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JED-FOREST R.F.C |
Riverside Park |
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Jedburgh |
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TD8 6UE |
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01835 862232 |
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2003-2004 News_________________________________________________________________________________9th May Jed pipped at the postJed reached the final of our own 7s yesterday but were eventually beaten 29 - 12 in the final by the very classy Watsonians. Jed actually scored first, when Chris Richards clever cross field kick was gathered by Kevin Amos and he slid across the rain soaked turf for the first try. This was the cue for Watsonians to up the pace and they scored 3 quick tries to make sure of the cup. Jason Gill did score again for Jed but it was to late and man of the tournament Jamie Blackwood scored the last try and in doing so completed his hat trick of tries in the final. Earlier in the day Jed saw off a very strong Boroughmuir team 14 - 5 in the first round, then they beat Hawick 19 - 0 before seeing of the surprise package of the day, Berwick 34 - 0, in the semi final with Jason Gill and Ross Goodfellow scoring 2 tries each. Jed did have the consolation of finishing second in the Kings of the sevens tournament courtesy of their good showing in this tournament. Ross Goodfellow scoring against Berwick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hawick Lindeen |
v |
Peebles A |
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Duns |
v |
Gala YM |
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St Boswells |
v |
Selkirk A |
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Earlston |
v |
Hawick Quins |
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Hawick YM |
v |
Melrose A |
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Hawick Trades |
v |
Hawick A |
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Jed-Forest A |
v |
Kelso A |
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Eyemouth White Horses |
v |
Berwick A |
Jed have been given a nightmare draw for Sundays Peebles 7s. We were 1st out of the hat and play Watsonians in the 1st round who beat us in the Hawick final, then if we get through that we play the winners of Boroughmuir and the Royal Scots. The full draw is on the sevens page.
Jed reached the semi final of Berwick 7s today and moved into 2nd place in the Kings of the 7s race in doing so. Despite missing Jason Gill, Davie Forster and Chris Richards who all picked knocks at Hawick yesterday, Jed were able to call Mark Fitzgerald, Donald Grieve and Donald Galbraith into the squad. A gentle opener against Eyemouth saw Jed coast to a 39 - 5 victory. The second round was tougher against Peebles who had done so well at Melrose but Jed did brilliantly to gain a 21 - 5 victory. The semi final was a different story though as Jed ran into a Gala tornado. Gala were on fire and they scored 3 tries in the first 3 minutes and Jed were shell shocked with yesterdays exploits at Hawick probably taking there toll Jed did well to come back a little in the second half but Gala were cruising by then and the final score was 29 - 12.
The final saw Gala play Haddington who had surprised everyone by beating Watsonians, Melrose and Kelso en route to the final. Gala however were on top form and the absolutely blew Haddington apart. In a one sided game they triumphed by 57 points to 19 and in doing so they go 8 points clear in the Kings of the 7s.
Jed Squad
| D. Galbraith | S. Laidlaw |
| J. McCraw | M. Fitzgerald |
| M. Lee | Don Grieve |
| R. McFarlane | R. Goodfellow |
| K. Amos | B. Graham |
Jed held there annual dinner on Friday night at Riverside and it was announced that Neil Cook was Jed's player of the year. Donald Grieve was also rewarded for a fine season by being named young player of the year. Attended by around 80 guests and players, the speakers were Ronnie Kirkpatrick, Terrence Froud, Jake Whillans, Gary Hill, Ian Goodall (referee's boss) and Norman Douglas who was told at 7.30 when he arrived that he was speaking.
A scratch Jed side with several regulars missing and players playing out of position including team manager Ali Campbell, who played for an hour at wing forward, lost 26 - 14 to a near full strength Grangemouth yesterday. Not much to report except Grangemouth lead 19 - 0 at half time but Jed did stick in and had a huge advantage in the scrum. So much so it was from the scrum that Jed's points came from when Euan Kelly controlled the ball well from a huge scrum to touch down for a push over try. Jed's other try came from another huge scrum but this time it was ruled that Grangemouth had collapsed it and Jed were awarded a penalty try, both tries were converted by Mark Fitzgerald. No match report this week but see the match report page for the man of the match points.
Jed reached the final of Hawick 7s at a bitterly cold Mansfield today only to lose 20 - 14 to Watsonians in a close encounter. Jed playing with Mark Lee at centre got underway with a 24 - 12 win over Heriots who had knocked Jed out of the Gala tournament. The second round saw a scrappy game against Peebles with Jed scrapping through 12 - 7. The 14 - 7 semi-final victory against the massive Royal Scots was Jed's toughest game and was maybe the cause of our eventual downfall in the final. The semi-final victory though was perhaps a little fortunate as Jed seemed to benefit from some bizarre decisions from the referee but saying that the Jed boys were always in the Royal Scots faces and they don't seem to like that. The final seemed to be going to plan and we were 14 -5 up at half with Jason Gill in outstanding form scoring both of Jed's tries. Chris Richards pulled a hamstring just before half time and he was replaced by Jamie McCraw and it was possibly an unlucky mistake by Jamie that turned the game. Jamie went to clear a kick by Watsonians and it came of the side of his boot and into Watsonians hands and they scored from it. 2 more Watsonians tries followed and a try count of 4 - 2 was too much for Jed.
Some consolation for Jed was the fact that we are now only 4 points off the lead of the Kings of the 7s tournament and on a personal note Jason Gill was named man of the tournament.
The meaningless league fixture saw the scratch Jed side lose 26 - 14 at Grangemouth, scorers will follow.
Mark Lee is set to play sevens for Jed for the rest of this season. Having just graduated from his Army training last week, Mark is keen to keep his fitness up and enjoy some club sevens away from the pressure of the IRB sevens circuit. Mark is in much demand, so much so that he has been called up by the Borders for tomorrow nights trip to Wales to play in the Celtic League. Therefore it is a real coup for Jed to have him back.
With Mark being available he goes into the squad for Hawick 7s and he takes Simon Lightbody's place. Simon is struggling with a back injury and he has decided to sit out the rest of the season.
Because of postponed games and an SRU ruling Jed are forced to travel to Grangemouth for a meaningless league game. With Hawick 7s also on and Jed in running for the Kings of the 7s the Grangemouth game takes 2nd place and the team selection shows this. Unfortunately the 2nds have have to call off from Selkirk Junior 7s due to the lack of backs. For both squads see the Team News page.
Jed failed to progress past the 2nd round of the Melrose 7s on Saturday. After getting a bye into the 2nd round the came up against the fancied Boroughmuir and got off to the dream start, Jason Gill broke through some sloppy defence and charged to the try line, the Boroughmuir defence had turned and was forcing Jason out but some great strength and a clever pass inside to Billy Graham was enough to see Jed go 5 - 0 up. This seemed to waken up Boroughmuir and they stepped up a gear and were just too good for us and they ran in 4 unanswered tries to win 26 - 5.
For the record Boroughmuir were eventually beaten 19 - 17 in a great semi final battle with eventual winners Stellenbosch University from South Africa who beat Ponsonby from New Zealand 36 - 35 in another great game in the final.
Remember all the latest standings on the Kings of the 7s can be found on the 7s page.
Please take some time to read this years update to the Mini Rugby page. You can go straight to it by clicking HERE.
I've also posted the draw for Saturdays Melrose 7s on the Sevens page. Just scroll down the page to find it and all the results etc from the other tournaments already finished this season.
Jed reached the second round of Gala 7s this afternoon. The first round match with London Scottish saw a very encouraging performance from Jed, who had to come from behind to win 17 - 7. Jed's scorers were Ross Goodfellow 2 and Jamie McCraw, Amo kicked 1 conversion.
The Second round saw a completely different performance against Heriots, who ran out 28 - 0 victors in a one sided match. True we didn't get the bounce of the ball at some crucial times but we never pressed them and some of the players admitted they possibly took Heriots too lightly.
Heriots were eventually stuffed 43 - 5 by a very big Royal Scots side in the final. See the 7s page for the rest of the results.
Jed fielded a weekend team at Riverside yesterday and Murrayfield took full advantage to run out 24 - 5 victors. In a disappointing match for Jed where several of the fringe players failed to impress Murrayfield were always in front. For the record, Murrayfield kicked 4 penalties in the first half to lead 12 - 0. They then scored 2 tries, with 1 conversion before second row forward Paul Hill crossed for a consolation try for Jed.
The 2nds also had a disappointing day a Langholm Junior 7s. After getting a bye in the 1st round the were beaten 7 - 5 by Dumfries who scored a scrappy late try. Hawick 2nds were eventual winners.
This weekends team news for Saturday and Sunday has been posted on the team news page.
Borders pro Paul Thompson is on the comeback trail after months out with a serious knee injury and he is being allowed to play for 20 mins this week so he is on the bench for us this week. Chris Shaw is not available so Robert Ferguson starts.
Jed missed out on a place in the semi-final of the BT Cup after going down 16 - 6 to Dundee yesterday. Jed did have an opportunity to take the lead when Jason Gill intercepted in our own 22 but by the time he fed Jamie McCraw who was jogging beside him it was too late as the Dundee defence had recovered. Dundee opened the scoring with an unconverted try and the big Dundee pack was starting to dominate. Jamie McCraw did have another chance but Jed could not cross the line and Dundee added a penalty to make it 8 - 0 at half time.
Dundee scored another unconverted try to stretch their lead, but 2 Kevin Amos penalties brought Jed back into the game. The score stayed like that for a while but a late Dundee drop goal put them out of touch and put Jed out of the Cup for another year.
Jed 2nds secured promotion with a 70 - 5 win over Greenock Wands with 10 tries and an outstanding display of kicking from Nod Laing who slotted 10 conversions from all over the place. It was a very different story from the away match at Fort Matilda when Jed could only manage 1 try on a terrible pitch which was a far cry from a firm Riverside Park with dry ball, and with only 4 players who made the away trip playing today it was a much stronger line up. Scorers for Jed were Stephen Dickson with 4 tries, Fraser Mortimer, Nod Laing, Michael Graham, Billy Graham, Murray Brown and Gareth Scott. Nod Laing was instrumental in most off the scores with a fine performance at scrum half well supported by the back row, Michael Graham and Gareth Scott also put in good games.
SUNDAY 4TH APRIL
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LOUGHBOROUGH |
V | BIGGAR |
| BOROUGHMUIR | V | ROYAL SCOTS |
| GLASGOW HAWKS | V | KELSO |
| GALA | V | LANGHOLM |
| JED-FOREST | V | LONDON SCOTTISH |
| HERIOTS | V | HAWICK |
| MELROSE | V | PEEBLES |
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WATSONIANS |
V |
SELKIRK |
Robert Ferguson has been selected for the Scotland U19s squad to play Spain U18s at Meggetland tonight, K.O 7:30pm.
Jed were beaten 34 - 29 by a bigger, more street wise Hawick at Mansfield Park on Saturday. Jed got of to a dream start and were 9 - 0 up from 3 drop goals (2 from Amo, 1 from each foot & 1 from Robin Laing) and Jed had all the pressure. Hawick got back into the game and took the lead with 2 quick tries but Amo kicked a penalty and Jed went into half time 12 - 10 up.
Hawick scored a try when Kevin Reed went down the blind side taking advantage of Scott Laidlaw being impeded by the Hawick flanker, they added the conversion. In a see saw game Jed score a great try when Clark Laidlaw broke through and fed Amo who then wrong footed the defence to go under the posts, Laing converted. This sprung Hawick into life and they scored another 2 quick tries to kill of any hopes of a Jed win. Amo kicked a penalty but Hawick scored another try just before Mark Fitzgerald blasted over for a great consolation try.
Although there was only 5 points between the teams if truth be told the score flattered Jed and the 6 tries to 2 would give you a more accurate account of the game. Hawick were much bigger up front and they dominated the scrums and some very sloppy defending by Jed were major factors in Jed's defeat.
Saturday is the 1st of 2 big games in successive weeks for Jed. If we beat Hawick and get a bonus point, we will go into the final of the Border League. Clark Laidlaw is available for Jed for the 1st time this year and he replaces bad back victim Simon Lightbody at centre. For the rest of the team news see the team news page. The Hawick game kicks off at 12pm to avoid clashing with the Italy v Scotland game.
1st; £100 D. Campbell
2nd; £50 J. Spence & H. Wright
3rd; £25 R. Wilson
There are a few places available in the 200 Club. The 200 Club costs £60 per year and can be paid by direct debit at £5 per month. There is a draw every month with 2 super draws a year with a first prize of £1000 and there are bonus months throughout the year where the prizes are doubled. So anyone interested in joining please ask anybody from Jed-Forest or contact the organizer David Hynd on 01835 862178.
Jed 2nds won 23-20 against a well drilled and spirited Preston Lodge side through at Pennypit on Friday night. It was a cracking match played at a fast pace on a good surface. Scott MacDonald scored Jed's try in the first half , Gary Hughes added a conversion and penalty but PL hit back with a 30m drive from the forwards bringing them back into the game after Jed had threatened to run away with it. Jed struck first in the second half with a superb team try finished off by the impressive Scott Laidlaw. This however brought the start of a long period of domination from PL and eventually level the game at 20-20. Jed then applied pressure in the PL half and Gary Hughes slotted the decisive penalty with a couple of minutes to go.
Scott MacDonald got the Jed man of the match with a fine display of strong running in the first half and some solid defence throughout .Close contenders for the man of the match were Scott Laidlaw and David Grieve, the latter however spoiled an impressive display with a crazy quick 22 drop-out, that was enough to clinch "dick of the day" award although sub Ian Hedley pushed him close after being locked in the dressing rooms for the first 5 minutes of the game.
The win leaves Jed certainties to earn promotion to Division 2 as runners up to GHA 2nds who are unbeaten in the League, so a good effort from the 2nds who have used an amazing 63 different players over the season.
| 15. C.Goodfellow | 8. B. Graham |
| 14. S. Dickson | 7. S. Laidlaw |
| 13. S. MacDonald | 6. D.Grieve |
| 12. A.McIlroy | 5. P.Hill |
| 11. F.Mortimar | 4. E.Kelly |
| 10. G.Hughes | 3. C. Shaw |
| 9. J.Hogg | 2. P.Cranston |
| 1. R. Ferguson | |
| Subs : | |
| M.Graham | K.Liddle |
| I.Hedley |
Jed have been given the tough task of playing Dundee away in the last eight of the BT cup. Jed suffered a 25 - 13 defeat up there in the league but completely turned that around with a superb 38 - 8 win down here, so it will be a hard game but it is certainly a game we can win if we play well. The whole draw can be found here. http://www.scottishrugby.org/srunews.cfm?newsid=106
Jed are through to the last eight of the BT Cup after coming from behind to beat local rivals Selkirk 30 - 20 in the 5th round. Playing against the bitterly cold wind Jed were soon 6 - 0 down from 2 Guy Blair penalties. Davie Forster got Jed back in the game after being driven over the line but that seemed to spur Selkirk on and they were soon 20 - 5 up after 2 converted tries. Jed looked to be in trouble and nothing was going right until Mark Fitzgerald broke from his own 10 yard line to score a brilliant try right on the verge of half time, Kevin Amos converted and it was 20 - 12 to Selkirk at half time.
