Heriot Blues vs CQP

Heriots were founded in 1890. This was the first ever meeting between the clubs in a league game although they had met in a Scottish cup quarter final at Goldenacre three years ago. Heriots are one of the six clubs chosen to participate in the new semi professional super six league which will get started very shortly.

The game took place on a dry day with the sun shining. The pitch apart from looking very large was in excellent condition. CQP kicked off and within a couple of minutes were in the lead when Ewen Campbell intercepted a pass along the Heriots twenty two to score behind the posts. In Wayne Burrows absence Graeme Docherty was taking the kicks and the try was converted. The game progressed evenly until Heriots scored a converted try after fifteen minutes but four minutes later saw CQP retake the lead from a penalty and with twenty two minutes on the clock CQP inctreased their lead with a converted try scored by Ryan Flett. Heriots hit back with two tries before Graeme Docherty converted another penalty to take back the lead 20-19. Five minutes before half time Heriots took the lead back with a converted try.

HT Heriots 26 CQP 20.

The chat in the stand within earshot of your commentator was that CQP were a good team but they would probably tire in the second half.

When the second half restarted it looked as though Heriots had decided to up the tempo and it took them only two minutes to add another converted try followed four minutes later by another. A further try went in five minutes later. Heriots were using the full width of their pitch to get past a tiring CQP defence but with fifty six minutes on the clock CQP scored a fine try of their own started by Ryan Flett and finished off by Max Priestly. The CQP player catching the eye was Grahame Williamson ( big G ) who kept trying to pierce the Heriots defence with varying degrees of success, generally the pack was holding it’s own but the Heriots backs clearly had the edge over CQP in both skill and pace. Following the CQP try Heriots added five more tries three of which arrived in the last few minutes of play which made the score look a lot worse from a CQP perspective.

FT Heriots 80 CQP27.

CQP are simply not used to playing on a pitch as large as Goldenacre. The pitch is ideal for open rugby and the weather also ensured that this would be a day when the ball would be kept in hand. The larger pitch, dry conditions and an opposition used to playing on a pitch of this size meant that as the game progressed and legs got tired the likelihood was that Heriots would find it progressively easier to score and this is what happened. Heriots have been playing at the top end of Scottish rugby for many many years.
This was our first outing against one of the pro six clubs. We were made aware before the game started that several of the previous years first XV players had declined the offer to be treated as partial professionals and chosen instead to play for the club side. It is likely that the club side players will also benefit from some pro six style coaching. This was a heavy defeat but the CQP team did not disgrace themselves and will look for a positive outcome next week v Watson’s at home