Those lucky enough to witness this feast of running rugby will long treasure the memory of one of the best games played in recent years, at the former home of Scotland B internationals. This was no mean feat by the Force boys who boarded the bus to Edinburgh before most of them were awake. Young Cian Riddell played the role of orchestrator on the pitch , but even this youthful Leonard Bernstein needed a travelling Hunters’ sausage roll breakfast to wake him up.
Coach Matt Landels put the lads through their pre-match paces, in between devouring handfuls of Kat’s Corner’s finest jubejubes,and from the kick off Captain Frizzel had his side bursting out of the trenches into the nearby Leith Sunshine.
The home side were bolstered by the addition of 4 Scots Guards but even they could not halt the marching progress of the Force pack, marshalled well and led by a sniper’s try from Charlie Comley. The ball was regularly being flung towards both Wings , with Fin Douglas and Sean McMichan nearly reaching the Mull of Kintyre so far and fast were they running.
The home side took a surprise lead after 20 minutes as a Fijian style try saw them break away with fast handling and support play, ensuring this was no pacific cruise for the Force. However Douglas raced in, thankfully faster than Murray Renwick’s tips, for a converted try on the stroke of half time, leaving the Force 12-7 ahead.
The second half was full of great running rugby but it was the red side who scored first, tying the game with what became their final score.
From then on Justin Tait and Tom Huggan poked, teased and prodded the opposition like a Bantel pram full of babies.
Douglas’ abilities peaked for the season here, and with a deserved hattrick, he ran more rings around them than Hamish Smith has in his shop window. Sean McMichan was ingenious and fearless in scoring twice with the pace and tenacity of an older Charlie Welsh, and Hughie Donaldson charged through the massed red ranks, like a Ukrainian tank, to explode over the line for a solo try.
It was nearly left to Liam Graham to finish off the scoring , only to be denied by an unsighted referee as the ball was hidden by his sylph like form.
Harris Brogan was carted to the ERI after his brilliant run, having used more gas and air than his long suffering mother had 20 years before, this boy will understandably do anything he can to prevent his father watching his pale merk brother in action.
Delaney was assured, Glen Welsh grizzly, Hope rampant, White was herculean, Fairbairn ( despite his woeful conversion effort) commanding and Bell alarmingly combative, these boys were a joy to behold.
The greatest history teacher since Aristotle may be the club’s President but a lesson in guts, determination and skill was handed out by man of the match Comley, who taught Stewarts Melville College that a Hawick rugby education will outshine all.