Now playing with the wind and it was the proverbial game of 2 halves and Kevin Amos slotted 2 penalties to bring Jed within 2 points. Just as it looked like being another nail biting finish Jed had a spell of pressure on the Selkirk line and Robin Laing (on for the injured Graeme Renwick, who suffered a not too serious compressed neck injury ) at scrum half threw an outrageous dummy and he wriggled over near the posts and Amo converted. With time now running out Jed turned down a long range penalty chance to kick into the corner. From the resulting line out Jed secure the ball and drove towards the line and you've guessed it, yes it was Davie Forster who forced the ball down to send an excited cop into a frenzy.
This is a great result for Jed and we eagerly await tomorrows draw.
The seconds lost out narrowly to Hawick Harlequins 12 - 11 despite playing a lot of the second half with out Gary Douglas who was sin binned then sent off. Coach Glen Gibson said they had plenty of chances to win the game but just couldn't convert any of the pressure into points. He also picked out Scott Laidlaw and David Grieve (who came on in the second half for his first game in several weeks after being out with a shoulder injury) for praise. Jed's points came from a Scott Laidlaw try and 2 Gary Hughes penalties.
The selectors have sprung 2 major surprises for the huge Cup game against Selkirk on Sunday. See the Team News page for details.
Jed had a morale boosting 50 - 0 victory over Langholm tonight, to set us up nicely for next weeks big cup game. Jed scored 8 tries in all from Simon Lightbody (4), Mark Fitzgerald, Davie Forster, Roy McFarlane & Euan Kelly. Kevin Amos kicked 4 conversions and Robin Laing got the other one. Plus points for Jed were the return to form of Simon Lightbody and the way Neil Cook lasted the full game. Neil has been in Romania for work commitments but he is back for this week to prepare for next weeks game against Selkirk.
Jed recorded a great victory when they beat Stew Mel 25 - 16 in Edinburgh this afternoon. Chris Richards got the ball rolling with a try after 13 minutes but Stew Mel hit back with 2 penalties to take a narrow lead. Davie Forster put Jed back in front when he emerged with the ball after being driven over by his forwards and it was 10 - 6 to Jed at half time.
Stew Mel then scored 2 tries before Davie Forster scored his second try, after being driven over again from a lineout. Brian McDonnell then scored Jed's 4th try to secure their bonus point when he sneaked over between the posts from a ruck, Kevin Amos converted. Kevin Amos also kicked a penalty to take Jed out of harms way and the final score was 25 - 16.
This result moves Jed back up to the top half of the league in 6th place and Ali Campbell said it was an outstanding team performance especially from the boys who have not been regular 1st team players and selection should be interesting for the rest of the season.
The 2nds also had a good win when they beat Haddington 2nds 3 - 0. This result came from another outstanding defensive display which for the 3rd game running stopped the opposition from scoring a single point. Special mentions go to Eric Wright who had a great game in the 2nd row, Gary Douglas and number 8 Kevin Liddle who showed promise. Gary Hughes Kicked Jed's points.
Donald Grieve has been selected to sit on the bench for the Scotland U19 team, who travel to Aberavon to play their Welsh counterparts next week.
Simon Lightbody has been selected for the Scotland 7s training squad next week, which is preparing for the four IRB tournaments to which Scotland are committed this year.
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Jed were comprehensively beaten 41 - 15 by local rivals and league leaders Gala yesterday. Gala were 10 - 0 after a converted try and a penalty up inside the first 5 minutes and the writing was on the wall. Jed did get into the game with a try from James Hogg but Gala scored again to stretch away again. Jed's best spell of the game came after 20 mins but we only got a penalty from it. Gala then scored a soft try before half time to lead 22 - 8 at the break.
The second half looked like turning into a real rout when injuries to Davie Forster, Chris Richards and Robin Laing started to take there toll and Gala romped to a 41 - 8 lead but a late rally brought a converted try by Mark Fitzgerald and the final score was 41 - 15.
The seconds recorded another good result when they beat Dunfermline 2nds (coached by former Jed coach Barry Hughes) 11 - 0. The result was especially satisfying because Jed had 4 thistle boys (Gary Elder, Nick Burt, and Michael and Steen Weekley) playing for us. In a scrappy game Jed's points came from a try by Nick Burt who was named man of the match and was the 31st player to score a try for the 2nds this year and 2 Gary Hughes penalties.
The 3rds also had a very creditable result when they drew 5 - 5 with Berwick 2nds. Craig Tibbets was Jed's try scorer.
Jed suffered some last gasp despair when Haddington kicked a very late penalty to clinch a very close game 18 - 17 this afternoon. Jed started poorly and were missing tackles in the midfield and Haddington scored an unconverted try. Jed hit back with a Davie Forster try converted by Robin Laing but Haddington scored another unconverted try to make it 10 - 7 at half time.
The second half was better and Jamie McCraw put Jed in front with a try, again converted by Laing but Haddington scored another unconverted try to once again take the lead. Robin Laing then landed a drop goal and Jed looked good but going into the last minute Haddington were awarded a penalty witch they duly landed and it was heartbreak for Jed.
Jed's Ali Campbell said even though we were without 3 of our most influential players (Gill, Goodfellow & Hill) the boys played well and gave 100% and we had plenty of chances to win the game but it was not our day.
The 2nds and thirds games were off because of Ice and lack of players.
Jed were dealt a major blow this week with the news that Ross Goodfellow's knee injury sustained in the Dundee game is more serious than first thought and he is ruled out for the rest of this season. He is expected to go for a scan soon to see what the next step is. James Hogg takes his place once again this week and will probably do so for the rest of the season.
Jed returned to winning ways yesterday with a 29 - 20 victory over Kirkcaldy at Riverside. Playing against a strong wind Jed fell behind to a Kirkcaldy penalty but Robin Laing soon equalized, Laing then score a nice solo try, when he jinked past the Kirkcaldy defence to touch down under the posts, he converted. This opened the floodgates and tries by Davie Forster (con) and Mark Fitzgerald gave Jed a 22 - 3 half time lead.
With the advantage of the wind, many thought Jed would run away with it but it was Kirkcaldy who struck first with an unconverted try. Jed hit back with a try from Neil Tunnah, Laing converted. That was the end of Jed's points and they seemed to lose concentration. This allowed Kirkcaldy to score 2 more tries but Jed never really looked in any danger and the final score was 29 - 20.
Brian McDonnel was sin binned and slight head knocks to Simon Lightbody and Scott MacDonald were slightly negative points but a victory with a bonus point is ample compensation.
The seconds were beaten 25 - 13 by Gala Juniors at Gala. Jed seemed to be suffering the after effects of the New Year and never got going in the 1st half. The second half was more encouraging though but Gala were too strong. Jed's points came a try finished off by Graeme Renwick following up a Craig Goodfellow interception converted by Gary Hughes, who also kicked 2 penalties. Scott Laidlaw was named man of the match and other notable performers were Billy Graham, Murray Brown and Frazer Mortimer who stuck in well.
The thirds also suffered at the hands of Hawick Harlequins going down 52 - 23. That was no disgrace though as Jed once again had a fairly scratch side playing. Jed's points came from tries by Kevin Liddle (who really held Jed together), Mark Cotgrave and Nikki Bates. Craig Tibbits kicked 2 penalties and Cotgrave landed a conversion.
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Jed went down to Kelso 14-12 after conceding a close range penalty with 2 minutes to go. Jed players and management will be wondering how we let this one go, after dominating for long spells. In a dour first half Kelso held a 3-0 lead, Amos missing 2 chances at goal and Davie Forster losing the ball when being driven over from a line out.
Forster quick to make amends in the second half when he was driven over following Szkudro's line out take. Kelso kicked another penalty to lead 6-5 before Fitzgerald who was having a pretty poor game, produced a brilliant solo effort to regain the lead, Laing took over the kicking and slotted a beauty to give a 12-6 advantage with about 25 minutes to go. Jed failed to clear the kick off cleanly but eventually Nod Laing scrambled away a good clearance only to be taken out very late, Nod retaliated slightly as the Kelso player kept hold of his feet, the touch judge intervened and awarded the penalty to Kelso, much to the disbelief of a large traveling support. Kelso went for a scrum and were driven into touch for a Jed throw. The line out went wrong and Kelso spun it wide to score, they missed the conversion to keep it 12-11 in Jeds favour. Jed went on the attack again and spurned a chance goal to go for another line out drive, this time it didn't work and Kelso cleared up field then broke away to get their late penalty. Amos almost made for his penalty misses when his 40 metre drop goal fell inches short in Jeds last chance.
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The 1sts team news is on the team news page.
The 2nds friendly against Hawick is off but the 3rds game is definitely on. The 3rds are taking cars and players should meet at the bus station at 12:30pm.
The 2nds enjoyed a great 21 - 15 victory over their Kelso counterparts this afternoon. Coach Glen Gibson was delighted by the performance, saying "the team battled and tackled magnificently against a good Kelso side". He singled out Paul Cranston for particular praise and he also said new recruit, centre Donald Galbraith (a student working on a farm outside Ancrum) had played well. Jeds points came from tries from Donald Galbraith and Gary Hughes, Hughes also kicked 3 penalties and a conversion.
The good news did not stop at the win either, as John Szkudro made a come back and he played the last 20 minutes, coming through unscathed. This comes at a perfect time because Neil Cook will become unavailable some weeks because of work commitments in Romania.
On a soaking wet dull afternoon Jed produced a dazzling display to completely overwhelm to of the table Dundee by 38 points to 8. Jed started brilliantly and Jamie McCraw scored in the corner after only 45 seconds, Amos converted. Dundee hit back with a penalty but that was cancelled by a drop goal from Robin Laing. With Jed playing superbly Jason Gill scored another try, converted by Amos again just before he succumbed to a hamstring injury (Chris Richards came on) Robin Laing then added a penalty and Davie Forster emerged from the bottom of a rolling maul to score and it was 25 - 3 at half time.
The second half again started well and it was Davie Forster who scored in almost identical fashion to his first try Laing hit the post with the kick. Jed then suffered a triple injury blow when Gary Hill (looks like a nasty knee injury) Ross Goodfellow (ankle) and Davie Forster (back) all had to be replaced, but David Grieve, Gary Young and Paul Cranston all came on and performed superbly. With jed at full stretch their defence was brilliant and time and time again they forced Dundee into a knock on or some other mistakes. Dundee did score a try after Robin Laing had kicked a penalty but that was again cancelled when Robin Laing rounded off a great performance when he went in at the corner and the final score was 38 - 8.
The seconds also enjoyed success in their friendly, even though the game was only played for about half a hour each way they won 22 - 12. Jeds scorers were Gary Hughes, Ali McIlroy, James Hogg and Tim Van Vliet, Gary Hughes added 1 conversion.
The 3rds narrowly lost out to a last gasp try losing 19 - 14 to a Melrose 3rds containing 2 Jed men because they were short on numbers. The 3rds team also had 3 Thistle boys playing which can only be a good thing and it was one of them who scored a try, Rory White who normally plays at prop but was in the back row yesterday popped over and Scott MacDonald scored the other try which was a good effort considering he was that rough after mad Friday that he had to be sick at half time and full time. Craig Tibbets kicked both conversions.
Jed won their 4th league game in a row with a stirring 21 - 18 victory away at Biggar. The game was played in appalling conditions and the wind was very much against Jed in the first half. Despite the conditions Jed got off to the perfect start when Jamie McCraw scored in the corner after some great driving play by the forwards. The teams then kicked a penalty each before Biggar got into their stride and they scored 2 unconverted tries to go into half time 13 - 8 up.
Playing with the elements Jed again started well and scored a try under the posts when Gary Hill gathered a loose ball from a wild Biggar pass. Kevin Amos Added another penalty to give Jed a 5 point lead but Biggar hit back with a try to set up a tense finale. Kevin Amos seemed to be feeling the pressure and he missed a couple of penalties but he did not let that get to him and he held his nerve to land the decisive kick. Biggar did have a chance to equalize in the last few seconds and for the first time of the day the wind died right down but thankfully for Jed the kick went astray and Jed held on to inflict Biggars first home defeat this season.
Jed Team Manager Ali Campbell was absolutely delighted with the win, although he did say that we missed far to many first up tackles but the team is playing with so much more confidence and it is making a huge difference.
The 2nds beat Musselburgh 2nds 34 - 0 in a mixed performance, but they did score some decent tries along the way. Try scorers were Billy Graham, Steven Dickson, Craig Goodfellow, Robert Ferguson and Scott Laidlaw. Chris Richards kicked 3 conversions and a penalty. Both comeback men came through the entire game unscathed but they will need more matches to be fully fit.
The 3rds made it a hat trick of wins for Jed in their home game against Gala YM winning 42 - 12. The game was played as a friendly though because Jed were forced to pull out of the league in midweek because we could not guarantee to full fill every fixture (even the postponed ones from earlier in the season). Both teams were also short handed and Jed started with 14 and the YM had 13 but an injury to a YM player saw Vinny switching sides to make it 13 each. In a good natured game Jeds try scorers were. Scott MacDonald (3), Ali McIlroy (2), Iain Williams, Lindsay Dickson and Mark Cotgrave. Scott MacDonald kicked 1 conversion.
Jed won an amazing game of Rugby at Selkirk today 24-23. The game started pretty dourly with a lot of knock ons and only 3 points separating the teams at half time after 3 penalties and Jed lead 6-3.
Selkirk started the 2nd half the best and they scored an early try but Mark Fitzgeald cancelled that with a try for Jed. Selkirk then took the lead with a converted try before a pair of swapped penalties. Then the real drama started, Firstly Ross goodfellow was sin binned then Jason Gill and Selkirk scored a try when Jed were down to 13 men to go 23-14 up. But with Jed back to full strength Ross Goodfellow scored to set up a frantic last few minutes and with time running out Jamie McCraw went over in the corner and it was Jed's turn to win by a point.
