Watsonians aim for Heriot's derby bragging rights after losing out in 104-point Premiership thriller
Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership tie of the round comes from Myreside where capital rivals face off.
The latest round of Premiership rugby action sees Edinburgh rivals face off as Watsonians host Heriot’s at Myreside in the tie of the weekend.
The visitors make the short trip across the city full of confidence on the back of ending Ayr’s long unbeaten run last time out with a 31-14 win at Goldenacre. Meanwhile, Watsonians were involved in a quite incredible contest at the Greenyards where they lost 53-51 to Melrose following a late try from the hosts.
“I don't think in all my time I've been involved in a contest like that,” said head coach Davey Wilson on their defeat in the Borders. “Disappointingly we were in the lead from the get-go, then we're the masters of our own downfall in many ways.
Watsonian taking positives from 104 point thriller at Melrose as Heriot’s target back-to-back wins
“Credit to Melrose, they hung on to our coattails and kept banging the drum and they managed to find a way. We ended up getting a yellow card probably within the last 10 minutes when we were already under the pump. We got a penalty, they stole the line out and then the rest is history.
Despite not leaving with the win, there were still positives to take from the match for Wilson, who added: “Not many sides go down to the Greenyards and score 51 points to then come away without winning the game, that's for sure. This three-week block we have faced Currie then Melrose and now Heriot’s.
“This block was always going to be a good measure of where we are around those sides that are above us in the league and are performing well. I’m really chuffed to get a good positive result against Currie then to be driving Melrose pretty close on Saturday, it shows that we are capable of being on the same field with these guys and Heriot’s is another challenge for us.”
After their win at home to Ayr last weekend, Heriot’s head coach Stuart Edwards was understandably proud of his players, saying: “I think there's been a narrative around Ayr being unbeatable, and I'm fully aware that they were missing some players, but we also had guys missing too. I felt we deserved to win, we probably got the better of the second half, our bench made a big difference especially at set-piece.
“I was really chuffed for the boys, they showed a hell of a lot of heart and a lot of fight and defensively we were probably the best we've been. It was a much-needed win for us, because if we'd lost that we'd be sitting 2-5, instead we're 3-5 and we're three points off the top.”
The important thing for Edwards now is backing up that result with another victory. He explained: “We've won, lost, won, lost, won so far. So we've not actually backed up a victory yet.
“We beat Hawick, lost to Currie, beat Kelso, lost to Melrose and beat Ayr so we need to start accumulating victories. To be fair, the two games we lost, we didn't play poorly, we came off on the wrong side of two tight games, but we need to take confidence from beating Ayr on Saturday and then go and put the best version of ourselves forward this weekend.”
‘Bragging rights’ - no animosity between Edinburgh clubs but both sides eager to take derby spoils
The match at Myreside is expected to have an extra bit of bite about it as the two Edinburgh clubs renew their rivalry. The respective head coaches know each other very well and are both aware what is at stake when their teams go head-to-head.
“It all comes down to bragging rights at the end of the day,” said Wilson. “There's a history there, no doubt, that goes back many years. We've got to try and really focus on our performance, which is key, and they'll be doing exactly the same.”
“It's a special one for us,” added Edwards. “I know our boys love it and I think Watsons are the same. It's one we're really passionate about winning but we know we need to get our stuff right rather than focusing on the occasion.”
Ayr are back at home on Saturday as they look to recover from last weekend’s defeat as GHA visit Millbrae. Elsewhere, Melrose travel to Edinburgh Accies and Glasgow Hawks are at Kelso.
Currie have postponed their senior fixtures this weekend as a mark of respect to their former head coach Ally Donaldson who sadly passed away this week aged 60. They were due to host Hawick at Malleny Park and that fixture will be rescheduled for a later date.
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