Edinburgh Accies 15-33 Boroughmuir, match report

The difference was in the pack where Boroughmuir had Edinburgh pros Simon Berghan and Neil Cochrane in the front row to lend invaluable ­experience and hard-edged clout that knows when to attack and when to frustrate opponents by simply keeping possession of the ball.

The difference was also at the ­breakdown where Muir’s back row was being heavily penalised but was able to adjust tactics when the referee warned after 40 minutes that the next offender who didn’t roll clear goes to the bin.

In the end no yellow card was shown over the full 80.

Accies, with eight first-choice players sidelined by injury, couldn’t adjust at all as the game got away from them and, although the occasional flash of good running rugby enlivened a sunny afternoon, they were always second best after both teams had loosened up by slugging out a pointless first quarter before the serious stuff got underway.

Accies’ coach Phil Leck said: “We didn’t have enough dog. When you don’t have key players available you ­expect the next-down players to step up and not many of them did that today. Our scrum was a bit lightweight and we didn’t stand up for ourselves. We got bullied at the breakdown and as a result you take what you take, which was a fairly good beating.”

Muir coach Bruce Aitchison was a happy man as things came together after last week’s loss to Stirling in a match he remains convinced his team would have won but for three silly ­mistakes that leaked soft tries.

“I told the players that that was the most mature performance I’ve witnessed in more than a year with the club. We made a lot of really good decisions. We played rugby in the right areas of the pitch and managed the game well. I’m really proud of the guys today.” The first points on the board came from the boot of Muir stand off Graeme Blackhall with a 30-metre penalty. Within minutes his team had added a try, spurning the chance to kick another penalty, going for the corner, winning the lineout, and setting up loosehead prop Robby Wilson to ­burrow over and touch down.

Accies, otherwise tentative and unsure, suddenly clicked and went straight to the other end to do exactly the same thing; kick for the corner, catch at the lineout, launch an unstoppable rolling maul with lock Jamie McCarthy ­claiming the try and scrum half Alex Glashan knocking over the conversion to drag Accies to within a single point.

But Boroughmuir replied a few minutes later with left winger Jordan Edmunds catching a high ball and carrying it forward through several missed tackles and set in motion a smooth flowing move that ended as a pile of bodies wrapped round the padding of one of the uprights and right winger Rory Scott falling on the ball for the try. Blackhall popped over the conversion.

Accies scrapped away without really threatening the line but Glashan got three points back with a first penalty. He couldn’t get a second from longer range before the teams went in at halftime with the score at 10-15.

Two quick tries within eight minutes of the restart showed Muir’s class and put the game beyond the home side. The first came on the right hand side of the pitch from another lineout inside the Accies 22. The ball was smuggled to 19-year-old No 8 and elite development player Magnus Bradbury to cross the line and add a try to an impressive display of rugby talent.

The fourth try confirming the bonus point came next. Muir were quick of thought and fleet of foot while Accies were dull and cumbersome, chasing only shadows. Muir full back Ed Farquharson went on a ­diagonal run across midfield, seemingly going nowhere until about 35 metres out he switch-passed to a galloping ­Edmunds who ran into a space where the Accies defence melted away and scored a try without a hand on him.

Accies briefly pricked Muir’s dominance when they had a rare spell of possession and released Sam Pecqueur down the left wing to outdistance all chasing players and hurdle a last despairing tackler for his side’s second try.

It was too little, too late even if there was still 20 minutes on the clock. Boroughmuir re-established their superiority and Accies never got another opportunity. Boroughmuir replacement stand-off David Reekie kicked a second penalty and then a conversion after full back Farquharson waltzed into the left corner for a fifth try with Accies left down and out and empty handed for the second Saturday in a row.

Scorers: Accies – Tries: McCarthy, S Pecqueur. Con: Glashan. Pen: Glashan. Boroughmuir – Tries: Wilson, Scott, Bradbury, Edmunds, Farquharson. Pens: Blackhall, Reekie. Con: Blackhall.

Accies: R Young; J Pecqueur, C Dean, B Wilson, S Pecqueur; I Chisholm, A Glashan; D Morrison, M Liness, L Launders, H McCarthy, N Aitken, F Campbell, J Solem, R Seydak. Replacements: C Lacqor, D Bates, J Winks, J Munro, G Douglas.

Boroughmuir: E Farquharson; R Scott, C Hardie, S Wilson, J Edmunds; G Blackhall, J Adams; R Wilson, N Cochrane, S Berghan, I Moody, T Sutton, C Keddie, M Entwhistle, M Bradbury. Replacements: C Davies, J Latta, A Rose, S Johnson, D Reekie.

Referee: G Wells.