Tomorrows 2nds game at Riverside has been cancelled after a very late call off by West of Scotland last night.
The team news is posted on the Team News page.
1st; £100 J. Ormiston
2nd; £50 S. Shaw
3rd; £25 R. Pringle
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Jed kept up their recent good run of form with a good 34 - 10 victory at West of Scotland. Jed were slightly hampered before the game even started when Paul Cranston called off after failing to recover from re injuring his neck in mid week, so we decided to go with only 3 subs but this worked out ok and was not a major hindrance.
The game started evenly and the teams swapped penalties but Jed soon got in front with a try from Roy McFarlane, Amo missed the kick. Jed scored another 2 tries through Gary Hill (Amo converted) and Kevin Amos (conversion missed) to make the half time score 3 - 23.
Even though West had most of the ball Jed always looked more dangerous and this was proved again when Mark Fitzgerald intercepted a pass on his own 22 and ran the length of the pitch to score, Amos converted. West did manage a try but it was to no avail and Ross Goodfellow was the last try scorer for Jed after a good period of driving play and again Amos converted. The final score was 10 - 34.
Coach Brian Hughes was delighted and suggested this was Jed's best performance of the year. He said "West probably had 60% of the ball but we always looked dangerous, especially through the centre.
The 2nds lost their crunch game at G.H.A 11 - 6 and that virtually gives G.H.A the league but we are still in pole position for promotion. The only try of the game came from a charged down kick and that proved to be the difference between the teams in a scrappy game played in difficult condions. Jed's points came from 2 Gary Hughes penalties.
Hamish Stewart has decided his time with Jed is finished. Hamish came to Jed in August from London where he had spent the summer as part of his travels from his native New Zealand. Hamish has been a regular in the firsts since his arrival and he has scored 2 tries, but he has decided to go back to London to spend Christmas with friends before continuing his travels. Gid luck Hamish.
The team news is up for the trip to Glasgow for both the 1sts and the 2nds crunch game against top of the table G.H.A on the Team News page.
Jed have been rewarded for Saturdays Cup victory against Duns with an attractive looking home game against local rivals Selkirk. Recent games against Selkirk have been unbelievably close and with Selkirk sure to bring a big support it should be an exciting afternoon. The game is scheduled for Sunday the 22nd of February. Anyone interested in corporate hospitality for this game or any other game please contact Eddie Renwick.
Jed are through to the last 16 of the BT Cup after a comfortable 69 - 7 victory over Duns this afternoon. Duns started the game well and Jed found it difficult to break though in the first 20 minutes. It was Roy McFarlane who appeared on his opposite wing and barged his way over who opened the flood gates, and Kevin Amos converted. 3 further tries from Jason Gill, Euan Kelly and Neil Tunnah and 2 Amo conversions gave Jed a 26 - 0 half time lead.
The second half was more one sided with Jed scoring another 7 tries through Jason Gill 2 (to complete his hat trick), Robin Laing, Neil Tunnah, David Forster 2 and Roy McFarlane, Kevin Amos converted 4 of them. Duns did get a consolation try but all in all a very satisfactory result for Jed and we can look to the draw for the next round with a deal of enthusiasm.
Jed Juniors lost out 34 - 31 in a close encounter with Gala YM.
The 2nds game scheduled for tomorrow night has once again been cancelled. A combined 2nds and 3rds will now play Gala YM on Saturday at Gala, kick off is 2pm. For the team check the Team News page.
Gareth Davies has played his last game for Jed-forest. Gareth played 6 games for Jed and scored 4 tries in that time so no one is complaining about his playing abilities, but Jed found it hard to obtain suitable employment for Gareth and it was felt best that we parted company. Everyone at Jed thanks Gareth and wishes him good luck in the future.
Norman Kerr has also played his last game for Jed. Norman or Nod as everyone calls him was a star or the Jed team in the 1980s and early 90s and he has been a 2nds and 3rds stalwart ever since. Nod, 42 on his next birthday has been struggling with hamstring injuries caused by a slight hip displacement in recent weeks and has decided enough is enough.
On a happier note Mark Fitzgerald has arrived back in Jed. Mark played for Jed in the 2001-2002 season along side Jason Gill when we won promotion and it was rumored that he was close to a contract with the Borders. Like Jason, Mark has agreed to stay till the end of next season.
Graeme (pip) Renwick has also returned to Jed after 2 seasons at St Boswells and a 6 month trip to New Zealand.
Jed secured a much needed win today with a 27 - 12 victory at Murrayfield Wanderers. I don't know much about the match but Jed's points came from 2 Jason Gill tries and a Robin Laing try, Kevin Amos converted all 3 tries and also landed 2 penalties. Team Manager Ali Campbell said the forwards did really well to stick in and compete against a huge pack. He was also delighted with the defence and the experiment of playing Ross Goodfellow at full back, he also singled out Gary Armstrong and the outstanding Jason Gill.
The seconds kept up their assault on promotion with a 13 - 0 win at Greenock Wanderers. Playing on an atrocious pitch Jed scored one try through Scott MacDonald, Gary Hughes kicked the conversion and added 2 penalties. Assistant coach Calum Brown was callec into action with the late call off from Scott Laidlaw because of the flu and he ended up playing the whole game.
Gary Armstrong is available to Jed for the first time this season because the Borders have a 2 week break and he will be a welcome sight for the traveling support in his familiar number 9 jersey up at Murrayfield on Saturday. For the rest of Saturdays team news remember to check the Team News page.
What the heck happened? That is what everybody at Riverside is asking after Today's game. The game started poorly and Stew Mel were 7-0 up after a soft try. Kevin Amos then Kicked a penalty just before Gareth Davies came up with the ball after a forward drive, Amo converted. Jed then scored the try of the day when Robin Laing threw a great long pass to put Roy McFarlane in at the corner, with Amo again converting and we were 17-7 up at half time.
The second half was going to plan and Jason Gill was sent into the corner by a Ross Goody pass. That was it though as far as the Jed scoring went and Jed seemed to relax. Jed also lost Tin Van Vliet who was struggling with a chest infection and at the same time the real Graham Sheil decided to turn up. With some great kicking he took control of the game and Jed had no answer and Stew Mel scored 3 unanswered tries to steal the game.
The 2nds had another good win today when they beat Preston Lodge 2nds 12-5 although it was a real struggle. They were 5-0 down at half time and some real graft was rewarded when Kevin Liddle drove over from a line out, Craig Tibbets converted. Jed's other try came from a Murray Brown strike against the head near their line and Eric Wright picked up and darted over. Assistant coach Calum Brown said it was great to see the boys come through a real test with sheer guts and determination. He was also pleased that the team had held their discipline in the face of some real povacation.
Kevin Liddle has answered an SOS with the injury crisis deepening and he will play for the 2nds this weekend against Preston Lodge 2nds. For all the team news see the team news page.
Jed have been given a home tie against Border rivals Duns who are currently 2nd Bottom of National League 3 in the 4th round of the B.T Cup. Duns had a great 33-23 win against Ross High Corstorphine in the last round and are clearly capable of defying their league position and causing a shock. To read the whole story of the 4th round draw CLICK HERE.
1st; £100 W. Stanners
2nd; £50 D. Campbell
3rd; £25 B. Hughes
The headline says it all, with Jed just scraping through to the next round of the cup after an unconvincing 25-22 win at Berwick. The game got off to a horrendous start for Jed and they were 10-0 down from a penalty and a converted try after only 10 minutes. Luckily for Jed, Berwick seemed to change tactics to a more conservative style of play and that allowed Jed back into the game and tries from Jason Gill and Roy McFarlane with Kevin Amos adding a conversion and a penalty gave Jed a 15-10 lead.
Gareth Davies gave Jed a good start to the second half with a try, again Amos converted. Berwick then scored a converted try to set up a tense finish. The tension was heightened with a lengthy break in play for an injury to Michael Graham which wasn't as serious as first though. Kevin Amos then kicked a good penalty to give Jed an 8 point gap. This proved enough but only just because Berwick scored a last gasp try but Jed held on.
The 2nds game is now off after Musselburgh failed to raise a team.
Jed 2nds have arranged to play Musselburgh 2nds on Saturday at Riverside following the collapse of the Woodend posts during their early season encounter. Jed were 16-0 up and playing well with about 50 minutes played so hopefully should secure a similar result, although Musselburgh have only lost 1 league match this season like ourselves, so it wont be easy.
The firsts are away at Berwick in the 3rd round of the B.T Cup and again we are struggling with injuries. Read about the changes on the Team News page.
Jed gained their 3rd win of the league campaign with a 20 - 6 victory over Grangemouth. In a very scrappy game and with Jed really struggling in the scrum after losing Ali Campbell after 20 minutes with what looks like a bad knee injury. Jed did just enough to win. Jed always had the upper hand and scored a very nice try in the first half when Gary Hill broke through and went wide, he slipped a great scissor pass inside to the ever present Jason Gill and he strolled in under the posts with Kevin Amos converting and Jed led 13-6 at half time.
Jed's other try was scored by Roy McFarlane who was fed a very simple blind side pass from a scrum and he went in unopposed, Kevin Amos landed the wide conversion. Amos also landed 2 first half penalties.
The cup takes precedent next week and Jed will have to improve to come away from Berwick with a win, Here's hoping.
The seconds had a great 20 -13 away win against Haddington to move into clear 2nd place in their league. Jed scored 2 tries through the rampaging David Grieve, who assures me they were both from runs outside the 22. Gary Hughes kicked the rest of the points with 2 penalties and 2 conversions. Tim Van Vliet was once again outstanding but he was also named numpty of the day when he turned up with 2 different boots instead of a pair and he ended up getting a spare pair from coach Glen Gibson.
Saturdays team news is on the Team news page.
Jed suffered a narrow defeat at Netherdale going down 19-14. No details of the game as yet but I believe the score was 14-9 to Gala at half time.
The 2nd XV had another good result with a 55-0 win against Corstorphine 2nds at Riverside in a game that was far tighter than the final scoreline. For the second week running Tim Van Vliet was man of the match with an outstanding display, well backed up by Donald Grieve and Murray Brown in the pack with Craig Goodfellow the pick of the backs. Scorers were Tim Van Vliet(2), Ian Williams(2), Steven Shaw(2) Ali McIlroy and Scott Martin with Craig Tibbits kicking a penalty and 6 conversions.
Jed make several changes after last weeks debacle against Haddington , as they travel to Netherdale looking to get back on track against the in form Gala side. Jason Gill goes straight into the side despite not arriving in Jed until Friday. Hopefully he can reproduce the form he showed on his last visit to the club 2 years ago. Also back in action is Gareth Scott who comes in for his first start of the season. In the pack team manager Alisdair Campbell joins Neil Cook in the middle row, the latter playing his last game before a trip to Oz for the world cup. Other changes see Gareth Davies return from injury, Scott Laidlaw replacing the injured Steven Dickson (broken bone in foot) and Chris Shaw starting at prop ahead of Robert Ferguson. Dale Roberson is a victim of the 2 foreigners in the squad rule and misses out as does Tim Van Vliet who was man of the match for the 2nds in their impressive display at Dunfermline last week.
Jed have been handed an extremely tricky draw for their opening tie in this seasons Cup with a trip away to Berwick, currently going well in Division 3 under the leadership of former Jed favourite Kevin Armstrong, who I'm pretty sure will be relishing the prospect of taking on Jed on Nov 1st down at Scremerston. Full draw can be found at http://www.scottishrugby.org/clubrugby/index.cfm?handler=roundup&action=detail&keyid=46
An under strength Jed team lost 27-6 to Haddington at Riverside and that is the third home loss already this year. Truth be told Jed were never in the game and really missed ball carrying forwards James Henderson, Davie Forster and late withdrawal Gareth Davies. With these players missing and Chris Richards only lasting 25 minutes with a recurrence of his ankle injury Jed really lacked penetration and never threatened. In the end Jed could only score 6 points through 2 Kevin Amos penalties and that's probably all we deserved.
The seconds fared much better and beat their Dunfermline counterparts 55-12. Coach Glen Gibson said a great 5 minutes in the dressing before kick off had the players eyeballs popping out and they produced a great performance. Jed's points came through trys from Iain Williams (3), N. Kerr, T. Van Vliet, M. Brown, N. Tunnah, T. Elliot and 6 Gary Hughes conversions and a penalty.
A much improved performance saw Jed run out comfortable 35-16 winners at Kirkcaldy yesterday. Jeds set piece play especially in the lineout was much improved (with Michael Graham only missing 1 throw) and the impact of Gareth Davies running from the base of the scrum proved decisive. Such was Gareths impact that he scored 2 tries even though he spent around 20 mins on the bench with a bleeding nose. Jeds other tries came from Gary Hill, Scott Laidlaw and Hamish Stewart. Kevin Amos kicked 2 penalties and 2 conversions.
The seconds also recorded a comfortable away win when they beat Kilmarnock 2nds 39-10. Jed scored 7 tries in all through Chris Shaw, Robin Laing, Paul Hill, Scott McDonald a Roy McFarlane hat trick. In very windy conditions only 2 conversions were landed with Gary Hughes and Robin Laing kicking one apiece.
The 3rds managed to get a team together for the 1st time this year but they were soundly beaten by Gala YM 38-0 at Gala. Things should improve though as injured players come back and 2nds coaches Glen Gibson and Calum Brown have decided to get fit and sit on the bench for the 2nds to free more players for the 3rds.
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Saturdays first xv team news is on the Team News page.
1st; £100 Mr T. Spence
2nd; £50 Mr J. McKechnie
3rd; £25 Mr I. Tunnah
Jed failed to win for the fourth game in a row yesterday, when they lost 25-20 to local rivals Kelso at Riverside. Kelso dominate the first half and were 10-0 up after 25 minutes. It was only then that Jed got into the game and James Henderson squeezed over after a good rumble by the forwards and Ammo slotted the conversion but Kelso got a penalty and the half time score was 13-7.
Ammo landed a penalty early in the second half and Jed had a lot of ball but they could not break through, instead it was Kelso who scored to stretch the lead to 18-10. Just when time was running out Jed decided to play and Kevin Amos finished off a great move to give Jed hope. The hope was only short lived though because straight from the restart Graham Cowe dived in at the corner to kill off any hope. Jed did get the consolation of a bonus point when Jamie McGraw was sent in by Stephen Dickson for a very late try.
