Result:

Result:

Result: 117th GALA SEVENS - Watsonians 21 Heriots 38

After an initially sunny start to the day, by noon it was touch and go with a covering of snow on the pitch for the first time in a long number of years. Thankfully the snow stopped just after that and the pitch was turning green again just as the first of the teams started to arrive.

Many thanks to everyone who turned up on the day, all our sponsors, the Clubs who competed, and everyone who had a hand in the organisation and running of the event on the day.

First Round
Melrose 26 Dundee 10
Watsonians 14 Jed-Forest 0
Edinburgh Accies 31 Cartha Queens Park 10
Hamilton 7 Selkirk 31
Gala 22 Berwick 17
Langholm 12 Heriots 31
Kelso 24 Peebles 19
Haddington 5 Hawick 40

Quarter Finals
Melrose 5 Watsonians 19
Edinburgh Accies 7 Selkirk 33
Gala 12 Heriots 24
Kelso 15 Hawick 24

Unfortunately for the crowd we were not to get a repeat of last year's semi's with 4 Border clubs making it through. But with the 2 that did make it hopes were still high for an all-Border final

Semi Finals
Watsonians 26 Selkirk 7
Heriots 31 Hawick 14

Let's face it, these results were probably the worst possible combination giving an all Embra' final, just what we need to keep the crowd interested as shown by the number of people making for the gates (not event the bar).

Final
Watsonians 21 Heriots 38

OK, we have to admit that while we would prefer to have had 2 Border clubs in the final, the right teams made it there having been clearly sharper and playing the better 7s rugby on the day. 'Sonians made the initial score, but thereafter it was all the Nails with Sonians living off scraps, their cause not helped by one of them getting the only yellow card of the day for arguing with the ref after he had awarded a try. Of course the Nails would never have done it without Andy McLean's presence in the semi and final!

Gala 22 Berwick 17
Having crossed for the opening score the local support clearly thought that we should be running in a try every time we got hands on ball. Despite leaving Prem3 in the opposite direction to us, Berwick clearly had other ideas and got stuck in about us to make a real match of it. With 30 seconds remaining they had brought things level at 17-17 and looked set to cause an upset. Thankfully we took possession at the restart and after a brief fright crossed to take the win.

Gala 12 Heriots 24
To be honest our first round tie probably gave every indication as to how this one would go. Heriots got the opening score but we kept at it and had the score at 12-12, but some poor tackling and real pace from the Nails put paid to us to ensure we went no further this year.

Result:

Result: Gala 34 Ellon 5

Having secured promotion back to Premier 2 with last week’s win at Irvine, this week it was all about the icing on the cake and the P3 title. With Peebles having been on our tails for most of the season we still needed to go out and win with a try bonus point in order to secure the title, and despite a flying start that saw us 12-0 up after 12 minutes, it wasn’t until the 52nd before we had the all important 4th try. Congratulations to all players, coaches and unsung ‘backroom’ staff, and thank you on behalf of all the members for your efforts in getting us straight back out of P3 at the first time of asking.

The game started off with an early touchfinder from Ellon nearly into our 22 and it was not handled at all well and allowed an early bit of pressure from our guests making their first appearance at Netherdale. We tidied things up a bit and then worked our way upfield. Once inside their 22 it was all about the forwards and right enough they drove over for Tam to pick up another try. Andy was on target, and the first was in the bag, 7-0.

The ball was kicked straight into touch at the restart and Tam, Malky and Tim M got a bit carried away with a quick throw and some interpassing that saw them up to the line for a quick second score, only to be brought back to the scrum in the centre.

We did not have too long to wait though and chasing an up and under from Andy Chappy was the first there to put in the initial hit, with Kibbs close on his heels. We had a penalty at the ruck and moved another 10m up for backchat, at which point we opted for the scrum. The first saw us drive them back to the line and were ready to touch it down when the front rows popped up and we reset. Another strong performance then allowed Tam to get his second of the game, but Andy pushed his kick across the posts having overcompensated for the driving wind, 12-0 after only 12 minutes.

After such a promising start it all seemed to go a bit flat for a good spell as Ellon worked their way back into the game, but with too many handling errors from both sides it was not a great spectacle from the sidelines.

Our guests should possibly have had a score at the end of the first quarter after they had set things up in our 22 and were tackled just inches short of the line. Their player had barely hit the ground, never mind have time for anything else, when the ref blew for holding on and the penalty let us clear our lines.

It wasn’t until the first half was almost over that we moved another step nearer to the title and from a scrum just inside the Ellon half Chappy took the ball up and offloaded nicely to Stevie Craig just as he took the tackle on their 10m line. This gave Stevie just the space he needed and took off for the line and maybe should have backed himself a bit more, but slowed up and looked for support that just wasn’t around and then had to do it the hard way round 3 defenders that had made it over. He wasn’t to be denied though and made his way over for our third. 17-0 at halftime.

The second half started a bit more briskly and Tim Miskelly made a hole on our 10m line and broke clear but was pulled back just as he started to open his legs for a block by Malky.

50 played and our forwards were in control inside the Ellon 22. With our touchline experts hollering for it to be kept tight and driven over the guys on the park had other ideas and kept trying to move it wide. When that failed for a second time it was almost too much for some, until Kibbs got ball in hand and went the long way round 3 defenders and had just enough to power over in the corner with one guy hanging onto him for the try that sealed the title. Andy was off target but this was hardly noticed buy most as they started the celebrations. 22-0.

10 minutes later and it was another forwards effort from a penalty in their 22 that was put to touch and driven over. The ideal situation would have been for AJ to be the one to stand up with it in his last match for us, but it wasn’t to be and it was Captain Stevie Scott who came up with it instead, 27-0.

With 60 played the coaches opted to bring Alan Johnston off for the last time and he rightly got a standing ovation for his performances in the Gala jersey over the years.

