Melrose 27 v Haddington 20
On a glorious April afternoon in Melrose, Haddington supporters turned up in their droves to cheer on the rugby club in their quest to reach the main cup competition at Murrayfield for the first time in their history. Melrose at the Greenyards is a daunting prospect for most sides but Haddington were quietly confident after despatching West of Scotland and Dundee in previous rounds, however, this was a different proposition altogether with so much at stake for both clubs. Melrose are the current Cup holders and were on a rich vein of form having lost only once since the turn of the year, whilst Haddington had only recently started to display the kind of potential that has been missing for much of the season.
The local pipe band and a large vocal crowd greeted the players as they emerged through the tunnel and onto the pitch. Once the action got underway it was Melrose who showed their intent by taking the game to Haddington from the off and were rewarded within 2 minutes via a penalty from stand off Scott Wight after the Scarlets midfield had strayed offside. 3 – 0. Melrose had all the early running as Haddington looked as if the occasion had possibly affected a number of the players and although they defended well from wave after wave of attack, they couldn’t expect to get through the next eighty minutes with such a high tackle count.
A foot in touch and some great defensive work by prop, Gary Glass on the opposition winger kept the scoreline at 3 – 0 up until the 25 minute mark, however, the inevitable happened when a David Whiteford try gave the hosts a bit breathing space. From a 5m scrum, a breakdown in communication allowed the centre an easy stroll in under the posts. Wight’s conversion moved them 10 points clear, although Haddington could have been facing a far bigger margin by this stage if they hadn’t defended so well to keep Melrose at bay. The first sign of a belief from the Haddington players came at the next kick off when Callum Cockburn and Mark Morrison combined to isolate the Melrose player and force the penalty. The reliable Jamie Peters got Haddington’s first points with the boot. 10 – 3.
Winger, Neil Watt was another standout during the first half onslaught with some bone-crunching tackles on his opposite number, one such tackle causing a turnover and a second penalty attempt for Peters, unfortunately it dropped just under the crossbar on this occasion.
As half time approached Wight kicked two further penalties to stretch their lead to 16 – 3, although Haddington at last gave the crowd something to cheer about when Callum Mark broke free and raced clear into the Melrose 22 before being hauled down from behind allowing Melrose to recover the situation. On the stroke of half time Mark Morrison was yellow carded for entering the ruck from the side, giving the referee little option but to bin him and leave Haddington facing an uphill struggle at the start of the second half.
Half Time: Melrose 16 Haddington 3
Whatever coach Eddie Pollock said to the players at half time it seemed to have the desired effect because Haddington came out and started to show the large crowd why they had made it thus far in the competition. There was a renewed belief as they began running at Melrose and it was now the turn of the hosts to defend their line as the Scarlets went toe to toe with them. A kickable penalty in front of the Melrose posts could have reduced the deficit, however, Haddington took a quick tap and the ball was transferred to winger Callum Cockburn who just lost possession as he was tackled in the act of scoring. Although the try wasn’t scored, this had the Haddington crowd on their feet again and lifted the players into believing they could turn this match around. Melrose prop, Richard Higgins was sent to the bin for a late tackle on Peters as the hosts became rattled by a vibrant Haddington side that was now taking the game to them, although Melrose were clever enough to take any chances that came their way and on both visits into Haddington territory in the third quarter of the match came away with penalties through Wight to move them 22 –3 ahead and leave Haddington always playing catch up. On the flipside Peters was unfortunate to see one penalty attempt come back off the uprights as luck seemed to have deserted the Scarlets at times, although he did make amends with his next attempt after Melrose were penalised for not rolling away in the tackle. 22 - 6.
Haddington finally broached the hosts line when a scrum to Haddington was lifted by No.8 Derek O’Riordan and as the ball went loose Sam Johnson was first to pounce and race in between the sticks. Peters added the extras and it was game on at 22 – 13. The Scarlets plight was short lived though as they shot themselves in the foot by not retaining the next kick off allowing Melrose to punish them by moving the ball wide to the speedy Jordan Macey to touch down and quash any hopes Haddington had of a fightback. Wight missed the difficult conversion but at 27 – 13 it looked an unassailable lead as the match moved into the final quarter. Haddington began to run everything and showed sublime handling and running skills to continually breach the Melrose defence, Peters was at the heart of the move that eventually led to a second Haddington try when substitute prop Dougie Orr forced his way over after numerous breenges. Peters nailed an excellent conversion to move Haddington to within a converted try of taking the game into extra time. 27 – 20.
Melrose again tried to hit back immediately but were repelled this time by the Haddington rearguard as the hosts tried to give themselves a cushion to see out the match. As the game moved into stoppage time, Haddington ran the ball from their own try line and as they made huge inroads into the Melrose half and created an overlap, the crowd anticipated a dramatic end to the match but it was not to be as the ball slipped out of Haddington’s clutches and the resultant knock on brought an end to an excellent game of rugby, with the hosts no doubt happier to hear the final whistle than the visitors.
Haddington stayed out on the pitch long after the match had ended to savour the occasion that they had played a major part in. Melrose must have wondered what had hit them with the huge travelling support that had journeyed down from East Lothian and the Club know they had earned the respect of their more illustrious counterparts on a day that will live in the memories of the players and supporters for a long time to come.
As the curtain comes down on the 15 a-side season for Haddington, a disappointing league campaign has been quickly forgotten by the performances in the cup and with the realisation by the players of their undoubted potential after this performance, and should act as the catalyst for them to make a serious assault on Premier 2 next season.
