half-time.

As expected from a team known for its one-dimensional approach - all 'forrits' as they say in Barnes' native Hawick - it was the Accies pack's dominance of this Scottish Cup semi-final, notably at the breakdown and in defensive chores, which decided the outcome. And yet the Division 2 champions stunned Boroughmuir with two first-half tries through the backs, relying on the good hands and straight-running encouraged by assistant coach Jim Renwick.

Paul Loudon, the centre fresh from captaining a successful Scotland U18s, and Ross Browne, the full-back, were the scorers, and scrum-half Michael Campbell latched on to a loose ball to grab the third from excellent pressure on one of many kicks from Gavin Douglas. A Douglas penalty, drop-goal and conversion gave Accies a comfortable 23-0 half-time lead over Muir who were lamenting the early loss to injury of their best player, the centre Elgan O' Donnell.

Boroughmuir responded after the restart, while Accies had hooker Joe Edwards in the sin-bin, with a try from Angus Martyn, crafted by Ross Cook and Scott Hadden, and Neil Malloy, the sub hooker, showed great pace to grab another much later. Douglas and Nathan Pike scored tries four and five to ensure as comfortable a win as the hosts deserved. And so we turned to big 'Barney', whose devotion to duty at this club stretches to watering the pitch, refereeing kids' games on Saturday mornings and keeping the finances in check.

Is the secret of his success the 'Border mentality' brought by him and Renwick, and the quartet of Teries in his side, one journalist ventured. "That's a load of s****," he said. "I don't think there is such a thing as a Border mentality."

He had not gone looking for Hawick boys, he added; they had come to him because they lived in the capital. What one, Alistair Marsh, will do on cup final day remains a moot point - his wedding is planned for the same afternoon. With a wry smile, Barnes queried who the prop might love more - his fiancé or Accies. Barnes' ire was raised seriously, however, when he was asked the secret of creating a pack which fights tooth and nail for the jersey. "It was very difficult to start with because the two boys in the second row were used to professional rugby and standing around," he said. "We had boxing matches at times to get them to move. I don't go to the professional game because I don't agree with it, but it's s****. It's 15-a-side rugby league they're playing.

"They're on about the troubles of Scottish rugby, but the problem is [Jim] Telfer's numpties are still coaching the sides. They're talking up the performances of Scotland's U19s, but five of their backs have been down here with us - it's Jim Renwick who did that. We have three [Scotland] U17s they're not letting play in our [youth] game on Wednesday night because they're on 'active rest'. They're nutters. You can criticise [Gordon] McKie [SRU chief executive] as much as you want, but the rugby division is a sight worse. They haven't got a clue." Striding off at this point was Frank Hadden, the national coach; he was in need of no more of Barnes' coaching ethos having watched his son Scott toil in vain all afternoon, at stand-off and centre, to get Boroughmuir moving. This was, however, a day of celebration for Accies, and Barnes agreed that the timing of Accies' return to the top flight, with the bonus of a cup final, fitted neatly with the launch of the club's 150th anniversary celebrations this August.

Scorers: Edinburgh Accies: Tries: Loudon, Browne, Campbell, Douglas, Pike. Pens: Douglas 2. Drop-goal: Douglas. Cons: Douglas 2. Boroughmuir: Tries: Martyn, Malloy. Cons: Hadden, Cook.

Edinburgh Accies: R Browne; J-M Howison, L McCann, P Loudon, D Rattray; G Douglas, M Campbell; P Burns, J Edwards, A Marsh, E Stuart, N Pike, D Teague (capt), G Campbell, J Parker. Subs (all used): E Stott, D MacLeod, S Paterson, S Walker.

Boroughmuir: R Cook; C Keenan, M Clapperton, E O'Donnell, R Couper (capt); S Hadden, G Cottrell; N Drapper, D Cunningham, F Lait, G Scott, G McCallum, C Capaldi, B Fisher, A Martyn. Subs (all used): J Malakoty, J Hare, N Malloy, S McGee.

Referee: D Changleng (Galashiels).

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Edinburgh rugby

This article was posted on 23-Apr-2007, 07:00 by Hugh Barrow.