Down but not disheartened in the Borders

Leith first XV opened the 2021/22 season with the long trip South to the Borders, full of fervour and 18 months of non competitive action to face a Hawick Linden side, in front of a rugby starved crowd and on a zippy artificial Volunteer Park surface. And both teams came to play.
As a contest it resembled a middleweight boxing match rather than a heavyweight slug fest, full of meaningful blows but containing the dexterity and lightness of foot that displayed all the attributes that both sides would like to see throughout the season. Linden started strongly, carrying fiercely around the breakdown and looking to spread the play to outside backs when the opportunity arose, but were met with a stoic Leith defensive line that nullified the early jabs.

With the ball staying live and in play for huge swathes of the first half, after a Linden score, it was Leith who gained a foothold through lively widemen Craig Smith and Ross Marwick, alongside debutant 15 Angus Weir, who marked the occasion with Leith’s opening five pointer. As the calm and collected boot of stand off Ross Johnston kept the scoreboard ticking over, it looked as though Leith were edging ahead on the judge’s cards. This was short lived however and Linden firstly scuttled and then galloped away for 2 scores in the space of a couple of minutes to rock the away side onto their heels. At half time, the home side claimed a slender advantage after Smith neatly finished a flowing passage of front foot rugby.

As with middleweight bouts, the intensity did not let up in the second half and the packs came to the fore as both backlines struggled to land a significant blow on the other. The superb inside work from James Nimmo, Ivan Acosta and Craig Winton rattled the Borders men and gave Leith, resplendent in new kit, a chance to edge ahead through the metronomic counter punching of Johnston’s boot. As the game entered the latter rounds, the men in blue and grey found themselves on the ropes and despite some last ditch defending, were unable to hold onto the 2 point lead and conceded a late body blow from the hosts, just before the final bell rang. Leith had to settle for a bonus point from the journey, eventually losing the match on points 26-21. Leith Man of the Match was Julien Rodriguez on competitive debut.

Leith return this weekend for a President’s day thriller at home as they welcome old foes Trinity to the newly reconfigured Academy Park for a 3pm kick off.