EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS REPORTS


HERIOT'S skipper Marc Teague is hoping for a memorable occasion when he leads his side into action against Melrose in Saturday's Scottish Hydro Electric Cup final.

That, he says, will compensate for the limited recollections of his last visit to the national stadium five years ago when, as a raw 21-year-old, he helped the Goldenacre men to victory over Watsonians in the club's only previous final appearance.

"To be honest I can't really remember that much about it until the final whistle," he said. "The lingering image I have in my mind is of Rory Lawson holding up the trophy. At the time I thought it would be great to be in a position to do that and I'm fortunate that I now have a chance."

Where Teague and his current colleagues differ from the 2003 vintage is in the depth of their experience. The only man at that time who had performed at the national stadium was coach Iwan Tukalo.

"It was the first time at Murrayfield for all the players," Teague explained. "Because of that, it was a very nervy occasion. There was no experience in the team and no-one among us to say how we should approach the game."

Despite their inexperience, Heriot's posted a 23-15 success over their Capital rivals. On Saturday, there will be plenty of men who know their way around and are ready to share that knowledge with their younger team mates.

Teague is one of three survivors from that day, with flanker Tam McVie and hooker Stewart Mustard also hoping for a repeat of the result.

In addition, stand off Murray Strang will be back on familiar territory having piloted Glasgow Hawks to the silverware last season, while Jon Alston, who starts on the bench, featured as a substitute for the Dundee High side that went down to Boroughmuir in 2005 and Chris Fusaro has been a winner three times in age group competition.

Teague is confident that the 22 players who will be involved tomorrow are the best men for the job but he admits he had a lively discussion with his coaches Bob McKillop and George Breckenridge, as well as second XV coach Roddy Deans before the squad was finalised.

"The boys have been fighting for places over the last few weeks, especially with having seven on the bench," he said. "Team selection was a long hard process. One of the hardest things is deciding whether you want to keep everyone happy or you want to make some unpopular choices because you think they are the right men to help you win.

"We chose the second option. I think the team is more or less what everyone expected but there were still some tough choices and we had several debates over who should get be in. But that was always going to happen."

One man who did not come into the reckoning was lock Struan Dewar. He was handed a three-week ban after being red carded against Ayr in the quarter-final. The suspension expired yesterday but he is now injured and will play no part.

Heriot's will field the same pack that performed well as the Capital men dismantled Jedforest 47-14 in the semi-final two weeks ago, while among the backs, Richard Mill comes in at inside centre and Cammy Goodall switches to the left wing.

The players who have been omitted from the 22 will still have a role. "Guys like Malcolm Welsh and Cammy Bruce obviously came into the reckoning and although they won't be playing, they will be water boys and they will still have a part to play in the day."

Teague also acknowledges the contribution of McKillop and Breckenridge but welcomes the freedom the players are given to express themselves.

"Obviously the coaches set the game plan and it's up to the players to execute it. They won't have a massive input after the kick off if things are going to the game plan. They are usually happy to step back and let us get on with it. Obviously we are hoping that's the case against Melrose."

Having seen how the pack dominated for lengthy spells in the previous round, Teague believes that a repeat performance should provide the platform from which to produce the expansive rugby Heriot's will be seeking to play.

"We know that Melrose will be very strong and very physical up front but we believe that if the forward pack do what they have been doing in training we will be in with a shout," he added.

The controlling influence of Strang at stand off will then be vital in bringing the men outside him into the game.

The players will build up to the 4pm kick off at Goldenacre and Teague acknowledges that the late start means the day will drag. However, he is keen to ensure his players stick as closely as possible to the routine that has served them well in their run to Murrayfield.

He also concedes that Melrose have similar strengths up front as well as exceptional pace behind the scrum, with Australian full back Jordan Macey having been particularly impressive in the Greenyards men's run to the final.

And Melrose coach Craig Chalmers will use the absence of his suspended duo Kieran Cooney and John Dalziel to fire up his men believing their bans to be unjust.

Melrose had to beat three previous winners in the form of Boroughmuir, Hawick and Watsonians to seal their final berth. Chalmers will urge his men not to be overawed by the magnitude of the occasion while playing the style of game that will force the Capital side into committing errors.

"It is important that we go there and enjoy the experience", he said. "I will instil in them the need to play a controlled game and not to be too loose or Heriot's will punish us. We will want to ask questions of them that have not been asked for a while"

Teague insists that Heriot's will respect their opponents but the focus will be firmly on their own performance.

"We know that Melrose have been the top team in Scotland since Christmas and they have beaten both Boroughmuir and Watsonians who were first and second in the league. So we are in no doubt that it's going to be a tough game. We have beaten them and they've beaten us, so it's one-all.

"Having said that, we don't really spend a lot of time analysing other teams. We prefer to focus on our own game. Then it's a case of fingers crossed that we can look forward to a big night back at Goldenacre."

This article was posted on 2-May-2008, 14:36 by Hugh Barrow.