Seconds Game Abandoned
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The seconds had to face the embarrassment of having their game abandoned midway through the second half of their encounter with Musselburgh 2nds after a set of posts collapsed. Jed had been playing really well and were actually 16-0 up through a great team try finished off by Michael Graham and 3 Gary Hughes penalties at the time of abandonment. The actual incident happened when a Musselburgh drive was halted when the maul hit the bottom of the post and play was moved to the side of the posts. Steven Shaw was lining up in defence and lent on the post waiting for play to restart when the post just collapsed, luckily no one was caught under them. Jed tried to get the referee to continue and take kicks at one end only but he and Musselburgh were having none of it and the game was abandoned. It is likely a replay will have to take place. |
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Jed have signed Welshman Gareth Davis. Gareth is a 29 year old 6ft 4in, 17st No8. He is due to arrive tomorrow night from France where he has been playing professionally for the last 2 years. Gareth has also played for Aberavon and Pontypool in his native Wales before playing for Hawks Bay in New Zealand in 2000 for a year. He has also represented Wales at U19 & U21 and has had trials for the Welsh 7s squad.
Jed were beaten 25-13 at Dundee today. Team Manager Ali Campbell said 4 missed tackles cost Jed the four Dundee tries, Kevin Amos kicked a penalty in the first half and the half time score was 10-3. Jeds second half points came from Jamie McCraw and Kevin Amos tries.
West 2nds 0-91 Jed 2nds
Even with a scratch pack Jed 2nds scored an emphatic 91-0 win away at West of Scotland 2nds. Jeds points came from tries by Craig Goodfellow 3, Scott McDonald 2, Stephen Dickson2, Steven Shaw, Paul Cranston, Ian Williams, Tom Elliot, Eric Wright, and Michael Graham. Scott MacDonald landed 10 conversions and 2 penalties.
13 proved to be an unlucky number today after Jed drew 13-13 with Biggar. Jed again got off to a great start and were 10-0 up at half time through a Chris Richards penalty and a quick tap by James Hogg saw him wriggle over for a brilliant solo try, converted by Amo. Jed were unlucky not to be further ahead as Chris had a penalty attempt rebound off the post.
The second half saw a penalty apiece and with only 10 minutes to go Jed looked ok, but with Biggar down to 14 men they created an overlap and the winger scorched in and the conversion was easy. With only a couple of minutes left Jed conceded another penalty within range and it was another disappointing end to the game.
GHA 2nds Too Good For Jed 2nds
Jed 2nds are still looking for their first win of the season after being mostly outplayed by GHA. It looks that the jump in leagues for Jed will take a bit getting used to their new standard of opposition after going unbeaten in their 2 previous league campaigns. The large number of late cry offs certainly didn't help the Jed cause with the Half backs being worst affected. Tom Elliot and Scott McDonald did an admirable job standing in but the regulars were sorely missed. The game finished 2 tries a piece but Jed suffered at the hands of some pedantic refereeing from Jimmy Graham, resulting in GHA slotting 4 penalties from 4 attempts. Try scorers for Jed were Paul Cranston and reserve No 10 Greig Purdie , both converted by Craig Tibbits. It was certainly an improvement on the previous week but there is a lot of improvement needed if Jed are going to challenge for promotion again.
Saturdays teams are on the Team News page.
Jed were beaten 17-16 by a streetwise Selkirk at Riverside today. Jed actually got off to a dream start and Chris Richards put us ahead with a monster penalty. A superb flat pass by Kevin Amos sent Gary Hill scorching through the middle and a well timed pass sent Scott Laidlaw in at the Kelso end, Richards converted. A penalty each by Richards and Guy Blair made it 13-3 just before half time, but a good inter passing move by Selkirk saw Mike Jaffray score in the corner to make it 16-8 at half time.
That was the end of Jed's scoring and with Selkirk playing with the breeze, Scott Tomlinson's kicking and their bigger forwards the game was gradually slipping away from us. Guy Blair was finding his range with the boot, after missing a few earlier and he landed 3 penalties, the last just 5 minutes from time and that was that.
So all in all a very disappointing weekend for Jed that show just where our weaknesses lie. The lineouts were a shambles again and we lack over all size in the forwards, but as they say onwards and upwards.
Jed 2nds were beaten 31-0 by a much hungrier Hawick 2nds in a totally one sided game at Hawick today. A disappointing day was made worse when Graeme McIlroy suffered a suspected broken leg. Jed's only bright spots were James Henderson and Robert Ferguson.
James Hogg was pulled out of the game because Ross Goodfellow is set to miss tomorrows Selkirk game. Robin Laing moves onto the bench.
This weekends team news is now on the team news page. Remember the 1sts game is on Sunday as originally planned. The 3rds game is off after Peebles failed to raise a team.
Jed got off to the perfect start in their quest to bounce straight back into Premier Div 1, with a resounding 42-0 victory over West of Scotland today. Jed got off to a nice start and were rewarded with a Kevin Amos penalty. By now Jed had a good grip of the game and Hamish Stewart then broke through for a well deserved try, Amo converted. Amo also kicked another penalty, and Jed were 13-0 up at half time.
Jed then stepped up a gear, and after a fine run by Roy McFarlane, Donald Grieve was on hand to race in for the try, Amo missed the kick. Davie Forster was next on the score sheet after coming up with the ball following a line out drive, Amos converted. Davie Forster crossed again, with Amo again converting, and he then wriggled over at the far corner, after over powering their winger to complete his hat trick. Unbelievably it was Davie Forster who completed the scoring, once again emerging from a line out drive to score his 4th try.
This was undoubtedly a very good win for Jed, with young scrum half James Hogg showing great promise, and Hamish Stewart having a fine game at centre, but with West losing both their Scrum half and stand off, you wonder how much we were flattered by the final score. There will certainly be harder tests to come.
Jed 2nds 1st game of the season ended in an agonizing 17-20 defeat to their Selkirk counterparts. Jed started poorly and were 10-0 down very quickly, but 2 good tries from Michael Graham and Jamie McCraw, both were converted by Gary Hughes, gave jed a 14-10 lead. Selkirk then got a penalty and the score was 14-13 to Jed at 1/2 time. Gary Hughes stroked a fine penalty to extend Jed's lead, but some slack play in Jed's backs allowed Selkirk to score a try in the corner, which was duly converted. Jed did have chances to win the game at the death, but they could not squeeze the opening, and the game was lost.
Jed suffered another major injury blow when Ian Hedley dislocated his elbow, the only other injury news was Steven Shaw suffered a little cramp in his calf.
The latest team news is on the team news page.
Jed reached the semi final of Selkirk 7s for the second year running. Jed beat Ayr convincingly by 34-0 with Billy Graham, Ross Goodfellow, Gary Hill, and Simon Lighbody (2) amongst the tries. The second round was a hard fought 10-0 win over hosts Selkirk. The Semi was a step to far though as injuries to Simon Lightbody (back) Scott Laidlaw (Shoulder) and Billy Graham (wrist) took their toll and we were beaten 24-12 of the Royal Scots.
The Final was contested by Rotherham and the Royal Scots for the second year running, and once again Rotherham were convincing 61-12 winners in a one sided final.
Jed recorded a very encouraging 30 - 12 victory over Berwick yesterday, at a blisteringly hot Riverside. Jed got off to a good start and Chris Richards kicked 2 early penalties. Jed had control of the game by this point, despite being much smaller than Berwick, and having lineout trouble, and they created a fine overlap to send Simon Lightbody in at the corner. Scott Laidlaw was next to touch down, after some fine back up play, and Kevin Amos added the conversion, taking over from Chris Richards who had to retire with a groin injury.
Jed turned round with an 18 - 0 lead, but Berwick were 1st to score, after a rumbling forward move they forced their way over in the corner. Jed then effectively closed the game off when new boy Hamish Stewart broke through the defence and released a well timed pass to send skipper Gary Hill under the posts, Amos converted.
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Jed's final try came from a nice break by Roy McFarlane who released well in the tackle to send in Scot Laidlaw, who was on hand backing up well again. Amo's kick bounced back off the post. Berwick then got a consolation try after Graham Tyson had done well to field a Berwick kick, but a slack kick landed in the Berwick wingers hands and he raced in under the posts.
There was plenty to be positive about after this game, with Robert Ferguson, Donald Greive (who only played till half time, because he is playing in a Scotland U 19 trial today), Graham Tyson and Gary Douglas who came on as a sub all showing up well. The only negatives being Chris Richards injury, he is replaced by Billy Graham for today's Selkirk 7s, and 2 dubious sin binnings for Chris Shaw (for playing the ball on the ground) and Scott Laidlaw (for retaliating after the Berwick flanker hit him late when he scored his try)
This weekends team news for the Border League game against Berwick, and the Squad for the Selkirk 7s is on the Team News Page.
The draw for Sundays Selkirk 7s has been made, and it looks like a tough tournament on paper. Last years finalists Rotherham and the Royal Scots once again line up, and an invitational only side known as The Scorpions could be the one's to beat. Jed are once again scheduled to meet Ayr in the first round, if they turn up this time. The full draw is in the Sevens page, and the 1st tie is at 1:30pm.
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Jed failed to retain the Kelso Cup when they got beaten by Grangemouth 21 - 19 in the second round of Kelso 7s today. Jed had raced to a 14-0 lead, with tries from Scott Laidlaw and Gary Hill. We then seemed to relax, and before we knew it we were 21-14 behind. With time running out Euan Kelly did well to scramble over for a try just to the right of the posts, the conversion was just to much for Amo, and he pushed it wide, and our hopes were dashed.
The first tie for Jed was a bit of a struggle to begin with against a Presidents 7, after Ayr called off last night. A Kevin Amos hat trick and 1 each from Ross Goodfellow and Robin Laing, along with 3 conversions saw us through though.
Gala were the eventual winners, after coming from behind to defeat hosts Kelso 24-21 in the semi-final. Then over powering Melrose 48 - 29 in the final.
For a full list of scores see the Sevens page.
Tomorrow sees the start of the season, with Kelso holding the 1st 7s tournament of the year, and Jed will be keep to hold on to the cup, after winning last years tournament.
Jed received a major boost on Thursday night, when Chris Richards announced that he was back in Jed for the foreseeable future and is available for selection, so he goes straight into the squad for Saturday. Simon Lightbody and Gary Hill are also in, but much will depend on how they fair tonight, after they are involved in the Borders pro v Borders select tonight at Mansfield Park.
| Roy McFarlane | David Forster |
| Simon Lightbody | Scott Laidlaw |
| Kevin Amos | Chris Richards |
| Ross Goodfellow | Gary Hill |
| Robin Laing | Euan Kelly |
Even though Heriots scored 4 tries to 1 Jed's new coaches must be highly delighted with this very useful run out. Especially pleasing must have been the performances of the youngsters Gary Hughes, who showed great composure with the boot, and he kicked a conversion to Simon Lightbodys try, and landed 4 penalties. Other youngsters playing well were James Hogg and Robert Ferguson. Another to impress was Graham Tyson who showed well in the tackle. Jed also sprung a surprise by bringing former Melrose player Andrews Redpath on for 20 minutes. Rip has not played for 10 years, but Ali Campbell has talked him round to pull on on his boots again, and help out when work permits.
There was a sting in the tail though. Greg Laidlaw only lasted 5 minutes when he dislocated his knee. This was the same knee that kept Greg out of Scotlands U18 tour to Spain and France last season.
1st; £100 Mr B. Chapman
2nd; £50 Mrs A. Balfour
3rd; £25 Mr A. Hill
Jed will play host to Heriots on Saturday in a pre season friendly training match at Riverside. This will give Jeds new coaches the chance to asses the squad before the season starts. Kick off is a 2pm.
The draw for Kelso 7s on Saturday the 16th of August has been made, and Jed face a tricky tie against newly promoted Ayr. The full draw is on the Sevens page.
Jed are delighted to announce that Brian Hughes and Brian Renwick are to become joint 1st XV coaches for the forth coming season.
Brian Hughes will take responsibility for the backs. Brian, a former Jed stalwart from the 80s and early 90s who won a host of honors for Jed in both the XV code and the 7s, before his playing career was halted by a neck injury. He has been head coach at Grangemouth for the last 2 seasons, and admits it was a wrench leaving. The lure of coming home has proved irresistible however, and he is looking forward to this new challenge.
Brian Renwick will be in charge of the forwards. Brian, a former Hawick player of the same vintage as Hughsy, and was also a player coach at Grangemouth. He is currently employed as a Development officer in the Edinburgh area by the SRU.
With the announcement that all professional players regardless of experience in the pro game would be allocated to clubs, Jed are delighted with the news that Gary Armstrong and Clark Laidlaw have been allocated to us for the fourth coming season. They will be joined by prop Paul Thompson and center Gareth Morton on our roster. How many games these boys will be available to us is anyone's guess, due to the World Cup and the extended Celtic League, but the rules have been relaxed this year. Anyone who sits on the bench for the pro teams or perhaps only plays 10 minutes will be made available at the coaches discretion. So here's hoping we once again see Gary and Clark back home.
Jackie Spence retired as head grounds man at the end of last season after 29 years of service. To mark his retirement Jackie was presented with a Tankard as a token of thanks from everyone concerned with Jed-Forest.
1st; £100 Mr R. Kinnear
2nd; £50 Mrs I. Hynd
3rd; £25 Mr J. McKechnie
Last Thursday saw the Jed-Forest AGM which was healthily attended by a wide range of club members. After the adoption of last years AGM minutes our Treasurer Sam Shaw reported a much improved financial result with income substantially increased, mainly through funding from the SRU due to our return to Premier Division 1. In fact our dependency on the SRU is such that their funding represented 41% of last seasons income. It was also reported that expenditure was showing a reduction in nearly all categories, except a significant rise in the cost of security for the annual sevens, and a major project to improve the roof over the bar area, which was completed throughout the year. He was also pleased to report prize money had increased and £2500 was received from both the I.T Tournament and the Kings of the sevens.
It was also noted that a donation of almost £5000 had been received from the supporters club, and this has been used to purchase an electronic score board.
President Gordon Hume was next to report and his speech is as follows.
Season 2002/03 unfortunately saw Jed-Forest relegated to Premier League Division II. Despite the considerable efforts of our coaching staff & playing staff, the clubs fate was sealed in the first week of May at Megateland. Where a rousing first half performance by the team laid the foundation for a stirring victory, but sadly it was not enough.