At this point a loose ball during a maul saw it come out the side and into an Ellon player’s hands as he made his way back onside. Some good handling from both their forward and backs saw them move it up into the corner and over for a try that they more than deserved for the efforts they had put in during the game. The wind played as much havoc with their kick as it had Andy’s, 27-5.

The last of the afternoon’s scores was a well worked one that started with supersub Ben Murray making the initial break before offloading to Tam. Just as he was running out of options and the line of defenders was looming close Tim Miskelly came up at a great angle and after a neat sidestep round the last man was able to touch down behind the posts for Andy’s easiest attempt of the day which he duly slotted. 34-5.

Despite some final attempts, the last 10 minutes saw neither side able to produce anything much else and all that was left was for Ali Forsyth to present Stevie Scott with the P3 Quaich and get the celebrations started.

One last word must be said to Tim Archibald, who returned home on Sunday. Thanks for your efforts Tim, we trust you enjoyed it and we would welcome you back again next year, if you can stand the weather.


Today’s team was as follows:
15 Fraz Thomson, 14 Stevie Craig, 13 Lee Kibble, 12 Scott Chapman, 11 Chris Dalgleish, 10 Andy Mclean, 9 Lawrence Lemmon, 1 Alan Johnston, 2 Stevie Scott, 3 Tim Archibald, 4 Chris Weir, 5 Malcolm Horsburgh, 6 Tim Miskelly, 7 Gareth Brown, 8 Tom Weir, 16 Craig Hogg, 17 Mike Christie, 18 Ben Murray, 19 Ross Lindsay.

Result: Irvine 8 Gala 34

After an inauspicious start that proved our hosts were not just going to lie down in front of us the Maroons faithful were grateful to see the guys regroup and go on to run in a total of 6 tries, which could have been a good deal more with a bit more composure at critical times. That said we won’t be greedy and the result is enough to ensure that we are back in P2 next season, congratulations guys.

Having left a windswept and snowy Gala the weather on the West coast could not have been more different and was made better still as the majority of the wind disappeared not long before kick-off as well, which all boded well for our try rate.

Unfortunately we did not take Irvine’s kick-off at all well and a kick into the corner from the scrum left Fraz with no option than to nudge it into touch. Their lineout seemed to find us napping a bit and they drove over for an unconverted try in the corner. 2 minutes gone and we were 5-0 down much to the disbelief of the large travelling support (thanks once again folks).

From the restart we had our first penalty and, showing our intent for the afternoon, moved it through the hands to make good progress into their 22. Another penalty saw it put to touch and driven over only to be held up. 1st scrum, front rows down, 2nd scrum, we were driving them over and they went down, 3rd scrum and it goes loose from Tam’s feet and Lawrence tidies up only to be penalised for holding on.

11 played and a break by Jamesy on the left was offloaded to Dalgo who released Andy as he was tackled, and Andy was round behind the posts, only for it all to be taken back as our own touchjudge had seen a foot in touch.

With the game approaching a quarter gone and nothing on the scoreboard we finally got going with play moving from the left wing to the right wing and then back again with a couple of long passes that were begging to be picked off, but got into Dalgo’s hands and he went over in the corner. Andy’s conversion was well off, but given the runup he had it was hardly surprising. 18 played and we were at 5-5.

5 minutes later and with a 6 on 2 overlap out wide our forwards spurned the chance and insisted on picking and driving, only to be help up over the line again. From the scrum Tam picked and went and found a gap yawning in front of him for his easiest try of the season. Unconverted, 5-10 and we started to breathe a bit easier.

We then had a short interval as the ref had injured himself in his efforts to get out of Tam’s way. Much to some of the home support’s initial upset David Dodds, having driven the team bus, stepped in to allow the game to proceed. To give them their due those that had initially been sceptical about the arrangement soon admitted that he was at the very least fair if not more strict on Gala. Thanks Davie, its better that way than allowing even the hint of anything else.

Once things got underway again our hosts put in another kick to the corner and for whatever reason we shortened the line in our 22, only to lose it and have Irvine send it back to their fly-half who calmly put in a drop-goal to keep them in striking distance at 8-10.

Irvine knocked on at the restart allowing us to set up camp in their half and keep the pressure on which eventually paid off with another penalty in front of the posts that some of the defenders seemed to assume would be kicked, but was quickly tapped and Ben was on hand to take it over the line, having just taken to the pitch for Malky. Andy converted to make it 8-17, which was how it stayed until half time with Irvine having had a penalty chance come back off the post.

Irvine tried to come at us from the outset of the second half, but a big tackle by Chappy stopped them in their tracks and earned us a penalty which was put to touch and would have been useful had it not gone forward when swung wide. They made a bit of a hash of the scrum and we managed to scramble it back and move it wide. Dalgo was stopped just short and with no defenders in front of him Andy only had to pick it up and step over, but managed to knock on in the process. On the third attempt at a scrum we shunted them off the ball and Tam was stopped in his tracks, but offloaded and we should have been over had it not been forward, again.

52 gone and a penalty 26m out was put to touch and driven on towards the line, pulled down and the penalty put to touch again, driven on, recycled a couple of times before seeming to go over, but it was well buried and earned us another 5m scrum. Tam was stopped again, and Lawrence was immediately wrapped up, but it was out to Jamesy who went over for the touchdown, only to be brought back for yet another forward pass.

With almost three quarters of the game gone the visiting support were getting anxious for the try that would guarantee our return to Premier 2 next season, and with his record this season it is only fitting that it was Fraz that got it. Our hosts had a lineout almost on halfway and initially secured the ball, but from the maul-cum-ruck that followed we won it back and moved it wide where he came into the line and jinked past a couple of players to go clear and run it in. Andy converted to make it 8-24.

At this stage we seemed to relax a bit and settle into our game and a great piece of interplay between Fraz and Ben in particular would have been a contender for try of the season, had they not bee brought back for yet another forward pass (don’t worry the calls were all quite justified). We did not have long to wait for the next one though as we had a penalty at the scrum and put it to touch. Tam knocked it on when driving it over the line, but made up for it when we stole the scrum and he dived over for his second of the day. 8-29.

