Currie Chieftains 34pts (t 5, c 3, p g 1) v Watsonians FC 17 pts (t 2, c 2, p g 1)

Although the pitch was very soft, the relentless rain of the previous 24 hours had at least stopped, and considering that it was the start of the schools’ October holiday, and European Cup Rugby was on the TV, a decent-sized crowd were well entertained with this local derby, where both teams refused to get bogged down by the wet slippery conditions. These top club encounters most definitely appear to be what the club membership want to watch; not a team of players, however good, that local supporters cannot identify with. This will be a problem for most Super 6 clubs, whose franchise players have little allegiance to the rugby club for which they are playing.

On 6 minutes Watsons opened the scoring with a Lee Millar penalty goal, after the sharp, no nonsense referee pinged Currie for not rolling away quickly; this was the only time that the confident looking visitors were in front. Within a minute the Chieftains had ripped through Watsons’ defence with some blistering rugby from Michael Vernel, Rhys Davies, Thomas Gordon and Jamie Forbes with Gregor Hunter looping around for a final pass and try in the corner; the touchline conversion attempt fell just short. Despite the tricky surface, Currie were intent on playing a fast, open game and Watsons did well to repel waves of Chieftain attacks. Charlie Shiel supplied accurate, lightning-quick ball to carriers Graeme Carson, Marc Kelly and AP McWilliam who punched forward before the talented backline was released. The agile Jamie Forbes stepped inside a would-be tackler and dived over the line just on 20 minutes; Gregor Hunter had no trouble with this easier conversion.

When the visitors got hold of the ball they started to look dangerous and edged towards the Currie 22. Some intricate Watsons passing resulted in a yellow card for Joe Reynolds whose smother tackle was deemed a little too high for the officials. Watsons went for the penalty touch and their well-organised drive was rewarded with a try for Josh Rowland; it was converted by Lee Millar. The visitors now had their tails up and continued to press until the hard-working Chieftains pack turned them over; this moved action to the other end. Watsons’ problems intensified after the referee had sent Josh Rowland to the sinbin for an illegal pickup. Currie’s attacks were gathering momentum and a score looked ominous, with Marc Kelly, Graeme Carson, Robbie Nelson and Steven Hamilton making in-roads. As the clock moved towards halftime the Currie backs were in full flow, Jamie Forbes ran around his marker and flew for the line; Gregor Hunter’s conversion was equally spectacular. There was still time for more drama with a Currie breakout from deep in their 22. Ben Robbins motored down the stand-side touchline and neatly kicked over the covering defence; Charlie Shiel outpaced the opposition but was beaten by the bouncing ball and Watsons managed to clear the danger.

Halftime score – Currie Chieftains 19 pts, Watsonians 10 pts.

The visitors made a sound start to the second half as the match ebbed and flowed without any scoring, but with plenty of exciting play. Both teams were lively, and Watsons’ defence was matching any Currie enterprise to find a way to the try line. Just over the hour mark and Currie tightened their grip, going through the phases in the Watsons’ 22. Thomas Gordon picked up at the back of a breakdown and careered forward; Tevita Tameilau, Mike Vernel and Rhys Davies added support. When the ball finally reached the hands of the impressive Scott McGinley, the dynamic number 8 powered his way over the line with a gaggle of defenders clutching to him. Gregor Hunter could not convert the bonus point score, but he added a penalty goal a few minutes later as Watsons became desperate to keep in touch with the hosts’ score line.

From their 22, Watsons conjured a trademark score that reminded the Chieftains that their guests could still pack a punch. Some nifty inter-passing between their back row opened a freeway to the goal line; Josh Rowland took the final pass for a converted try under the posts. With about ten minutes remaining the deficit was down to 10 points. Once again, the Chieftains applied pressure and occupied the visitors’ 22, their controlled build-up led to another yellow card for Watsons and a score for the home team. Scott McGinley was constantly in the action that also saw Adam Hall, Robbie Nelson and Steven Hamilton go close, before Tevita Tameilau carried 10 metres and popped a beautiful pass to Campbell Wilson for a splendid try that added some extra gloss to the team’s overall

performance. Gregor Hunter converted, and within a couple of minutes the referee had concluded another tremendous local derby.

Next Saturday the visitors to Malleny Park will be Melrose. They are second in the League at present but have had a bit of a wobble in their last two outings; nevertheless they are a strong skilful side who will still be formidable opponents in what is always an exciting encounter at Malleny. Kick-off is at 3.00pm

I.J.S, 14.10.18.

Currie Chieftains team v Watsonians – 13.10.18.

15, Jamie Forbes. 14, Ben Robbins. 13, Joe Reynolds. 12, Robbie Nelson. 11, Steven Hamilton. 10, Gregor Hunter.

9, Charlie Shiel. 8, Scott McGinley. 7, Thomas Gordon. 6, Marc Kelly. 5, Michael Vernel. 4, Rhys Davies.

3. Fraser Watt. 2, Graeme Carson. 1, AP McWilliam.

16, Campbell Wilson. 17, Matias Argiro. 18, Tevita Tameilau. 19, Roan Frostwick. 20, Adam Hall.

Photography (c) Fraser Gaffney