Two games I felt significant in the downfall were the home defeats by Peebles and Hawick. Two teams who in my opinion did not have as strong a playing squad as us, but on the day were much the hungrier sides.
Luck was not on our side either as evidenced by the major blow dealt to us pre season. When influential lock John Szkudro was sidelined for the whole year with a serious shoulder injury, from which I felt the whole team never really recovered.
The new I.T Tournament encompassing the professional players had it's plusses and minuses, but certainly some of the rugby on display was of the highest order, and wasn't it great to see Gary Armstrong playing for the club again.
On the Sevens front we managed to regain the Kings of the Sevens crown, in the process winning the Kelso, Berwick and Earlston events. Congratulations to our sevens squad as the spring circuit seems to be becoming a bigger and bigger slog.
Well done to our second XV who won the Inter City 2nd XV League Division Four, and in the process traveled the length & breadth of the country. The 2nds also tasted success in the spring sevens events, with a well merited victory in the John Laing Tournament at Kelso.
Our Juniors (better known as the 3rds) did well to raise a team most weeks up until Christmas, but unfortunately the bad weather in January took it's toll, and we struggled for a side thereafter.
At this point I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our coaches & players. Particularly those who are hanging up their boots.
I would like to congratulate all our players who gained representative honors at all the various levels, well done lads.
Moving on to all our committee members, thank you for all your hard work and support. Thanks also to our sponsors throughout the season, but most importantly thank you to all our supporters.
The past season saw the club saddened by the untimely deaths of two Hon Vice Presidents, namely former club captain Bill Dodds and past president Rex Maxwell.
Finally may I take this opportunity to thank you all for honoring me with the position of president.
Gordon R Hume - President
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Gordon also read out the playing records of the 3 teams.
1st XV 2002-03
Played Won Lost Drawn Points For Points Against Tries Cons Pens D.G
31 14 16 1 734 736 89 49 57 6
Leading Points Scorers; Gary Mcgarva 211, Kevin Amos 127
Leading Try Scorers; Kevin Amos 8, Daniel Yuill 8, Ross Goodfellow 7
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2nd xv 2002-03
Played Won Lost Drawn Points For Points Against Tries Pens Cons
21 17 4 0 677 238 96 23 64
Leading Points Scorer; Robin Laing - 145
Leading Try Scorers: S McDonald - 10, G Tyson - 7, S Shaw - 7, R Laing - 7.
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3rd xv 2002-03
Played Won Lost Drawn Points For Points Against Tries Cons Pens D.G
8 4 4 0 136 170 15 8 11 4
Leading Points Scorers; R Laing - 32, C Tibbets - 13
Leading Try Scorers; B Middleton - 2, K Munro - 2
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Retiring Players
Calum Brown, Ali Campbell, Kevin Munro, Kevin Liddle, Bryson Middleton.
Gary McGarva has taken a year out to live in Dubai for a year, and Alan Hotson is currently taking time to tour New Zealand. We will also be without last years 3 New Zealanders who have either returned home or moved on to pastures new. Of course the biggest hole will be left by Mark Lee, who is away to the Army, and it seems increasingly likely that Ross Ford will be allocated to Kelso this year.
On the other Hand. Gordon was pleased to announce that a young Stand Off from Melbourne (who has played District level over there) is due to arrive in early September. A 29 year old Canadian hooker, who is taking over as P.E teacher from Bill Johnston at the Grammer School arrives soon. He will also act as our development officer.
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New Committee Members
Treasurer Sam Shaw is standing down for personal reasons (a replacement will be announced later in the year), but Sam will join the General committee. Also Joining the committee is Alan Goodfellow (after stepping down from Director of Rugby) Zoe Williams (Membership Secretary), Eddie Renwick (Webmaster), Alistair Campbell (1st team Manager) and Calum Brown.
Jackie Laidlaw has stepped down from the general committee, stating increased work commitments. He will now become a co-opted committee member, and he stated his willingness to continue his job at the Sevens.
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Gary Hill is Jeds new Captain
A meeting between the players and committee was held after the AGM and it was decided that Gary Hill was to be Jed's new captain for the next season. Ross Goodfellow is to be his vice captain.
It was also decided after a vote between Davie Laidlaw and Ali Campbell in which Ali gained around 66% of the vote that he is to become the new 1st Team Manager.
|
JED-FOREST RFC REQUIRE A 1ST XV COACH OR PLAYER COACH. APPLICATIONS WITH RELEVANT CV BY EMAIL TO WEBMASTER@JEDFORESTRFC.COM OR TO J WALDIE, HYNDHURST, HONEYFIELD ROAD, JEDBURGH, ROXBURGHSHIRE, SCOTLAND. BY THURSDAY THE 12th OF JUNE 2003. |
Jed backs coach Davie Grant has decided to leave his position, and return to his native Hawick as their conditioning coordinator. Everyone at Jed-Forest thanks Davie and wishes him all the best for the future.
The 102nd Jed-Forest 7s tournament was won by Melrose for the 6th time at Riverside yesterday. Melrose opened the tournament with a resounding 29-0 win over Ayr. They then went on to beat Watsonians 19-14 in a tight game, before beating Grangemouth 24-10 in the semi final. They then went 19-0 up in the final against Kelso (who had just came through a punishing 31-0 victory against Jed in the other semi final) and it seemed all over, but Kelso were fighting to give Adam Roxburgh (who was playing his last game for Kelso) a fitting send off, and it was Roxy who scored scored 2 2nd half tries. This meant Melrose were hanging on and they just managed it.
Melrose scrum half Graeme Thomson was also awarded a tankard and a magnum of champagne sponsored by Ravenstone Financial Management, after being named player of the tournament.
Jed were knocked out in the semi final by Kelso. They had beaten Murrayfield Wanderers 34-5, they then had a real fight against Hawick, and only won 14-12 after scoring in virtually the last move of the game. Alan Hotson was also injured against Hawick, and that added to the previous hard game seemed to take its toll and Jed were well beaten 31-0.
The 2nd seven were beaten in the semi final of Walkerburn 7s by Hawick. Musselburgh 1sts were the eventual winners.
1st; £1000 R. Spowart
2nd; £250 N. Kerr
3rd; £50 B. Lockie
| MELROSE | V | AYR |
| WATSONIANS | V | PEEBLES |
| GRANGEMOUTH | V | LANGHOLM |
| GALA | V | ABERDEEN |
| STEW MEL | V | HAWICK |
| JED-FOREST | V | MURRAYFIELD WANDS |
| BERWICK | V | KELSO |
|
SELKIRK |
V | GLASGOW HAWKS |
Jed clinched the Kings of the 7s title after demolishing the Royal Scots 45-15 in the final of Earlston 7s this afternoon. Jed were never really troubled all afternoon and they saw off Berwick, Melrose, and Watsonians en route to the final. The final though was quite controversial because right from the kick off it was clear the Royal Scots were wound up and after 2 shockingly late tackles on Scot Laidlaw who needed treatment for a blood injury, and Ross Goodfellow who was helped off the pitch looking very groggy, one of their players was sin binned. Jed took full advantage and scored 2 tries in that time. The Royal Scots had obviously lost the plot, and another of their players was sin binned in the second half for another off the ball incident. This put Jed on easy street and we gave them some of their own medicine, with some particularly fine show boating from Roy McFarlane and Kevin Amos in front of a large Jed contingent.
Jed Squad
| R. Laing | A. Hotson |
| K. Amos | E. Kelly |
| C. Richards | G. McGarva |
| R. Goodfellow | S. Laidlaw |
| R. McFarlane | S. MacDonald |
Jed have been relegated from Premier Division 1 after only one season despite a heroic 25-21 victory over league champions Boroughmuir this afternoon. Jed even faced an uphill struggle before kick off when a Boroughmuir official rightly pointed out that because Ross Ford was a professional and had played part of Friday nights Borders victory over Edinburgh he was not allowed to play for his club the following day.
Jed started the game well and scored first when Scot MacDonald raced through to pounce on a loose ball, Gary McGarva converted. Jed then really got a dander up and scored 2 more tries through the ever ready Kevin Liddle and Scot Laidlaw (who started in place of Ross Ford) Gary McGarva converted one and added a penalty, and the half time score was 22-0.
Just as Jed were starting to get a little hope, news from Bridgehaugh came through that Stirling County had held on to beat Heriots 39-37 after leading 39-5 at the start of the second half. This seemed to dampen the spirits and a couple of injuries hampered us and Boroughmuir hit back with 3 tries to a single McGarva penalty and Jed did brilliantly to hold on for a well deserved victory.
Just like the 15s team the 7s squad acquitted them selves well, and they were narrowly beaten 22-17 by a strong Gala 7 in the first round of Langholm 7s. G.H.A. were the overall winners after they beat the Royal Scots 20-17 in the final.
Harry Hogg has written an excellent review of the 2002-2003 Mini Rugby season. click here to read it.
Saturdays crunch game against Boroughmuir sees the return of Neil Cook and Ross Ford after injury and U19 duty. We are without Mark Lee who has gone for his Army training and the suspended, retired, holiday maker Calum Brown. The rejuvenated Scott Laidlaw is once again on the bench.
With the rearranged game at Boroughmuir the 7s squad going to Langholm takes unusual shape, but still looks pretty strong and they may be able to shock Gala in the first round. Chris Richards season has finished down south and he takes a place in the squad after he trained on Tuesday night.
The intended squad going to Earlston 7s on Sunday is the same one that went to Peebles. See the team news page for the full squads.
Jed lost 17-7 to eventual winners Boroughmuir in the 1st round of Peebles 7s. The most interesting story of the day though had to be Langholms shock 20-17 defeat of a very strong Kelso team after they had kicked a penalty with the last kick of the game. That only tells some of the story though as Alan Hotson was drafted into the Langholm team as Langholm had arrived with only 8 players. The Kelso team though had an even bigger surprise when Ross Ford took to the pitch for them. Seemingly a player can play 7s for any team because the SRU has no jurisdiction over the 7s game.
This weekends draws for Langholm and Earlston are up on the 7s page. Remember to scroll down to find them.
Jed-Forest captain Mark Lee has decided to call a halt to his rugby career and change professions entirely. Mark has decided on a career as an Officer in the Army, and he will start his Officer training at Sand Hurst on the 4th of May. This means he will miss out on the last League game against Borougmuir. Mark said "that he hoped to play for Jed again though as he gets a months break every 3 months, and hoped to pick up a couple of games in his breaks". Mark also said that "it had been a real privilege to play for Jed and that being named captain this year was probably the highlight of his career"
Mark has been at Jed for 4 years now. The 1st 2 years he played at scrum half when he was a professional with the Edinburgh set up. He then switched to the back row after he lost his contract and was advised to switch positions to give him a better chance of furthering his career. The move has been a success as Mark has been captain of the Scotland 7s team for the last 2 years and he has been called up to play for the Borders on several occasions this year. Mark was in fact offered a 2 year contract with the Borders recently but he decided his future lay else where.
Everyone at Jed-forest wishes Mark all the best in this new episode of his life, and thanks him for 4 years of excellent service.
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Jed held it's annual Dinner on Friday night where David Forster was presented with the player of the year award after having a fine season. David Grieve was presented with the young player of the year. The Robin Richardson Memorial trophy for the top try scorer will be awarded after the Boroughmuir game because there are 3 players still in contention.
| MELROSE | V | GLASGOW HAWKS |
| JED-FOREST | V | BOROUGHMUIR |
| WEST OF SCOTLAND | V | HAWICK |
| GALA | V | SELKIRK |
| ABERDEEN | V | WATSONIANS |
| BIGGAR | V | ROYAL SCOTS |
| PEEBLES | V | BERWICK |
|
KELSO |
V | LANGHOLM |
Jed won the Berwick 7s this afternoon with an emphatic 50-5 victory over Hawick in the final. Jed had earlier beat Langholm 38-5 in the 1st round then Kelso 29-19 and hosts Berwick 28-5 in the Semi-Final. Kevin Amos was awarded the player of the tournament, and praise must also go to Scot laidlaw and Daniel Yuill who both played brilliantly throughout the afternoon. Jed are now 15 points clear at the top of the Kings of the sevens table, but we face a very hard draw at Peebles next Sunday and we will have a 2nds string at Langholm the following week because of the last league game against Boroughmuir so there is still loads to play for.
Jed's Squad was
| Kevin Amos | Scott Laidlaw |
| Ross Goodfellow | Gary Hill |
| Roy McFarlane | David Forster |
| Daniel Yuill | Gary Jackson |
| Scott MacDonald | Craig Goodfellow |
Jed gained another 5 points in the Kings of the Sevens race by reaching the Semi-Final of the Hawick sevens. Despite missing 3 key players with Mark Lee, Alan Hotson and Simon Lightbody all missing Jed easily beat a depleted Peebles side (who had a league game today) 31-7 in the first round. They then played some great stuff to see off Kelso 25-7 scoring 5 tries to 1. They were eventually put out by the Royal Scots 24-12 in a pulsating tie.
The Royal Scots went on to win the tournament when they beat Selkirk 40-5 in the final.
HAWICK SEVENS
| JED-FOREST | V | PEEBLES |
| MELROSE | V | KELSO |
| ROYAL SCOTS | V | LANGHOLM |
| AYR | V | STIRLING COUNTY |
| HAWICK | V | SELKIRK |
| WATSONIANS | V | GLASGOW HAWKS |
| NATAL | V | BERWICK |
|
GALA |
V | ABERDEEN |
BERWICK SEVENS
| GALA | V | MELROSE |
| PEEBLES | V | HAWICK |
| WATSONIANS | V | TYNDALE |
| MURAYFIELD | V | DUNS |
| KELSO | V | ALNWICK |
| JED-FOREST | V | LANGHOLM |
| BERWICK | V | ST BOSWELLS |
|
SELKIRK |
V | EARLSTON |
Jed were beaten 28-12 in the 2nd round of the Melrose 7s by the hosts. We beat Peebles 24-21 in a hard game in the prelimary round having to come back from a 21-10 deficit.
Boroughmuir did best of the Scottish teams and reached the semi-final. Eventual winners though were Sale Sharks who beat Stellenbosch University 31-24 in a great final.
Jed's second 7 won the John Laing Memorial Tournament at Kelso last night with a great show of pressure rugby and some fine finishing. After beating Kelso in the Semi-final Jed went on to beat Hawick 33-5 in the final to avenge Saturdays defeat at Langholm. The Jed Squad is on the Team News page.