67 played and Chris Weir takes a quick throw-in to himself and sets the ball on its way to the far wing where it was taken up to the line before we were stopped, and then saw Lawrence knock it on as he went for the line.

Our final score of the day again started from a lineout that was moved wide and Fraz did the bulk of the hard work before setting Ross free to cross in the corner, 8-34.

Much to the bemusement of some of our faithful there were no cheers or celebrations from the players at the final whistle, despite having gained promotion back to P2 at the first time of asking. Don’t worry folks, they are just looking to next weekend when they can win the league as well.

For those not aware of it this was James’ last game for us this season having returned home on Sunday (possibly with a hangover). Hope you’ve enjoyed your time here James and keep in touch.

Today’s team was as follows:
15 Fraz Thomson, 14 Lee Kibble, 13 Scott Chapman, 12 James O’Neill, 11 Chris Dalgleish, 10 Andy Mclean, 9 Lawrence Lemmon, 1 Alan Johnston, 2 Stevie Scott, 3 Tim Archibald, 4 Chris Weir, 5 Malcolm Horsburgh, 6 Tim Miskelly, 7 Gareth Brown, 8 Tom Weir, 16 Craig Hogg, 17 Mike Christie, 18 Ben Murray, 19 Ross Lindsay.

Result: Gala 23 Heriots 29

For a team that is focussing on promotion in the league in the next couple of weeks we put in a hard shift against the Nails who are sitting 5th in P1, and came loaded with a team full of near- and ex- Pro players, including a certain Roddy Grant.

In a nip and tuck game we left it until the last minute to score our only try. Unfortunately it was not to be a repeat of 4 years ago as we were 2 scores behind at that point, thanks to a missed knock on in their final try.

The bad news out of this is that we have picked up a few knocks and niggles that resulted in us playing a centre at fullback, and flanker on the wing. None of which helped of course in terms of mismatches when they attacked out wide.

With a penalty to us in 15 seconds when Heriots infringed at the kick-off it was looking good from the start, unfortunately Andy missed as the wind disappeared just as he struck the ball. Their 22 restart went straight to Tam who took it straight back at them and had them under pressure for 2 minutes with Andy being stopped 1m out and then as we drove on the line they conceded again to let Andy step up and make it 3-0 after 4 minutes.

With Gala still the better value for money (for the very poor crowd that turned up – city teams I guess) Heriots had their first real pressure in our half on 10 minutes and resulted in a penalty in front of the posts 15m out in the 13th, only to miss the kick.

They were still pressing from the restart and their centre breezed through as if we weren’t on the park, before Fraz stepped up with a try saving tackle. Ball popped up and thankfully their supporting runner tripped over his own man and when it was popped again Andy was there to intercept it and it was cleared up to their 22 where we got another penalty, put to touch, and another penalty on the line saw Andy make it 6-0 after 15 minutes.

23 gone and another penalty on halfway saw Lawrence tap and go and was immediately tackled with the defender making no effort to retreat, which earned him a yellow card. Fraz stepped up for the 40m penalty effort, but was just a shade wide.

4 minutes later and it was Gala attacking again with Fraz going through and a chip saw him beyond the last defender, only to be grabbed by fingertips and be brought down. Penalty to us in the follow-up saw Andy make it 9-0, but at a cost as Fraz limped off afterwards.

Coming up to half an hour and against the overall run of play we were under pressure having failed to deal with the restart. This saw them go close in the left corner but when they moved it wide they were a man extra and saw them over for the first try. Kick missed again, 9-5.

35 gone and our guests seemed to lift their running game at the same time as we forgot how to make the tackles count, and as we fell off when trying to take them round the chest they went over in the corner. Kick successful to make it 9-12.

Last minute of this half and we were pressing hard again, only for a kick to touch to bring the whistle. Half time 9-12 and you felt we could just do it.


Into the second half and another poor kick-off response saw Heriots with a foothold in our half. Initially driven back but a good angle with pace saw them through the first defence and heading for the corner, only to knock on in the last tackle.

5 minutes into it and the first real flare-up due to simmering tempers as our guests got increasingly frustrated saw the touchjudge on again and another penalty to us for Andy to bring it up to 12-12.

Possibly the turning point of the game came in the 50th as Dalgo went off injured to join Fraz on the bench, and with only 1 back sub we ended up with Chappy at full-back, and Tim Miskelly on the wing and Mike coming on to take Tim’s place. This saw Heriots targeting Tim with ball being shipped to Teague on Tim’s wing twice in quick succession and going close each time, the second only stopped by Chappy putting in a try-saver in the corner.

20 to go and we sneak back into the lead with a penalty after Malky is taken out in the air at a lineout in their 22, and their lock gets a yellow. Andy was on target to make it 15-12.

4 minutes later and a great drive from the forwards to not only win turnover ball but march it 10m upfield saw a penalty for backchat at the scrum, that was then marched 10m and another 10m for more backchat and should probably have seen at least a yellow if not red for blatant dissent and verbal towards the ref. Andy stepped up again and pushed us further out to make it 18-12.

Another mistake at the restart saw us under pressure in our 22 and as we tried a rush defence Jamesie was just a couple of paces in front of the rest and a simple sidestep saw them through to go under the posts for an easy conversion to make it 18-19.

69 played and a poor lineout resulted in us holding on and conceding a penalty that allowed them to open the gap to 4 points, 18-22.

74 played and a great kick from Andy (to make up for the penalty kicked dead a few minutes earlier) saw us move up for a 5m lineout. Heriots made their defence count and cleared to 5m from halfway, where we promptly lost our own throw. They made nothing of it and we were back to the same spot a minute later, won the lineout this time only to see a forward pass as Stevie came round at pace.

80 played and an up and under from Heriots saw both Chappy and Stevie C up for the take and a clear knock-on from their chasing player bounced into the supporting runner’s hands and the ref let it go and saw them under the posts again. Conversion made it 18-29.

