The Herald reports

Chalmers expects a close, intense competition
Published on 24 Aug 2011

Neil Drysdale

IT might be asking a lot for the new Scottish Premiership season to replicate the thrills and fluctuating fortunes which embodied the last campaign, but Craig Chalmers, the coach of Melrose, the reigning champions, is bracing himself for an even sterner test of his men’s credentials when battle commences this weekend.

“We have to go to Aberdeen on the opening afternoon, then we face Currie, Ayr and Glasgow Hawks in our next three matches, so it’s essential that we hit the ground running,” says Chalmers, a steely character whose efforts at The Greenyards have galvanised the Borders club, which won six titles in seven years in the 1990s and has recently shown signs of re-igniting past glories.

“We know we are there to be shot at this time, and it could be a really tough competition to win. But it is also exciting and I like the new format.”

Chalmers has never been interested in topping popularity contests, yet nobody merits more plaudits than the former grand slam-winning stand-off for the fashion in which he has instilled a mixture of pragmatism and panache in his charges.

Melrose have lost the services of their talented No.10, Scott Wight – he has moved to Glasgow Warriors – but they have recruited the former Watsonians back, Andrew Skeen, to fill his shoes, in addition to attracting the likes of Bruce Dick and Chris Keen from Gala and Kelso.

“We still have the majority of the guys who won the championship last time, so they have been over the course, but Currie struggled at the beginning of their title defence 12 months ago, so it is difficult to make predictions,” says Chalmers, whose side will also be involved in the British & Irish Cup, a tournament which their mentor believes has been a “terrific” innovation.

“The first month should help clarify things. Ayr, for instance, have lost the likes of [Australian-born lock] Damien Kelly, who was a big influence for them, while [Mark] Bennett has moved on [to Clermont-Auvergne], so we’ll have to see what difference that makes to them. But they are a well-run club, they have a good set-up, so I would expect them to pose a strong challenge and the same is true of Currie and Hawks.

“At this stage, I would settle for three wins from our opening four matches but you have to concentrate on one game at a time and not look too far ahead.

“Aberdeen Grammar, for instance, have just been promoted, after being in the second flight for a number of years, and they will be determined to make life difficult for us on Saturday. We will have to be careful at Rubislaw, because I have no doubt they will come out hard at us and we have to be ready for the challenge.

“We have gone pretty well in our pre-season fixtures, but you only really find out what stage you are at, once the league has actually kicked off. Right now, my feeling is that this could be a very close, very intense competition, and that nothing will be decided in the first few weeks.”

As a proud son of the Borders, Chalmers is cheered that Gala have returned to the top echelon and, with Hawick also among the leading dozen, it is obvious that the Borders is continuing to punch above its weight in the Scottish game. Realistically, though, Melrose appear to be the only members of that trio with the requisite depth of resources to maintain the form which has yielded significant rewards in the past three seasons.

“I would never write off anybody at this stage and Gala are a proud organisation, so they will battle for all they are worth,” says Chalmers. “It should be tasty when we meet them, as it will be with Hawick. Our initial goal is to finish in the top three, because getting into the British & Irish Cup means an awful lot to us. If we can achieve that, I reckon that we will be there or thereabouts at the finish . . . but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!”

This article was posted on 24-Aug-2011, 06:31 by Hugh Barrow.