Graham Tyson was in action for the Borders U20 team in their opening game of the Inter District Championship campaign, and he supplied the scoring pass for their first try on their way to a 12-5 winning start against Glasgow at Milntown yesterday.
Ross Ford has been picked at flanker for the Scotland under-19 team to play Romania under-19 in their opening match in the IRB/FIRA Junior World Cup at Bobigny, near Paris on Thursday 10 April, kick-off 3pm BST
Clark Laidlaw has been picked for the NIG Scottish Thistles squad for the Tilney Melrose Sevens, The Greenyards, Melrose, Saturday 12 April.
ROUND 1
12.45pm: Selkirk v Currie
1.02pm: Aberdeen GSFP v Heriot's FP
1.19pm: Jed Forest v Peebles
1.35pm: Langholm v Stirling County
ROUND 2
1.53pm: Kelso v Selkirk or Currie
2.10pm: Watsonians v Stellenbosch University
2.27pm: Boroughmuir v Aberdeen GSFP or Heriot's FP
2.44pm: Glasgow Hawks v Pretoria University
3.01pm: Melrose v Jed Forest or Peebles
3.18pm: Gala v Ponsonby
3.35pm: NIG Scottish Thistles v Langholm or Stirling County
3.52pm: Hawick v Sale Sharks
Radio Borders have excellent coverage of all the Sevens tournaments and all you ex-pats can listen live on the internet. Click HERE TO TAKE YOU TO THE RADIO BORDERS WEBSITE then just click on listen live and you should be able to hear it.
Jed were beaten 17-12 in extra time by eventual winners Watsonians in the semi-final at Gala 7s yesterday. This leaves us 10 points clear at the top of the Kings of the sevens tournament.
Jed started the day with a confidence boosting 53-0 win over Langholm, with Mark Lee in great form scoring 5 tries. Jed's next game was a different affair altogether and they produced a fantastic performance to beat the much fancied Royal Scots (every player was a Fijian) 17-7. This game was probably Jed's eventual down fall and we were always struggling against Watsonians. They went 12-0 up at half time and we fought back brilliantly to force the tie into extra time but with Alan Hotson getting treatment Watsonians used the extra man to score in the corner.
Watsonians were getting beat 15-0 in the final against Glasgow Hawks, but they fought back and ran out 31-15 winners in what has to be one of the most competitive 7s in recent years, and great credit must go to the city sides for sending down strong squads after a hectic weekend of Cup and League rugby. For a full run down of the scores and latest standings check the 7s page.
The second seven were beaten 19-15 (score may be incorrect) by Hawick 2nds in the final of the Langholm Junior tournament. They had recorded a great win against Edinburgh Accies 1st's in the Semi-Final.
There was massive disappointment at Riverside this afternoon when Jed lost 23-28 after conceding a last gasp try in the last move of the game against an equally desperate Hawick. Jed started the game superbly when Ross Goodfellow scored a try after 3 minutes, McGarva added the conversion. Hawick got back into the game when Stenhouse eventually landed 2 penalties after missing earlier attempts and the half time score was 7-6.
Stenhouse stretched the Hawick lead with 2 more penalties before Kevin Amos scored one of the cheekiest tries of all time. Jarrod Ward was being treated for an injury when Jed sponge man John Szkudro handed Amo the Kicking Tee for a penalty attempt and the Hawick players were heading under the posts when Amo picked up the ball and took a quick penalty to himself and scampered into the corner to score a cracking try. Stenhouse added 3 more penalties and Karl McBride scored another try and Hawick led 20-21 with the game into injury time.
Kevin Amos then had the chance to be Jeds hero and he lined up a penalty on the touch line on the 10 yard line, and he struck a beauty and it looked like Jed had grabbed a life line. Hawick had other ideas and straight from a short kick off Hawick regained the ball and spread it wide for Cammy Bruce to score in the corner and Stenhouse converted.
This leaves Jed in severe trouble and only a miracle will keep us up now. Calum Browns last game was spoilt when he was sent off for getting a second yellow card for 2 very dubious offences. Billy Grahams season looks to be over after suffering a suspected broken hand.
Saturdays crunch league game against Hawick will almost certainly bring the curtain down on former Jed captain Calum Browns playing career for the Royal Blues. Calum has decided to call it a day after this season and he will miss the Boroughmuir game as he will be away on Holiday. Good Luck on Saturday Beige.
Just incase any of you didn't know here is the draw for Sundays Gala 7s. The 1st tie is at 1:30pm. Remember you can see the latest standings in the Kings of the 7s competition and all the 7s results on the sevens page here.
Boroughmuir v PEEBLES
HAWICK v Heriots
SELKIRK v Glasgow Hawks
Aberdeen GSFP v GALA
MELROSE v KELSO
Watsonians v BERWICK
JEDFOREST v LANGHOLM
Currie v Royal Scots
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Jed were beaten 40-20 in the 3rd & 4th place play off game in the Integrated tournament at the Greenyards by Melrose this afternoon. Jed's points came from 3 tries scored by Colin Sewart, Ross Goodfellow and Gary Hill respectively, with Kevin Amos adding a conversion and a penalty.
Jed's reward for finishing 4th was £500 to add to the £2000 already gained for fulfilling the initial 4 fixtures in the competition.
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In other news Clark Laidlaw and Mark Lee were instrumental in helping the Scottish 7s squad finish in 2nd place in the Plate competition at the Hong Kong 7s. For all the news on Scotlands progress in Hong Kong click here.
Ross ford was in the winning Scotland U19 team which defeated their Italian counterparts 28-25 at Meggatland this afternoon.
1st £100; Chris Richards
2nd £50; Bill Douglas
3rd £25; Vince Mortimer
Jed have been reinstated into the Integrated Cup and will now play Melrose on Sunday at the Greenyards in the 3rd and 4th place playoff game.
This has happened because Boroughmuir have been penalised four points in the Integrated Tournament after they were found to have fielded an ineligible player.
Centre Stephen Ruddick had been playing at under-21 level for
Saracens this season and did not seek the necessary international clearance to
either play at Saracens in the first instance or to return to a club in
Scotland.
Ruddick played in the Integrated Tournament fixtures against Aberdeen GSFP on 8
March, Heriot’s FP on 15 March and Jed-Forest on 22 March.
Under IRB player movement regulations Stephen Ruddick would have had to gain
clearance to be eligible to play in Scotland having played this season within
the jurisdiction of the English RFU.
Even if he were to gain the clearance at this stage he has missed the 31 January
deadline imposed within Scotland’s domestic regulations. Ruddick is therefore
ineligible for the remainder of the season.
Jed bowed out of the Integrated Tournament after losing out to a last gasp Boroughmuir try and eventually lost the game 38-34. Jed started well enough and Gary McGarva slotted an early penalty, but Boroughmuir weathered the early storm and produced some great handling resulted in them scoring 4 first half tries and they went in 24-3 leaders.
The game might have seemed over for Jed, but an assault on the Muir line ended
with Kevin Amos delivering the scoring pass to No.8 Alan Hotson, McGarva’s
conversion bringing the Borderers’ into double figures. Nor was this a passing
phase. Minutes later, Gary Armstrong showed his competitive spirit with a fine
solo try from a tap penalty, McGarva again converting.
The Jed
fightback continued as Ross Ford made inroads, before combining with his
back-row colleague Hotson, whose deft pass provided a try for Scotland cap Jon
Steel.
Boroughmuir then scored another try and opened up an 11 point gap, but Jed hit back with 2 more Jon Steel tries both converted by McGarva and we led 34-31 with 5 minutes to go.
But Muir, having led for most of the game, were not going to relinquish the tie at this stage and when Ramin Mathieson burrowed towards the line, Fisher was on hand to score the match-winner.
Jed Finished the tournament in 5th place on 12 points just 2 behind 4th place Melrose.
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Jed 2nds beat Livingston 2nds 50-7 in a rearranged league game at Riverside. Jed's try scorers were Ross Goodfellow 2, Scott Laidlaw, Ali Campbell, Graeme McIlroy, Scott McDonald, Ian Williams and Craig Tibbets each scored 1. Robin Laing added 5 conversions.
Congratulations to Clark Laidlaw and Mark Lee who have been selected in the final squad to compete in the IRB World Series Sevens in Hong Kong (28, 29 and 30 March) and Beijing (5 and 6 April) This means Mark will miss the crunch rearranged league game against Hawick on April the 5th.
Gary Armstrong inspired Jed-Forest to a shock 30-14
Integrated Tournament triumph in horrible conditions at Mansfield Park, after a
nightmare start against Hawick.
The Greens raced into a 14-0 lead after just seven minutes, but the former
Scotland scrum-half engineered a stirring fightback. Jed’s tries came from
Simon Lightbody, Ewan Kelly, Steve Scott, James Henderson and Armstrong himself
as they collected the bonus point.
Gary McGarva added a penalty and conversion, while Hawick had a penalty-try and
a score from Joe Pattison, both converted by Neil Stenhouse.
2nd; £50 Irene Anderson
3rd; £25 George Wright
Borders professional player Steve Scott who was unluckily dropped from the Scotland bench has been assigned to Jed for the Integrated tournament. This comes at just the right time for Jed after hooker Calum Brown injured his knee last weekend. Steve is expected to make his Jed debut a Hawick on Sunday.
Jed beat a slightly under strength Currie 41-7 at Riverside on Saturday. Even though there was 3 internationals on show in the shape of Gary Armstrong, Jon Steel and Alan Bulloch the game was played in front of a very poor crowd. Jed played some great rugby and were 34-0 in front after an hour. The game deteriorated after that when both teams made several changes. Lets hope this gives some of the players some confidence for the rest of the season. A special word must be made for Jon Steel who put in a fine performance and scored 2 of Jed's 7 tries. Jed's other try scorers were Ross Ford, Billy Graham, Jarrod Ward, Kevin Amos and Gary McGarva. McGarva also kicked 3 conversions.
Jed have arranged to play Currie on Saturday in a friendly at Riverside Park. Kick off is 3 o'clock.
Tomorrow night sees the seconds put out a strong looking team against Hawick 2nds with several 1st team regulars lining up, including Ali Campbell making a return from a groin injury. The most interesting aspect though could be the selection of Scott Laidlaw at flanker. Kick off is 7:30pm at Riverside. See the rest of the team here.
Jed suffered what on paper looks like a heavy defeat, but in reality the game was much closer. Jed started brilliantly and were 13-0 up after 15 minutes thanks to a Gary Hill try with Gary McGarva adding the conversion and 2 penalties. Hawks then got back in the game and scored a try and 2 penalties of their own and the scores were 13-13 at half time. Hawks started the second half with an unconverted try, but this was cancelled out by a Gary Armstrong try which Daniel Yuill converted. This was the end of Jed's scoring and the Hawks scored 3 more tries although the last 2 were slightly against the run of play. Jed tried hard in the last 20 minutes and had loads of pressure but the Hawks defence was superb. The Hawks were probably deserved winners and the final score was 38-20.
Jed suffered another major injury blow when Neil Cook was helped of with a bad head blow which required hospital treatment. He was later released and was last seen sporting a worse lip than Leslie Ash. Gary Armstrong went of with a dead leg but should be ok.
The Seconds were beaten 26-10 by Gala Juniors. Jed's points came from a Gary Tyson try and a Robin Laing conversion and penalty.
Clark Laidlaw is recovering from surgery to some torn cartilage in his knee and started light running last week. He will miss the Hawks game this week but he is hoping to be fit for next week. He is especially keen to get fit because he is once again training with the Scotland 7s squad, and they travel to Hong Kong for their annual showpiece tournament at the end of March. Scotland will also play the remaining tournaments of the IRB 7s series in China, Singapore, Cardiff and Twickenham.
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Alan Hotson is suffering a hamstring injury that has kept him out for the last 3 weeks, but he is also hopeful of making a return next week.
_____________________________________
Ali Campbell is also hopeful of returning next week after struggling with a groin strain. He will not be available for most of April though because of the lambing season.
_____________________________________
Mark Lee will be missing for a few more weeks because of the damage caused to his eye.
______________________________________
Steven Shaw sent me an update on his knee and these are his words.
Was at the hospital on Tuesday 11th Feb. to see the Specialist, have to go back on 24th June when he will arrange to give me 5 injections into my knee (1 each week for 5 weeks) Hopefully starting mid July, finish end August. The injections act as a lubrication to the joint and help the existing Cartilage ( well what's left anyway !!) - Don't really understand how it works.
He has also agreed to let me play for one more season but if it starts to swell or has pain / around the joint to get in touch with him. Will just have to take it as it comes.
Not intending to play much more this season but am going to start building up for next season. Hope Jed can stay up though, need a big result against Hawick, and Stirling to slip up.
_______________________________________
John Szkudro faces a long fight still to overcome his shoulder dislocation. He is set to undergo a second operation soon. Then he faces months of weights and physiotherapy to stand any chance of playing again.
Ross Ford has once again been selected for the Scotland U19 squad that will travel to France to play in the U19 fixture on Saturday 22 February in Valenciennes (kick off 3pm, French time). He is joined in the squad by Robert Haggerstone from Berwick as the only other Borderer in the squad.
Other news saw Charles Grobler fly home on Sunday to prepare for the start of the South African season.
Jed Recorded a moral boosting victory at Netherdale this afternoon beating Gala 33-17 . Jed started the game brilliantly when Amo dropped a goal from 35 yards, which was quickly followed up by a Karl McBride try, and Jed were 8-0 up after 5 minutes. This seemed to inspire Jed and Daniel Yuill and Ross Ford both scored 2 tries 1 of them converted by McGarva, and Jed were 30-0 up before Gala scored their first try. That made the half time score 30-5. Gala got back in the game in the second half, and the scored another 2 tries to a solitary Gary McGarva penalty. Making the final score 33-17 in Jed's favour.
The seconds also won but in a very scrappy fashion when they beat Linlithgow 2nds 24-15 with a scratch team thrown together on Thursday night. In what was described as a terrible game Norman Kerr, Kevin Munro and Grant sandilands scored Jed's tries with Scott MacDonald adding 2 conversions and Craig Tibbets landing a conversion and a penalty.
Jed have added Colin Stewart and Jon Steel to their squad for the up coming Integrated Trophy. They Join first choice pick Gary Armstrong and first year professionals Ross Ford and Clark Laidlaw and they look sure to add strength to our team. Colin is an especially welcome recruit as Charles Grobler is due to go home soon.