1 minute into injury time and still Heriots were conceding penalties aplenty, and then marched another 10m when they threw it away as we tried for a quick tap. Andy stuck it into the corner and a catch and drive saw us over the line, and it was Arch that came out with the ball from the pileup. Andy's conversion was just wide and the ref decided that was enough.

Final score 23-29.

Today’s team was as follows:
15 Fraz Thomson, 14 Chris Dalgleish, 13 Scott Chapman, 12 James O’Neill, 11 Stevie Craig, 10 Andy Mclean, 9 Lawrence Lemmon, 1 Martin Christie, 2 Stevie Scott, 3 Tim Archibald, 4 Chris Weir, 5 Malcolm Horsburgh, 6 Tim Miskelly, 7 Gareth Brown, 8 Tom Weir, 16 Alan Johnston, 17 Mike Christie, 18 Graeme Bryce, 19 Lee Kibble.

Result: Selkirk 12 Gala 3

This was always going to be one of the hardest games of the season, and with 6 1st XV regulars either injured or being rested due to niggles for the big games in 2 weeks time it was only going to be that bit harder. That said, the guys who stepped up put in a hard shift against a near full strength Selkirk team going well at the top of the league above us, and had we had a bit more composure at a couple of critical moments the end result could have been different.

On arrival you could really only offer the Selkirk groundsman the best of luck for the next couple of weeks, and that was before the warm-up, never mind the game itself. Thankfully the rain stopped about 2 minutes before the start and stayed off until a minute after the final whistle, but the wind remained and no doubt played a part, at least in some of the decision making.

Playing with the wind, and kicking off, we had the best of the first 5 minutes keeping the play mostly inside the Selkirk 10m line and came close after a kick ahead from Fraz on our own 10m line saw a lineout 10m out from which Selkirk knocked on 5m from their own line. Tam picked and went from the scrum, recycled and wider, recycled again 1m out only to concede a penalty and allow them to clear their line.

2 minutes later and still keeping our hosts under pressure in their own half we had a scrum 15m out from which Andy put in a neat grubber and Chappy was only just beaten to the touchdown.

Selkirk had their first real bit of attacking play with just over 10 minutes played and from a Gala scrum 25m out from our own line a box kick was put up onto their 10m line only to find Harkness only too willing to take it and hoist an up and under. Tam patted back the incoming ball, straight into Harkness’ hands, who made for the corner flag. Our defence held him out and when he offloaded it was deemed forward. Unfortunately we fluffed the scrum losing it to them and it was quickly whipped wide for their winger to go over having come into the line. Kick missed, 5-0.

19 played and our next chance was our first penalty, on their 22, but it was put to touch, caught, driven, and pulled down, only to have a scrum awarded to Selkirk.

The next 15 minutes were pretty evenly matched and were played in the ever-increasing glaur between the 22m lines. It was Selkirk that broke the deadlock when an upfield kick from them was well fielded by Ross and returned, again only to find Harkness waiting for it. A well placed cross-field kick could have been more dangerous had the chasing player been better placed but it thankfully squirted into touch.

We finished the half in the same way we had started after a break by Ross on his wing took play back into the Selkirk half and we worked our way up to the line, only to run into our own man which brought the halftime whistle.

Now if you wouldn’t want to be the Selkirk groudsman this week you can also spare a thought for the Gala laundryman. With both sides effectively wearing brown after 40 minutes the ref asked both squads to change shirts, our hosts refused, at which we were forced to use the spare set we had been very close to leaving at home. Des may well be wishing he had left them behind.

The Selkirk forwards started the 2nd half more in control than the travelling support would have liked, and after their first 5m scrum did nothing they drove the 2nd over our line before converting it for a 12-0 lead 2 minutes after the restart.

10 minutes later and 3 successive penalties finally saw us within range and opting for the posts. Andy’s kick was well judged in the wind and brought the score to 12-3. Unfortunately Tam missed the restart kick and saw us with a defending lineout deep into our 22, which thankfully came to nothing.

With our lineout misfiring Selkirk were happy to keep sticking the ball in the air and pushing us back towards our 22. To add to our problems it appeared from the sidelines as if there was a drop in the interest/enthusiasm, but to be fair with the conditions underfoot everyone on the park must have been shattered.

Into the final quarter and Selkirk broke from their own 10m line, with 3 1-2’s they made their way towards our 22 before trying to get it out to their winger who would have had virtually a clear run in. As it was the pass was just short and rather than try to catch it he opted to volley it and it went back towards our players covering across who managed to take it and clear it.

With 5 to go Selkirk were awarded a penalty 35m out and opted for the posts, which thankfully failed and kept the Gala support hoping for a penalty of their own to bring us within losing bonus point distance, which could make the difference as to whether or not we make it to the final.

83 minutes played and we were making a last push deep into their half, only for a knock on to put paid to that effort and bring the full time whistle at 12-3. Our progress into the Border League final now depends on how Selkirk get on in their other 2 games.

Today's team was:
1 Martin Christie, 2 Michael Christie, 3 Craig Hogg, 4 Christopher Weir, 5 David Marshall, 6 Graeme Bryce, 7 Gareth Brown, 8 Tom Weir, 9 Iain Ross, 10 Andrew McLean, 11 Shawn Law, 12 Scott Chapman, 13 James O'Neill, 14 Lee Kibble, 15 Fraser Thomson, 16 Mark Kibble, 17 Lewis Roden, 18 Ben Murray, 19 Steven Craig, 20 Ross Lindsay

Result: Kelso 14 Gala 21

For some reason the focus in the build up to this game was on the result 9 years ago when we edged it in the Cup final, and not on the 3 wins in 3 games that Kelso achieved against us only last season, including dumping us out of the cup. Thankfully the guys dug deep in the first half to turn around only 6-0 down having played into the wind, and a higher scoring 2nd half saw the scores level at 14-14 with only 12 minutes remaining, before we went in for a third converted try, and a 3-1 try count in our favour probably deserves the final result.

