Friday, 28 January 2011

The title race is back on and with the top three clubs separated by just three points, expect this weekend’s Premier A to serve up another cracker.
Read on to hear the news and views of Scotland’s Premier A clubs as they gear up to tango in the top flight.
Dundee v Hawks: Dundee will be desperate to make the most of their game in hand at this weekend’s long awaited return to Mayfield (where their last match was the 92-10 pre-league split destruction of West Scotland at the end of October) however second-top Hawks will be in no mood to let their title hopes slip, let alone the prospect of the British & Irish Cup rugby next season. Melrose v Hawick: League leaders Melrose take to the field in an ever unpredictable border derby where they will be firmly focused on maintaining their place at the top of the tree. Ayr v Boroughmuir: The cup holding Ayrshire powerhouse return home after two superb results (a win and a draw) on the road against English Championship opposition in the British & Irish (B&I) Cup. Currie v Heriot’s: Another team to return from B&I action, Currie continue their title defence against city rivals, Heriot’s.
DUNDEE v GLASGOW HAWKS, MAYFIELD
Dundee will be desperate to make the most of their game in hand at this weekend’s long awaited return to Mayfield (where their last match was the 92-10 pre-league split destruction of West Scotland at the end of October) however second-top Hawks will be in no mind to let their title hopes slip, let alone the prospect of the British & Irish Cup rugby next season.
Dundee news: James Fleming is missing through Scotland 7s duty and is replaced by Stewart Coleman who makes a welcome return to the wing. Darell Rusell takes over at loosehead from the injured Neil Dymock (shoulder). Dundee head coach ian Rankin, said: “Although we’re pleased with our result last week against Gala in the Cup, our performance will need to be far less patchy and show more intensity to topple a Hawks side sitting second top of the league, who before the long break were one of the form sides. Both teams know their way to the line and, with defenses probably a little leaky after such a long lay off, this has all the makings of a high scoring game.”
Glasgow Hawks news: A few selection headaches at Old Anniesland see scrum-half Peter Jericevich moved to full-back with Craig Gossman moving across to the wing. In the pack Gary Strain moves to tight-head and Ross Miller moves into the second row. Glasgow Hawks head coach, Peter Wright, said: “This game was one of our hardest in the first half of the season and we see no reason why it should be any different second time round. I think this game could be a cracker with both teams looking to play a pretty open game.”
Dundee team: Jamie Urquhart; Matt Smith, Harry Duthie, Colin Strachan, Stewart Coleman; Rick McKenna, Andy Dymock; Darell Rusell, Simon Forrest, Alan Brown, Andy Linton, Richie Hawkins CAPTAIN, Chris Cumming, Rob Cessford, Danny Levison. Substitutes: Callum Kerr, Struan Cessford, Ryan Milne, Jamie Morrison, Stewart Barlow
Glasgow Hawks team: Peter Jericevich; Craig Gossman, Dean Kelbrick, David Milne, Robbie Hair; Mike Adamson, Kris Hamilton; Adrian Smith, Eric Milligan, Gary Strain, Ross Miller, Nick Campbell, Rory McKay, Bart Karalus, Grant Strang. Substitutes: Scott Cameron, Nico Nyemba, Andy Hill, Tom Preece, Sean Murray.
MELROSE v HAWICK, THE GREENYARDS
League leaders Melrose take to the field in an ever unpredictable border derby where they will be firmly focused on maintaining their place at the top of the tree.
Melrose news: Melrose have made just one change to the side that beat Nottingham in the British & Irish Cup – Ben Allen makes a long awaited return to the team, after three months, to replace Dave McCall who is with the Scotland 7s team. Also unavailable for selection are Richard Ferguson, Grant Runciman and Craig Jackson, all of whom are on Scotland under-20 6 Nations duty. Melrose head coach, Craig Chalmers, said: “We’re looking to build on a great result at Nottingham last Sunday where the boy’s had to dig deep once again. Hawick are always a really hard team to play against and they will be looking to put a dent in our title aspirations this weekend. Border derbies are always tough so four points on Saturday will not come easy. I hope a big crowd turns out for what should be a cracking game.”
Hawick news: Hawick are without three regular squad members (Renwick, Davies and Charters). Hawick head coach, Derek Armstrong, said: “We will have to be at our best against a team who have performed admirably in the British & Irish Cup. Melrose are the current form team in Scotland so the Greens will have to perform to their highest level.”
Melrose team: F Thomson; C Anderson, J Murray, J Helps, B Allen; S Wight, R Chrystie; N Little, W Mitchell, G Holborn, G Elder, R Miller, J Dalziel, D Crawford, G Dodds. Substitutes: G Innes, N Beavon, S Johnston, S McCormick, C Hardie
Hawick team: Colin Murray; Greg Anderson, Rory Hutton, Gary Johnstone, Steven Anderson; Graham Hogg, Greg Cottrell; Rory Sutherland, Lindsay Gibson, Sean Linton, Keiran Willison, Michael Robertson, David Lowrie, Nick MacTaggart, Bruce McNeill CAPTAIN. Substitutes: Neil Douglas, Ricky Kiore, Ryan Hogg, Gavin Petrie, Matthew Landels.
AYR v BOROUGHMUIR, MILLBRAE
The cup holding Ayrshire powerhouse return home after two superb results (a win and a draw) on the road against English Championship opposition in the B&I Cup.
Ayr news: Young hopeful Robbie Fergusson, who scored in the back-to-back B&I Cup matches, continues to impress and keeps his place in the midfield while the side also welcome the return of Ross Curle, Andy Dunlop and Glen Tippett into the squad. Ayr head coach, Kenny Murray, said: “We’re looking forward to getting back to league business. The B & I cup has been a great challenge for us over the past few months and the players have lifted their game against strong opposition. Boroughmuir are a strong team who are well coached. They play expansive rugby and we expect a very physical and challenging afternoon but the players are keen to maintain their Premier 1 title challenge.”
Boroughmuir head coach, Peter Blackhall, said: “This will be a hard match with Ayr performing well in the British & Irish Cup. We will have to lift our game.”
Ayr team: Grant Anderson; Steven Manning, Ross Curle, Mark Stewart, Cammy Taylor; Robbie Fergusson, AJ MacFarlane, Gordon Reid, Steven Adair, Stuart Fenwick, Damien Kelly, Dean Stewart, Scott Nimmo, Robbie Colhoun, Andy Dunlop. Substitutes: Gordon Sykes, Glen Tippett, Peter McCallum, Doudie Steele, Gibso Swio
 