COLIN STEWART is a 23 and is a 6'7, 118kg second row and he has been a regular in the Borders team this year after moving from Glasgow in the summer. He has played for Scotland at U19 and U21 level.
JONATHAN STEEL ( Glasgow Rugby) Wing. Born 14.3.80 in Middlesbrough. 6ft, 13st 9lb. Jonathan Forbes Steel made his first appearance in the Six Nations Championship in Scotland’s September 2001 triumph against Ireland, retained his place for the international against Tonga, then returned to duty marking Jonah Lomu against New Zealand. In season 2001/2002 he was been deployed for the A team in their away win against their Italian counterparts and their loss to Wales A in Wrexham. His most recent outing for the A team – his seventh – was the 45-29 November 2002 victory over Fiji in which he scored a try. In season 2000/2001 he made his debut for Scotland in the success against the US Eagles during the Autumn Tests. While at Northampton he played for Scotland at all three age-group levels – under-18, under-19 and under-21. He qualifies for Scotland through Glasgow born father. His six under-19 internationals in season 1998-99 included the FIRA Junior World Championship win against England at Pontypridd. He also enjoyed victory against England in the third place play-off match in the 2000 Students’ Rugby World Cup in Italy. He played in the Scottish Districts under-21 team’s 14-9 win against New Zealand Youth at Jedburgh in December 1999, but he missed the two Scotland under-21 internationals in February 2000 before making his debut at that level against France. He went on to play in the u-21 internationals against Wales and England, and he also appeared in three of Scotland’s four Southern Hemisphere Alliance under-21 tournament matches in Auckland, New Zealand, in June and July 2000, scoring a try against Argentina. He left Northampton during summer 2000 to join Glasgow. He made his first appearance for Scotland A against their French counterparts in February 2001. International record: 5 caps. 2000 – USA A. 2001 – I T NZ
Mark Lee will miss most of the remaining season after undergoing a scan on his injured right eye sustained in Saturdays defeat. He has damage to the eye socket and he will miss at least 5 weeks, which virtually rules him out of the rest of the 15s season.
In other news Jed have arranged to play Gala on Saturday at Netherdale in what will be a Border League game. Kick off is 3pm.
Congratulations must go to ex Jed prop Gavin Kerr who has been selected in the final 22 Scotlands opening 6 nations game against Ireland on Feb 16th. Gavin who now plays for Leeds in the Zurich Premiership has been chosen as 1 of only 3 props so he will surely gain his first cap.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2nd; £50 Mr M. Elder
3rd; £25 Mr A. Smith
Jed were knocked out of the BT Cup at the 5th round stage yesterday loosing by 34 - 6 at Goldenacre against Heriots F.P. Jed started the game quite well despite going behind to a Heriots try and Gary McGarva kicked 2 penalties to 1 from Heriots and Jed went into half time only 8 - 6 down. The second half started well enough with Jed pressuring the Heriots line only to drop the ball in the midfield and allowed Heriots to score a runaway try. Disaster struck again straight from the restart, when Amos fumbled a pass inside his own dead ball area and Heriots pounced on the loose ball to score again. Jed also lost Mark Lee with 30 mins to go in what looked like a nasty face wound, but luckily he was given the all clear after x-rays. Calum Brown was also sin binned after becoming increasingly frustrated at the pernickety ref and this was probably the straw that broke the camels back. With the game over as a contest Heriots scored another 2 tries and were eventual 34 - 6 winners.
At the announcement of the new Integrated Trophy at Murrayfield today it was revealed that Gary Armstrong is the First Draft pick for Jed-Forest and should hopefully make his comeback against Boroughmuir on Feb 15th. The competition runs for 5 games with substantial prize money being put up for the new competition. No doubt the return of Armstrong to the Jed shirt will boost the crowds for Jed during the competition as most people didn't think they would ever see the former Jed captain return to the royal blue shirt. Jed had first choice in the draft pick from a pool of 10 pro-players who will not be playing during the 6 nations. Armstrong was the only Scotsman in the pool of 10 which included T.Vili (Peebles), T.Blackadder(Currie), T.Hayes(Aberdeen), C.Dunlea(Hawick), P.Thomson(Hawks), C.Feather(Melrose)
Jedforest also get 1st and then 11th pick from a pool of around 20 pros who will not be featuring in the 6 nations.This pool of players will be announced closer to the competition start.
After Saturdays dissappointment at Peebles when they went down 3-0 in horrendous conditions at The Gytes, Jed have a week off from league rugby when we face Heriots at Goldenacre this weekend. The draw for the 1/4 finals has already been made and the winner of our tie must fancy their chances of reaching the semi finals of the cup with a home quarter final tie against 3rd Division opposition in the shape of West of Scotland or Haddington / East Kilbride.
Jed 2nds had a narrow victory over Selkirk 2nds to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Clark Laidlaw and Charles Grobbler have both failed to overcome knee problems in time to face Peebles at The Gytes on Saturday. It would have been good to have such key members of the squad available for this relegation showdown but it is still a confident Jed side that is making the journey up to Peebles despite our dreadful away record this season. Grobbler's cry off allows Karl Mcbride to be recalled to the First XV after becoming a victim of the foreigners rule. Jed are also boosted by the return of captain Mark Lee as there is no Borders match this weekend.
Meanwhile the 2nds should see some action when they take on Selkirk, one of their closest rivals in their league at Riverside on Saturday. The 3rds however have no match again this weekend.
Jed secured a crucial victory in their fight to stay in the Premiership, the win sees us leapfrog Stirling and with Peebles 1point ahead and Currie 3pts ahead it is a huge match against our recent bogey team Peebles at The Gytes next Saturday. Jed points came through tries from Laing and Forster with Amos adding a penalty and drop goal adn McGarva weighing in with two penalties and two conversions.
Meanwhile dissappointingly both the 2nds and 3rds were left without games AGAIN, when there opponents cried off.
Just to let everyone know I have made a new page for the Leagues. There is now a link for all the relevant teams leagues.
Also please be patient if the updates are a little slow for the next fortnight. I am going on holiday tomorrow for 2 weeks and Beige is having major computer problems.
This competition will take place during the 6 nations I'm not sure of the exact setup but here is the jist of the idea copied from an article on the Scotsman website. Meanwhile, fixtures for the new tournament have been handed out to clubs and it sees each play two home and two away games, with a play-off match also guaranteed. However, the most intriguing aspect, where the professional players not involved with Scotland will be allocated is still to be decided by a sub-group involving Thorburn, the championship secretary Richard McGee, Brian Mackie, the Heriot’s president, Myles Moorhouse from Biggar and Malcolm Clark of East Kilbride. The group - which will include Todd Blackadder, Gary Armstrong, Cameron Blades and Tommy Hayes - has been swelled by the announcement that the Scottish Students team has been scrapped. The clubs are to be given one pick each, like the American sports’ draft system and not unlike the tried and trusted method of picking teams in the school playground. The order of the clubs was agreed to be taken at the halfway point of the league campaign, which means Jed-Forest, who were bottom of Division 1 after nine games, will have the first choice. They are believed, unsurprisingly, to be set to pick their former skipper Armstrong, who is currently helping out with coaching at Riverside Park. Thorburn added: "I will be sitting down with Jim Telfer in the next week or so to work out exactly how many and which players will be available for the draft, and then it will be a matter of giving the clubs their chance to pick who they want. "It is an exciting concept I think because clubs and their supporters will be pretty enthusiastic to see the likes of Gary Armstrong or Todd Blackadder turning out in their colours,
|
| Sat 15th Feb | ||
| Boroughmuir |
v |
Jed-Forest |
| Glasgow Hawks | v | Melrose |
| Hawick | v | Heriots |
| Stirling County | v | Aberdeen GSFP |
| Peebles | v | Currie |
| Sat 1st March | ||
| Currie |
v |
Boroughmuir |
| Jed-Forest | v | Glasgow Hawks |
| Melrose | v | Hawick |
| Heriots | v | Stirling County |
| Aberdeen GSFP | v | Peebles |
| Sun 9th Mar | ||
| Boroughmuir |
v |
Aberdeen GSFP |
| Glasgow Hawks | v | Currie |
| Hawick | v | Jed-Forest |
| Stirling County | v | Melrose |
| Peebles | v | Heriots |
| Sat 15th Mar | ||
| Heriots |
v |
Boroughmuir |
| Aberdeen GSFP | v | Glasgow Hawks |
| Currie | v | Hawick |
| Jed-Forest | v | Stirling County |
| Peebles | v | Melrose |
| Sun 30th Mar PLAY -OFF'S | ||
| 1ST |
v |
2ND |
| 3RD | v | 4TH |
| 5TH | v | 6TH |
| 7TH | v | 8TH |
| 9TH | v | 10TH |
Heriot’s F.P and Jed-Forest have agreed that if the pitch at Goldenacre is
unplayable due to weather conditions on Saturday 11 January, they will try to
play their match the following day, Sunday 12 January.
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With most of this weekends games off today because of the weather, at least our 2nds had a game and they made the most of it by beating Carlisle 2nds 39-12 to remain unbeaten in their pool of the Border League Cup. Karl McBride was the man on form and he scored a hat-trick of tries. Jed's other tries came from Grant Sandilands, Euan Kelly, Billy Graham and Chris Shaw with Daniel Yuill and Craig Tibbets landing a conversion each. Check out the latest standings in Jed's pool HERE.
1st £1000 No 136 Graeme Howden
2nd £250 No 23 Vince Mortimer
3rd £50 No 120 Andrew Smith
Ross Ford has been called up to the bench for the Borders for tomorrow night's game against Edinburgh. He joins Mark Lee in the squad, who keeps his place in the team at open side flanker after impressing in Tuesday's win against Glasgow. Ross will be available to start our game against Boroughmuir and Mark is allowed to cover from the bench, injury permitting obviously. See the team news page for Saturday's team.
Clark Laidlaw is recovering from a small operation on his knee and is hoping to be available for the game against Stirling County.
Mark Lee has signed a temporary contract for the Borders, to cover their back row injury crisis. He will be available for Jed when he is not required by the Borders.
Jed beat Kelso 23 - 14 at Poynder Park this afternoon, to secure our first Border League win of the season. The game got of to a frantic start, and after Kevin Amos landed an early drop goal, Kelso scored the opening try through Adam Roxburgh, Bob Hogarth converted. Jed hit straight back after the restart with Ross goodfellow going over, this was quickly followed by a great move out wide which saw Amo coming into the line to score out wide. Robin Laing then scored a try which Gary McGarva converted. This all happened in the first 20 minutes, but the heavy conditions started to take their toll and that was the score at half time. The Second half saw Kelso score the only try through Caruthers which was again converted, and they started to pile the pressure on. This was only eased when the tempers of both teams were getting a bit frayed and Jed were awarded a penalty which Amo converted to give us 9 point lead. This proved enough and Jed won 23 -14.
Ross Ford has been selected in the Scotland U19 squad to play Welsh Secondary
Schools on Saturday 21 December at Neath (kick-off 2pm)
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Tonight's game is off because of frost. It will now be played on the 28th of Dec instead of the Stew Mel friendly.
Jed have been given the very tough task of playing Heriots F.P. at Goldenacre in the 5th round of the BT Cup. Heriots beat Edinburgh Accies 50-7 in the last round and will be formidable opponents. You can find the full draw here. http://www.sru.org.uk/rugbyclub/fixtures.cfm?cfid=980852&cftoken=6939505&action=tournament&tournamentid=101
Jed secured their place in the 5th round of the cup, but not before an almighty fright. Jed lead 3-0 when Gary McGarva kicked an early penalty, but Cartha soon hit back and they lead 10-3, McGarva then added another penalty and we went in at half time 13-6 behind. The break seemed to do the trick though and Jed stepped up a gear with McGarva adding a further 4 penalties to give Jed a slender lead. Jed's worries were eased when Simon lightbody scored 2 late tries, both were converted by McGarva, to give Jed a 32-13 victory, and Jed progress into the last 16 of the Cup.
The 2nds had a wasted journey to Edinburgh when Trinity Accies 2nds failed to raise enough players, so we were awarded the 3 points.
The 3rds were beaten 36-0 by a strong Kelso 2nds. Jed's cause was not helped when Rennie pulled a hammy after 2 minutes and Betty Mac pulled both groins after 10 minutes, mind you he did make it to half time, but at the time of writing he was last seen crawling up the stairs to his flat. Graeme McIlroy also had to leave the pitch to get a face wound stitched up.
Saturday will see Calum (Beige) Brown play his 200th game for Jed 1st's. He moved down to Riverside in 1988 after Captaining JedThistle and gaining representative honors for Scotland U18s. He made his debut in 1989, but had to bide his time for a regular starting place behind Jimmy Raeburn and Kevin Barrie. After gaining a regular place he went on to captain the team from 1997-1999, and led them to triumph in the BT Cellnet Shield in 1999.
In what is becoming an alarming trend Jed suffered another Second half collapse. Jed started brilliantly and were 7-0 up after Amo put Gary McGarva in for a try after 5 minutes, which he converted. The lead was short lived though and Melrose Equalised straight away. Melrose scored another unconverted try and McGarva kicked a penalty. Jed then went in front through a Davie Forster try, converted by McGarva. Melrose then scored another converted try but Amo landed a drop goal and Jed lead 20-19 at half time.
This was the last of Jeds scores and they weren't helped when Hendy and big Charlie got sin binned mid way through the second half, and another managerial cock up when Paul Pringle had been named as sub when he had stated that he was unavailable, so Jed went across with only 3 subs (2 props and a back) and Jed were made to pay when Davie Forster was forced off with a Knee injury and he was replaced by a Prop (Ali Campbell). Melrose went on to score another 3 tries, 2 of which were converted, and a penalty. This result leaves us in deep trouble and maybe the distractions of the Cup next week will help.
The 2nds kept up their unbeaten run in the league by beating Livingstone 2nds 24-18 in what was described as a shambles of a game. Ross MacDonald has once again injured his ankle, which was dislocated twice last year.
The 3rds had a great win beating Hawick Lindeen (who included a few Hawick 2nds in their team) 17-15. Jeds try scorers were Steven Hume (yes Zum), Bryson Middleton and Michael Graham converted by Nod Kerr.
For various reasons, Keith Sudlow, the clubs head coach has taken a step back from coaching duties. Alan Goodfellow has once again assumed overall responsibility supported by Davie Grant who remains principle backs coach. They have enlisted the help of professional players Clark Laidlaw, Gary Armstrong and others. Keith remains as part of the coaching staff specializing in fitness and nutrition.