Kelso won the toss and made us play into the wind in the first half, and having secured our kick-off they then made full use of the elements to keep us pinned between our 22 and 10m lines for the opening 10 minutes other than 1 breakout that turned to nothing when we coughed it up.

Whether some of the guys thought it would be easier this week after beating Hawick last Saturday, or if Kelso really did put up more of a fight than the Greens, the supporters will never really know, but having nearly met our match in the scrum we then started to concede penalties at regular intervals, and our hosts used one in the 11th to go 3-0 up.

8 minutes later and Martin Christie got away with his first 2 clear “in from the sides” at a Kelso maul and was penalised for his 3rd in less than a minute to give them another chance at goal, only to see it go wide this time.

Coming up to 30 minutes played and our second real chance came from a penalty 35m from our own line, quickly tapped and out to Stevie on the wing who managed to offload it just as he crossed into touch, and a good bit of driving play from half of the forwards (the rest were in the way in the back line) saw it whipped wide left and us up to 15m out and then knock it on. Gala free kick at scrum so we opt for another and then get a penalty, quickly tapped and Kelso not 10 but deliberately tackling gives us what must be the shortest penalty advantage ever seen as Tim Miskelly knocked on 3m out and it was not taken back, allowing Kelso to clear to 3m from halfway.

33 gone and a blatant knock-on from Kelso is ignored, but Mike is quickly penalised at the ensuing ruck when he tries to dig the ball out with his boot. Kicked to make it 6-0.

We finished the half with the upper hand and were unlucky not to score as first Fraz gets his first real chance to open up and goes round 3 before chipping ahead and just getting beaten to the ball, followed by Tam breaking from the Kelso 10m line and being brought down less than 10m out, knocking on in the process which allowed them to scramble the ball and clear to halfway to end the half.

Turning round to play with the wind, things started as they had been in the first period when we fumbled the ball (backwards) from the kick off and Andy cleared well under pressure. Kelso lineout on their own 10m and penalty Gala at the ruck, put to touch and moved infield for a Gala 5m scrum, only to see Brycie penalised for not binding. Another chance blown.

3 minutes into this half and we take the ball into a clear ruck but the ref gives Kelso the scrum, backchat from our forwards (due to inconsistent decisions) saw it changed to a penalty which they quickly tapped and made 15m before kicking ahead, and when we went to secure it further inconsistency saw us penalised again allowing Kelso to open the gap to 9-0.

5 minutes later and a reasonable travelling support started to breath easier when we drove upfield and finally managed to unlock the Kelso defence with a bit of neat back play (OK it may have had a forward pass, or two, in it) that ended with Stevie collecting it at pace and beating the 4 chasers to touch down for our first score. Converted by Andy to make it 9-7.

From the restart we cleared it upfield to just inside their 22 from where their fullback missed touch and 3 players 20m in front of him were immediately involved in tackling our player that received his kick, these 3 and a number of other offsides in this single piece of play were all ignored much to the disgust of the Gala players and support and allowed Kelso to keep us out for a bit longer.

5 minutes later and with a number of unclear calls the ref had clearly had enough commentary from the sidelines and had a quick chat with Gary with a clear indication towards the stand.

Our backs then seemed to find another gear and some good interplay saw Andy offload to Chappie who made 15m before it got to Fraz’s hands and ran it in from 25m to touch down under the posts giving Andy the easiest conversion of the day to make it 9-14 and have our noses in front for the fist time.

We knocked on at the restart and Kelso applied some pressure but a kick into touch 15m out allowed us to gather and clear upfield. We then had a period of pressure of our own and saw them defending 10m out where their scrumhalf was clearly overusing the boot at a ruck, but it was one of our guys who took a half pace offside due to a dummy pass that was penalised allowing them to clear.

68 played and Kelso benefit from a forward pass of their own, and as some of our guys wait for the whistle it is moved wide where a series of missed tackles sees them go over for a try. Conversion missed to make it 14-14 and talk of extra time suddenly seemed realistic.

This setup a final 10 minutes that saw some near-frantic play that had our support in particular hoping that they would just calm it down a bit and ensure they kept the ball, but it was one of those phases of play that saw Tam make the initial break into their 22 and pop it up to find Iain Ross in support to keep it going and recycled it from where it was thrown wide to find Andy on the wing and a cross for a try of his own in the corner.

Given that it was in the corner and needed a conversion attempt from the touchline, into the cross-wind, from Andy’s wrong side, most supporters will admit they did not expect him to get it, but up he stepped and good use of the wind saw it straight through the middle to make it 14-21 and ensure that if Kelso were going to steal it they would need another try of their own and not a couple of penalties.

A tense closing 5 minutes started with another penalty to Kelso from the restart but we managed to keep our lines clear and as Kelso tried to keep the pressure on it was one of our seasoned campaigners in the form of Alan Johnston that drove through from the backfoot of ruck and forced a Kelso knock-on that brought the final whistle and a big sigh of relief from the Maroon support.

All in all a hard won victory from which we have another injury worry, but all the guys dug in well and played for the full 80 to put us further in the cup than we have been for a few years. Here’s hoping that we get a home tie for the first time in almost as long.

Today’s Team was as follows:
15 Fraser Thomson, 14 Chris Dalgleish, 13 James O'Neill, 12 Scott Chapman, 11 Steven Craig, 10 Andy McLean, 9 Iain Ross, 1 Martin Christie, 2 Michael Christie, 3 Tim Archibald, 4 Chris Weir, 5 Malcolm Horsburgh, 6 Tim Miskelly, 7 Gareth Brown, 8 Tom Weir, 16 Alan Johnston, 17 Mark Kibble, 18 Graeme Bryce, 19 Dean Keddie

Result: Gala 32 Hawick 23

In what was a black week for the Club off the field with the deaths of Bill Paterson, Dave Chapman, and Lees Rutherford, it was as though their spirits were on the park with the guys and helped put in a fitting tribute to them in what was a good game to watch and a scoreline that would have made them smile.

