A View from the Touch line – Premier League, Semi-final Play-off: 4.3.23.

Currie Chieftains 35 pts (t5, c 5) v Edinburgh Accies 7 pts (t 1, c1)

An almost spring-like afternoon, with excellent playing conditions, encouraged a big crowd to Malleny Park for this second v third place league play-off semi-final match. The ‘all-pay’ entrance fee for this stage of the competition caused no problem for the loyal officials, and supporters of both clubs; however, several ‘freeloaders,’ not associated with the teams involved, and under the guise of‘ official talent spotters’ for the elite professional game, did wheedle their way into the party atmosphere; shame on them!

The numerous fired-up Accies supporters had an air of confidence about them which reached a crescendo when their beefy, athletic looking team entered the area of play. In the opening exchanges the excitement was palpable as vibrations from thumping tackles resonated around the pitch. Accies looked sharp and clinical at the breakdown, gaining a couple of penalties as Currie tried to drive forward. A well-rehearsed cross-field kick sent the visitors’ left wing flying down the touchline, but luckily the Chieftains defence had it covered, and the home team were soon on the attack again. Following a 10-minute spell of possession, with Ewan Stewart, Will Inglis, Cairn Ramsey, Rhys Davies and Ryan Stewart battering the Accies goal line, a score eventually came; Kody McGovern rounded his marker and dived into the corner. Jamie Forbes, who had been mastering operations behind his rampaging pack, slotted a superb conversion.

Accies shrugged off the setback and muscled their way into Currie’s red zone. Their concerted 15-man effort looked like bringing reward, but inaccuracy cost them dearly. Following a minor altercation, which nearly spilled into the full stand, gentlemanly behaviour returned, and Currie cleared the danger. Jamie Forbes sparked panic when he accelerated 25 metres in midfield to initiate the Chieftains’ second score. Once again, the ball carries did the damage; Greg Cannie’s angled run fell just short before Rhys Davies crashed over for a converted try. With 35 minutes gone, the Chieftains were now dominating play in almost every department; Ally MacCallum soared in the lineout, Ewan Stewart and Chris Anderson did the hard-yards, and the backs oozed confidence. The first half concluded with a passage of electrifying rugby started by a robust 30-metre dash from Iain Sim; DJ Innes progressed the flourishing attack which was completed by Gregor Nelson, who took Rhys Davies’ cheeky back-of-the-hand pass. The phenomenal kicking of Jamie Forbes converted the sensational score.

Halftimescore – Currie Chieftains 21 pts, Edinburgh Accies 0 pts.

From the restart, and to their credit, a rejuvenated Accies team took the game to their host. For 5 minutes they rumbled through the phases knocking Currie backwards to gain a 5-metre penalty lineout. With the ball secured, a converted try from their mighty driving maul was a formality, and the visitors looked capable of reeling in the Currie lead. Unfortunately, their euphoria was soon dispelled when the mercurial Jamie Forbes cut them open, and from his midfield break the ball whizzed along the backs to Kody McGovern who shot to the corner flag; Currie’s maestro stand-off converted from the touchline.

Eveningclouds were now starting to obscure the earlier blue sky, and the situationlooked rather grey from Accies point of view.Currie emptied their bench of replacements who looked equally keen to impress.Paddy Bowyer and Michael Vernel soon caught the eye, and when Accies didproduce a strong passage of play, the impressive DJ Innes inflicted amorale-sapping turnover. The visitors were firmly on the back foot as theMalleny bandwagon geared for a fifth try. Greg Cannie, Adam Hall and Arran Cameron all made ground before someslick handling reached Iain Sim who used all his strength to score. When inpossession the visitors were still competitive, and looked good, but generally they got no further than the Currie 22. Anunfortunate injury to an influential Accies forward was a further setback, andeven when Currie were yellow-carded, the hostsremained defiant. Another high-octane performance in the play-off final at Hawick will be needed next weekend.            

I.J.S. - 5.3.23.