Boroughmuir team: Harris Jones; Tom Bury, Malcolm Clapperton CAPTAIN, Stevie Wilson, Ross Neil; Ally Warnock, Sam Johnson; Nick Fraser, Sean Crombie, Jonny Latta, Greig Scott, Ali Davidson, Derek O'Riordan, Neil Rodger, Jamie Doubleday. Substitutes: Greg Jones, Jush Duley, Tom McColl, Andrew Rose, David Reekie.
CURRIE v HERIOT'S, MALLENY PARK
Another team to return from B&I action, Currie continue their title defense against city rivals, Heriot’s.
Currie news: Selection for the Scotland 7s team means that Currie are without back-row Mark Cairns and young centre James Johnstone however the side are boosted by the return of team captain Andy Adam, Andy MacMahon and Steve Burton, while promising young hooker Alun Walker gets his first outing of the season for the second XV. Currie head coach, Ally Donaldson, said: “We’re back to league action where the result of this match is of vital importance to both ourselves and Heriot’s. Both teams have their eyes on a B & I Cup place next season and defeat would make it extremely difficult to achieve that goal.”
Currie team: Johnny Smith; Tom Brown, Hayden Abercrombie, Andy MacMahon, Douglas Fife; Matt Scott, Richard Snedden, John Cox, Finlay Gillies, Alastair Hamilton, Ryan Wilson, Andy Adam CAPTAIN, Gary Temple, Michael Entwhistle, Ross Weston. Substitutes: Stu Simonsen, Ross Merrilees, Adam Best, Steve Burton, Andrew Binikos
Heriot’s team: Colin Goudie; Jordan Kohn, Max Learmonth, Cameron Ferguson, Greg Walker; Richard Mill, Graham Wilson CAPTAIN; Alan Dymock, Kevin Bryce, Gavin Cameron, Jason Hill, Matthew Reid, Jamie Parker, Lawrie Seydak, Jamie Syme. Substitutes: Scott Burnett, Malcom Welch, Chukwuma Osazuwa, Peter Eccles, Andrew Douglas

This article was posted on 28-Jan-2011, 17:36 by Hugh Barrow.