For the disappointing but vocal crowd that turned up to watch, this was probably the highlight of the day compared to the fare that was served up later in the form of an international, for those of you who did not come along, for whatever reason, you missed a thoroughly enjoyable game (at least for those in Maroon!)

For the second time this season we took the game to a Premier 1 team and found their scrums somewhat lacking when faced with our own pack, and this base seemed to give the guys the foundation to take it to them at any opportunity, in fact the final scoreline does not do justice to the level of possession we enjoyed and if we could have reduced the errors it could have been more embarrassing for our long-standing rivals.

The game started as it was to go on and we had our first chance in the 9th when Tim Miskelly charged down a clearance kick inside their 22, only to have it knocked on when the following player went for the pick-up.

3 minutes later and a kick upfield was taken by Tim and offloaded to Stevie Craig who made 20m before a chip and chase, and with 3 Maroon shorts bearing down their fullback had little choice but to carry it over his own line and concede the 5m scrum. With us already in the ascendancy in that area they conceded a penalty for which we took another scrum which saw Tam go over for his first of the day. With Andy out injured Dean Keddie had been brought in to replace him and he made sure Andy will need to fight for his place with a good all round performance of which this conversion was just a part, 7-0.

Needless to say Hawick were not going to take this lying down and from the restart applied their first real bit of pressure which paid off when Landels crashed over in the corner. Conversion into the wind failed, 7-5 and setting the scene for a good game.

10 crunching minutes later and an initial good drive by Tim Archibald in midfield saw quick clean ball from the ruck where a miss move in the back line saw Stevie coming through in the centre position at pace and no-one able to catch him. Dean converted again, 14-5.

Almost immediately we were over the line again after Stevie had offloaded to Fraz who went over in the corner and saw the ref signal the try only for the touchjudge to then raise his flag for a foot in touch. Despite the try signalled it was chalked off and the lineout given. As it was this was only a temporary setback as our guests fluffed the lineout and Hovis was through to clear up and grab the try. Conversion wide but we were now 19-5 ahead.

Half an hour played and the Hawick pack just did not want to know when it came to scrumming even with routinely squint feeds they were struggling and stood up in 2 out of 3 in a series of scrums giving us a penalty 38m out which Dean duly slotted to make it 22-5.

Whether we eased off at that point only the players can say but a series of poor tackles saw Hawick over in the corner in the 33rd, only to be brought back for a penalty in front of the posts for offside, much to their displeasure (who says Mr Rogerson never gives us anything!) At this stage they opted for the points and made it 22-8.

Hawick were penalised at the restart and we went for the posts, too literally as Dean’s kick came back off one of them only to find no-one chasing it up and allowed them an easy clearance.

As the first half was coming to an end Hawick were again pressing hard and only a good tackle by Hovis stopped another score and saw us with a scrum before their scrum-half’s backchat (which never stopped all game long) saw the scrum changed to a penalty which allowed us to clear.

Half time and we were 22-8 to the good when most would possibly have written us off before the game had started.

The second half started with our visitors clearly feeling the pressure making mistakes and conceding penalties only to have their 9 moan about it when they were penalised for it. This saw us with another chance after 5 minutes but the wind cruelly tuned it wide.

3 minutes later and the typical Hawick comeback started when a mismatch between their 10 and Hovis saw him sidestepped and them go over for their 2nd, which was converted off the post to make it 22-15.

52 played and Lawrence puts a box kick into their 22 to keep the pressure on, but it goes a little too far and is marked by their 9. With a quick tap and kick ahead he ran into Tim Archibald and then went for an Oscar that saw Arch yellow carded (as one Gala supporter commented he probably tripped on his own tongue).

With Arch off the field Hoggy is brought on at the first scrum only to have their prop binding behind Hoggy’s knee and pulling him down as a result, which is missed completely and gives Hawick a penalty that barely made it over the bar but brought them back to 22-18.

60 gone and another penalty to Hawick goes a-begging this time much to the relief of the home support.

With Arch back on after nearer 15 minutes in the bin and a number of replacements we managed to keep the pressure on and with 72 played we had a scrum just inside their half and Tam picked, went and then put in a grubber as he was hit, but the bounce was unlucky for Stevie in hot pursuit and knocked on. Another big Gala scrum shunted the Hawick pack around and forced their scrum into touch. Following the lineout a strong maul saw us drive them back over the line for Tam to get the touchdown and the bonus point. Dean converted, 29-18.

With 80 played the field opened up on Hawick’s right wing from just inside our half and they were only just stopped in the corner to prevent the try. Lineout and moved infield before the biggest bout of handbags of the day saw a penalty to Hawick under our posts. It was put to touch and then moved left where Stevie does just enough to get him into touch, only for a long discussion between ref and t/j end in the try being awarded. Kick missed but they had sneaked into losing bonus point territory at 29-23.

After the restart their frustration showed when their 18 stamped on Chappy after the whistle, but nothing done.

85 played (and who knows where it all came from) but we were pressing again and after a clean set piece just inside their 22 it was sent back to Dean who sent over our first dropgoal in a long time from nearly 30m out and made it 32-23.

Hawick ran back to halfway and with 3 men offside at the restart they were allowed to continue but we secured the ball and despite an initial bout of suicide play Fraz thankfully saw the light and skelped it into touch to deny them the bonus point, and I am reliably informed that the cheer made it sound as if twice as many had turned up to those round about.

Today’s team was as follows: 15 Fraser Thomson, 14 Chris Dalgleish, 13 James O'Neill, 12 Scott Chapman, 11 Steven Craig, 10 Dean Keddie, 9 Lawrence Lemmon, 1 Martin Christie, 2 Stevie Scott, 3 Tim Archibald, 4 Christopher Weir, 5 Malcolm Horsburgh, 6 Tim Miskelly, 7 Gareth Brown, 8 Tom Weir, 16 Craig Hogg, 17 Michael Christie, 18 Graeme Bryce, 19 Ross Lindsay, 20 Iain Ross.

Result: Murrayfield Wanderers 5 Gala 60

Unfortunately your regular reporter was unavailable for work reasons, and has (so far?) been unable to get a Maroons-eye view report.

Until then here is a link to the report in the Border Telegraph on 20-02-08:

Click here for the Border Telegraph report.

Result: Gala C Duns C

Cancelled due to Duns having withdrawn from this season's Border League.

Result: Dunfermline 15 Gala 26

While many games round about were being postponed for the second time due to the weather McKane Park was deemed playable mid-morning, much to our surprise, and delight. On arrival the pitch had a few soft areas but was certainly playable and did not stop some entertaining and enterprising rugby from being played, nor our leaving with a full 5 point haul. Many thanks to the supporters that made the trip, hope you feel it was as worth it as we do.

The ref set out his stall from the start when our scrum in the first minute was changed to a free-kick to our hosts for feeding. 2 minutes later and an over-compensation saw a strike against the head.

5 minutes in and the home support were apoplectic when a try was denied them after the ref was caught up in close play and ended up on the ground himself, completely missing the critical parts of the move that saw them through to the line. After giving Dunfermline a scrum as compensation we quickly stole it and cleared to touch.

We finally made it into opposition territory after 6 minutes of their opening onslaught and a penalty was put to touch 30m out, only to be lost in the lineout and cleared.

Quarter of an hour played and we were in our best field position with ball in hand and looking to do some scoring when 3 forwards in our own back line left us short handed at a ruck inside their 22 and saw us turned over by stout defending.

Despite losing Dave Marshall in the 16th he was ably replaced by Malky and our scrum never let up and decimated Dunfy’s next one turning it over and sending it wide where Kibbs chipped ahead only for it to beat the chasers and go into touch. We then stole their lineout and moved it infield with less then 10m to the line, only for the ref to signal a knock-on,……by Dunfermline. A massive effort by the entire scrum saw their own big pack shunted backwards and clear over the line for Tam to get the first points of the game. Andy duly converted to make it 0-7 after 17 minutes.

This started a good 20 minutes for the vocal Maroons support. From the restart their 5 was spoken to for use of an elbow, but remained on the pitch. Their 9 then fumbled a lineout and despite a deliberate block in his panic to stop us getting to the ball he failed and we kept our heads well enough and were supporting in enough numbers it was a case of who was going to get the score. Turns out Tim Miskelly was the man with it in his hands at the line after a neat pop by Lawrence as he was stopped inches short. Andy converted again to make it 0-14 after 19 minutes.

Dunfy’s first points came almost 10 minutes later when ex-Gala man Sky Laurie made a break and would have been in but for Stevie Craig’s chasing back and tap tackle on our 22. Despite his efforts we conceded a penalty at an ensuing ruck and they slotted it to make it 3-14.

33 played and from a Gala scrum Lawrence put in a box kick which was fumbled backwards and the home crowd were in disbelief when it was given as a knock-on. Their players were just as disbelieving and the scrum was changed to a penalty for backchat. This was put to touch, only to knock it on in our lineout.

From the lineout after their clearance kick we caught and drove and Tam had a gap open in front of him with ball in hand. With Lawrence and others in support we almost made it over but were again stopped just short. Scrum to us and another big drive had them on the backfoot before we moved it wide for Jamesy to break through and cross for the 3rd try, which Andy kicked to make it 3-21, which was the score at the break.

Clearly used to playing on their own pitch and playing against the slope for half of every game our hosts restarted fired up and when we were again done for feeding and talked back the penalty was quickly tapped and saw them over in the corner after some slack tackling. The kick took it to 10-21 and they clearly felt they were back in the game.

Whether we went off the boil a bit or if it was simply our hosts raising themselves again will be hard to tell but despite having the slope in our favour we were more often than not denied most scoring opportunities despite a good bit of possession. This saw our hosts putting in some good play and making ground on a number of occasions throughout the second half, only to be stopped by our own defensive effort, on most occasions at least.

The 56th saw a good drive by the forwards take it from 35 to 15m out and looking to keep going, only to go into our own man. Despite another massive scrum shunting them back they managed to clear well.

60 gone and a scrum 30m out was won and as Tam stood up with the ball a cheeky kick upfield saw us in great position 5m from their line. Unfortunately we couldn’t steal it and they again cleared. 2 minutes later and a lineout of our own 24m out was initially driven but stopped and when recycled it was sent wide where Fraz burst into the line before offloading to Stevie Craig having made enough space for him to go through and slide in to the corner from 5m out. Andy’s kick was just short, but we had the bonus point in the bag at 10-26.

All credit to Dunfermline, at no time in the game did they concede and were heading for our line from the restart until Dalgo banged them into touch inside our 22.

Having secured the bonus point it looked from the sidelines like our guys maybe relaxed just a little too much as the number of mistakes and missed tackles increased significantly and allowed Dunfy to go for it every time they had ball in hand when they showed they were not just about a big pack with some good handling of their own, thankfully matched by our own defensive efforts. That is until the 38th when they burst through some slack tackles in centre field and had 3-on-1 against Fraz and saw them heading for our line with open pitch in front. Sky had the ball and their supporting runners were leaving him to it when Stevie again chased back and managed to put in another tap tackle 5m out, only to see him slide over and stay there until the ref caught up and award the try, which went unconverted to make it 15-26, and it stayed that way until the final whistle.

Today’s team:
Fraz Thomson, Stevie Craig, Lee Kibble, James O'Neil, Chris Dalgleish, Andy McLean, Lawrence Lemmon, Alan Johnston, Stevie Scott, Tim Archibald, Chris Weir, David Marshall, Tim Miskelly, Gareth Brown, Tom Weir
Replacements:- Martin Christie, Mike Christie, Malcolm Horsburgh, Scott Chapman

No game next Saturday with Duns having withdrawn on this season’s Border League, so it could be 2 weeks for the next game, depending on the draw for the next round of the cup. With so many postponed matches we are likely to have to sit out that week as well which means the next likely game is on 23rd Feb against Hawick at Netherdale. With the crazy structure to this season our next Premier League game is not until the 22nd March.

Result: Gala 15 Kirkcaldy 13

This was always going to be a close call with so much resting on it for both Clubs, and thankfully after the lead changed hands 6 times we were on the right side of a 15-13 scoreline, albeit having been denied even a single try for the first time this season.

With both teams fairly evenly matched this was never likely to be a high scoring affair and the final score could give the impression of a near non-event, but this was certainly not the case and was a nail-biter to the final whistle for the 1,000+ that turned up to watch.

We started the game at a gallop and took it to them from the off. The forwards were denied when we went for the direct route so it was shipped wide to Fraz coming into the line only for the ref to give it as held up. After 2 scrums the ref decided we were at fault and awarded our guests a penalty to clear their lines.

We continued the pressure with 10 minutes of almost all the possession and were rebuffed on each attack by a solid defensive effort. As a result when we were awarded a penalty just inside their 22 it was given to Andy to knock between the sticks to take a 3-0 lead.

This seemed to spur Kirkcaldy on and from the restart it was their turn to dominate possession and territory for a similar spell and in the 17th good possession secured by their forwards was well played by their backs for their outside centre to crash over under the posts after a neat offload to him 2m out. Conversion successful to make it 3-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Tim Miskelly was on a flier at our restart and managed to charge down the clearance attempt and they were forced to hack it into touch. Successful catch and drive at our lineout saw us with heads down and making good ground, only to be penalised on their 10m line.

It seemed to take a while for the guys to recover from the try but when we started to come more into it and Kirkcaldy were infringing fairly regularly and much to the despair of the large Maroons support the ref seemed reluctant to reach for his cards. This was only compounded when Andy missed his second attempt from about 28m out.

We were once again in attack with a decent overlap and Kibbs was heading for the corner only to be pulled up short and brought back for an offside penalty in front of the posts (OK there was the small matter of a 3m forward pass that gave him the space) which gave Andy the chance to redeem himself which he duly did to make it 6-7 at halftime.

The second half continued the same story of the first with both sides repelling attacks from the other through some solid defending, thankfully our guests were pushing the ref a bit more with their style of defence and Andy had another chance in the 46th which gave us the lead again at 9-7.

This didn’t last long though and a penalty infringement 18m out after the restart gave them the upper hand once again at 9-10.

55 played and we were again pressing them back and moving the ball about when another penalty came our way, which was unfortunately pushed wide by Andy to groans from around the ground.

2 minutes later and Tim Miskelly was clearly taken out in midair when jumping to collect an up and under, but this was given as a knock on by him to change it from an attacking penalty to us to a scrum on the Kirkcaldy 10m line to clear upfield.

2 minutes on from that and we were again back in their half and awarded a penalty. Kicked to touch 20m out this time and after a catch and drive we were heading for the line on our 4th phase when we knocked on on the line.

2 minutes after that yet another penalty when we were in attack and finally the ref had had enough and gave one of their locks a 10 minute rest. Andy was successful with the kick to give us the lead again at 12-10.

This didn’t last long though and a very quick restart kick saw a panicked reaction from us that handed the ball back to Kirkcaldy and followed it up with a penalty infringement that gave them the upper hand once again at 12-13.

This time it was their turn for the suicide stuff and when we were awarded a penalty just inside their half, and out of Andy’s range a quick tap saw them deliberately tackle without having gone 10m, and despite the lack of a card for a professional foul it did bring it within Andy’s range, and was thankfully on target to make it 15-13 with 14 minutes to go.

10 left and our guests had worked their way to within striking distance, thankfully we were ready for the drop goal attempt and 3 guys were bearing down on Sanft as he let fly, and see it go wide of the upright much to the relief of the majority of spectators.

Inside the last 10 and it was our turn to go down to 14 men after Malky put in a slightly late but very clear shoulder charge on their try scorer as he started to follow up a chip ahead. No hesitation from the ref in showing him a yellow.

Thankfully the rest of the team lifted it and with some tremendous defence on our own line forced a number of errors as our guests went for a killing score. Whilst all of them put in a great effort it was epitomised by Andy when he cover most of the width of the park to put in a try saving tackle in the corner when they had a 3 man overlap and force them into touch.

We held out long enough to return to 15 men (despite the extended rest forced on Malky) and were chasing downfield after a great kick through by Andy saw Dalgo take their fullback into touch on their 22 when the ref blew for full time to the absolute delight of all in Gala.

Many thanks to the large number of Kirkcaldy supporters who made the trip to Netherdale and made for a good well natured atmosphere for the day. While we would like to be able to wish you luck for the remaining games we are sure you’ll understand if we forego that for now.

STV were at the game, watch their highlights at: STV Highlights

And read Kirkcaldy’s viewpoint at Kirkcaldy Komments

Today’s teams:
GALA - Fraz Thomson, Stevie Craig, Lee Kibble, James O'Neil, Chris Dalgleish, Andy McLean, Lawrence Lemmon, Alan Johnston, Stevie Scott, Tim Archibald, Chris Weir, David Marshall, Tim Miskelly, Gareth Brown, Tom Weir
Replacements:- Martin Christie, Mike Christie, Malcolm Horsburgh, Scott Chapman

KIRKCALDY:- Willie Berry, Sean Fisher, Orion Keil, Mark Wallace, Iain Gillies, Quintan Sanft, Chris McConnell, Mark Thomson, Greg Wallace, George Mangalo, Matt Harvey Kenny Fraser, Ryan Murphy. Gavin Neilson, Craig Wilson
Replacements: Andy Marshall, Willie Gray, Jordan Webster, Gavin McKenzie