Obviously this is a crucial time of the season for the club and it should be stressed that everyone at Riverside is pulling in the same direction. The clubs management asks supporters to give the team and coaching staff their full support and encouragement.
Gordon R Hume, Club President.
1st; £100 Mrs P. Scott
2nd; £50 Mr J. Laidlaw
3rd; £25 Mr C. Laidlaw
Jed suffered another heavy defeat, losing 40-18 at Aberdeen. Aberdeen were 18-0 up before Jed got into their stride and went into half time 28-8 up. Jed's points coming from a Ross Goody try and McGarva penalty. Jed played a lot better in the second half and scored another try through Daniel Yuill, Gary McGarva added the conversion and a further penalty. Jed were right back in the game piling the pressure on the Aberdeen line, when Aberdeen broke away and scored a devastating try. This was game over and Aberdeen added another try to leave Jed at the foot of the table and once again in trouble.
The seconds fared a lot better and slaughtered Howe of Fife 2nds 85-0. Jed scored 13 tries in all with Robin Laing getting 4, he also kicked 10 conversions. Jed's other try scorers were Scott MacDonald (3), Paul Cranston (2), G.Tyson, K. Munro, S. Laidlaw, and P. Pringle.
The 3rds lost their friendly against Berwick 2nds 22-7, Jed's points came from a Nod Kerr try converted by Craig Thompson.
Jed were beaten 23-19 yesterday by a very decent Heriots team at Riverside yesterday. Jed started well with Amo kicking 2 penalties. Heriots then stepped up a gear and took advantage of their superiority in the lineout to score 2 driving tries. Amo Added another penalty and that left us trailing 10-9 at half time. Amo kicked another penalty just after half time but that was the last time we were in the lead and Heriots kicked a penalty. Heriots then scored the killer try when a hacked through ball was fumbled by Yuill and Heriots pounced on the loose ball under the posts. Heriots added another penalty before Jed scored their only try of the afternoon with Calum (beige) Brown sprinting over from fully 4 yards. Although Jed played well we did contribute to our own downfall with the lineouts being a particular concern, and in truth Heriots were probably the better team.
Saturday sees the return of Clark Laidlaw to the team for the first time this year after turning pro in the summer, and also marks the debut of our new import Charles Grobler. Other changes are the return of Gary Hill, Alan Hotson and Ali Campbell from injury, and Scott Laidlaw returns to the squad after being unavailable last week. James Henderson is unavailable due to work commitments. Steven Shaw is also off after being told his playing days could be over. He has no cartilage left and his Cruciate ligament is also damaged. He goes back soon for a series of injections, so we wish him Luck. See the whole team on the team news page.
Jed traveled up to Edinburgh devastated by Injuries and call offs and were made to pay a heavy price. Jed were without 6 first team regulars and at least four others were carrying injuries and were totally outclassed in a comprehensive 44-5 defeat. Jed's only points came from a very late Kevin Amos try. We all hope for great improvements next week and there should be a few of the injured boys back and there should be a big crowd so maybe the cop will do their stuff and inspire the team to greater heights.
The Seconds beat Perthshire 2nds 37 - 5 this afternoon and kept up their unbeaten league record. I'm sorry but I don't know all the scorers (maybe someone could post them on the forum) but there was plenty of good points about today's game. Gary Hill played his first game for a few weeks and scored a try in a solid performance. Jarrod Ward also Played the first hour and showed up well before being subbed because he was called up to the bench for tomorrows game at Currie. Charles Grobler made his debut after coming on as a second half sub. He showed a few good touches but struggled a bit with the cold weather, god knows what he will be like when it does get cold.
Jed are delighted to announce the signing of 24 year old Charles Grobler from South Africa. Charles arrived this morning after completing his commitments to Griffins, who he played for in this years Currie Cup. Charles also played for Montreseau in France earlier this year. Charles is 6ft 5" and about 16st 5lbs and plays in the second row. He hopes to play part of the game for the seconds tomorrow and he will be available for the 1st's from next week.
Jed have been rocked by the news that Steven Shaw will go under the knife this afternoon for an exploratory operation on his knee. The knee has been operated on in the past, and when Steven went back to see his specialist they decided to have another look. This is hard luck for Steven as he had just forced his way into the team after some fine displays from the bench and for the 2nds. I will have more news later in the week. On a happier note both Gary Hill and Jarrod ward could be available for selection. Look out for the team news on Thursday night on the Team news page.
Jed 2nds completed a good weekend for the club by beating Kelso 2nds 19-0. Jed scored 3 tries with Tom Elliot, Paul Pringle and Tattie Shaw all crossing the line. Kevin Amos kicked 2 conversions after answering a late s-o-s when Craig Thompson pulled out this morning.
Jed recorded a crucial 19-15 win over Glasgow Hawks tonight at Riverside to move away from the bottom of the league. Jed started the game well and went into the lead after a McGarva penalty, but the Hawks replied in kind. McGarva added another penalty then kicked a good drop goal. 2 more penalties were shared and Jed went into half time 12-6 in front, although Jed did squander 2 fantastic chances just before the break. Jed started the second half as they had ended the first and Karl McBride scored a try in the corner after a great kick through by McGarva, who also produced a great kick to add the conversion. This was the end of Jed's scoring though, and injuries to Calum Brown, Ross Ford and James Hendeson started to take their toll. The Hawks Kicked 3 penalties and Jed had a real struggle to hang on for the last 10 minutes. Luckily their defence held up and we secured the 4 points.
Everyone at Riverside wishes to pass on their condolences to the family of former Jed captain (1962-1963) Bill Dodds, who passed away on Sunday at the Roxburghe golf course doing what he loved doing best.
Jed face a trip to Glasgow to play Cartha Queens Park in the 4th round of the BT Cup. Cartha are currently in 4th place in National League Division 1, and beat former giants Dundee 13-10 in the last round. The game is certainly going to be a tougher a challenge than the last round, but we could have been a lot worse off. All 4th round games are to be played on the 14th of December.
Jed recorded their highest ever victory today, beating Gordonians 106-5 at Riverside. Jed scored an amazing 16 tries with Gary McGarva kicking 13 conversions. Jed had built a 52-0 lead by half time and then had the luxury to rest a few of our senior players with Paul Pringle, Chris Shaw and Ross MacDonald all coming into the forwards replacing Pym, Mark Lee and Hotson. Further good news saw Amo come on for the last few minutes after recovering from his calf strain to replace Tyson. Jed's try scorers were Steven Shaw (4 who carried on his fine form from last week) Yuill 3, McBride 2, Graham, Hotson, Greive, Goodfellow, Pringle, Laidlaw, and Tyson. There won't be a match report this week because the game really was a cake walk.
Just to let you all know that all the pages on the site are now full. The History page has at last been started, I hope some of you find it interesting. Harry Hogg has also been busy, and he has produced some excellent stuff for the Mini Rugby page.
Mark Lee and Simon Lightbody have been picked for the Borders back up squad to play a Scottish Districts U21 squad at Riverside tonight. They join our 2 pro's Clark Laidlaw and Ross ford. The team will be announced just before kick off due to a couple of late fitness tests. Kick-off is 7.30 and entrance is £2 for adults and free for children, and Tony Walker will captain the side.
The 2nds game was called off on Friday night due to a waterlogged pitch.
__________________________________________________________________________
Jed suffered a shocking 43 - 10 defeat at the hands of Stirling County at Bridgehaugh. The game got off to a bad start with Stirling scoring a converted try within the first 10 minutes, and it just got worse from there. The next blow came when Calum Brown went over on an ankle and had to be replaced by Ali Campbell. Stirling scored 2 more converted tries to a solitary Gary McGarva penalty. This meant Stirling went into half time 21- 3 and they never looked back Jed did manage a consolation try by Mark Lee near the end but it was all to late. This result sucks us right back into the relegation zone and makes next weeks home game against bottom placed Peebles even more important.
The seconds scored a massive 86 - 12 win over Linlithgow 2nds, with Steven Shaw scoring 6 tries. Things were not so easy for Lids though. He thought he had a clear run in from half way, but had not reconed on the pitch turning into custard or the Full Back having time to turn and still catch him. Never mind Lids at least the game was safe by then.
Jed have been given a home tie against National League Division 2 side Gordonians. Although they are currently propping up their division I'm sure Suds and Davie will have the boys fully fired up. The smaller Border clubs have not fared to well in the draw with Langholm facing the long Journey up North to play Aberdeen and St Boswells playing hosts to Currie. You can find the whole draw here. http://www.sru.org.uk/rugbyclub/fixtures.cfm?cfid=442942&cftoken=95070391&action=tournament&tournamentid=70
Saturday will mark Amo's 300th Game for the 1st's, in what has been a fine record of consistency over a good many years. Let's all hope he can keep up his great scoring run, after scoring all our points last week.
Other news sees Mike Dungait move on again, after getting frustrated at a lack of a first team place, he has sighed for Blaydon. Finally Clark Laidlaw gets his first competitive start for the Borders in Madrid on Saturday, He starts at inside centre.
1st £100 Mrs E. Cook
2nd £50 Mr N. Kerr
3rd £25 Mr S. Shaw
Jed's teams had mixed results today with only the seconds winning, they beat Grangemouth 2nds 35 - 3.
The 1st's however suffered an agonizing defeat at Hawick eventually going down 29 - 21. Hawick struck first through a Bruce try after Amo had missed an early drop goal and penalty, Hawick also added a penalty. Jed struck back with a Amo converted by himself. Hawick stretched their lead through a Jamie Cargil try and 2 Stenhouse penalties, before Amo landed 2 late 1st half penalties of his own to leave Jed chasing a 19 - 13 lead at half time. Jed started the second half brilliantly with Amo crossing for a great try, he missed the kick though. Stenhouse then added a further penalty, then Gavin Douglas scored a great try with Stenny converting to leave Hawick safe. Amo kicked a penalty with a couple of minutes to go, then with the last Kick of the game with Jed looking to salvage a bonus point Amo went for a penalty only for it to bounce agonizingly off the post. The final score was 29 - 21 in Hawick's favour. As you may have noticed Amo scored all Jed's points.
The 3rds suffered a 35 -17 defeat at home to Carlisle 2nds.
A number of Jed players featured in the Borders Development Side's win against Sannix by 55-19 at Poynder Park on Wednesday night. Clark Laidlaw, Mark Lee and Simon Lightbody were in the starting line up while Alan Hotson was on the bench, Gary Hill was also supposed to be on the bench but withdrew with a hamstring problem which also has him doubtful for Saturday. Mark scored a try while Clark added 3 conversions before being substituted at half time. Strangely with 11 subs being used and with 6 full time pro's in the squad that the two Jed club players in the starting line up were asked to play the full game... perhaps not so surprising when one of the coaches of the side is Hawick coach Greig Oliver, not so surprising then was that all the Hawick men just played part of the match.
Also in action were the Borders U-19 side which featured Ross Ford and Gavin Tyson, with Paul Hill among the substitutes for their game against Caledonia U-19. They were beaten 24-19 with Ross Ford playing at No 8 scoring the only Borders try.
Meanwhile back at Jed this week sees us field three teams for the first time this season which is good to see, but if there are any other players out there who would like a game on a Saturday please get down to training especially if you play in the backs. Anyway good luck to all the teams on Saturday and lets hope they all keep winning.
|
PLAYERS DAY PLAYERS' DAY ON SUNDAY 6TH OCTOBER starting at 10am at Riverside for Bacon Butties+Beer Bus to Kelso Races and then Who Knows?? Stick your name on the list in the Changing Rooms ASAP |
Jed 2nds game against Livingston 2nds was cried off as Livingston were unable to field a front row. Therefore a couple of the 2nds backs were included in the 3rds for the trip to Gala YM as there is a real shortage of backs in the junior ranks at the moment. The Jed boys continued their fine start to the Border Junior league by beating the YM at Netherdale by 30-6 and emulating the first team by gaining a bonus point. Try scorers for Jed were Grant Sandilands, Bryson Middleton, Ewan Kelly (playing on the wing) and Nod Laing who also added a drop goal, penalty and 2 conversions for a full house, but apparently gave away the 6 points to the YM with too much yipping to the Ref. The mighty Eethie revelled in taking on former Scotland player Derek "Stix" Turnbull and almost capped a fine day with a try only to be stopped just short and get a rather nasty champing on his ba's instead.
Mark Lee and Simon Lightbody are in action for the Borders back-up squad down at Kelso tomorrow night against Japanese side Sanix. Clark Laidlaw is also in the side but Ross Ford is in action with the Borders U 19 side. Hopefully everyone will be back in one piece for Saturdays game with defending champions Hawick.
Jed continue to make steady progress, improving in every game they play. The score-line 23-13 suggests a tight game but the try count of 4 - 1 in Jed's favour tells the real story. The bonus point win was secured through tries from Forster, Laidlaw, Ford and Goodfellow with Amos adding a penalty. Jarrod Ward pulled out before the match but replacement James Henderson proved an able deputy. The sponsors Man of the Match went to deservedly to Davie Forster.
__________________________________________________________________
Jed recorded another valuable win this afternoon beating Aberdeen 20 - 18 at Riverside. Jed led 8 - 3 at half time and eventually outscored their opponents 3 tries to 2 with Mark Lee scoring a brace and Daniel Yuill earning the right to buy the boys a jug after scoring his first try for Jed. Amo converted 1 of the tries and added a penalty. Jed's only injury worries were Jarrod Ward with a knee problem and Calum Brown with ankle damage (surprise, surprise) but I don't think either is too serious.
The Seconds scored a resounding 71 - 14 victory over Howe of Fife 2nds.
David (Jeeves) Grieve returned to Jed training looking well looked after this week after spending the summer playing rugby in New Zealand. He makes his first start of the season for the seconds on Saturday at Howe of Fife and gives Jed new options in the front row. Now we just need some second rows and a few backs to make the squad complete. Check the Team News page to see what I mean.
Jed lost 36 - 13 to Heriots at Goldenacre today. Kevin Amos scored all Jed's points with a Try, a Conversion, and 2 penalties. It was not all doom and gloom though, Jed's new prop Jarrod Ward looked pretty good before tiring and being replaced in the second half. Jed's nearest rivals also suffered defeats so there is still plenty to look forward to. Keep up to date with all the latest scores and league positions on the league page.
The thirds scored a good win this afternoon beating Hawick Trades 26 - 3. A special message must go to Duncan Hemming who answered an S.O.S for backs last night. Duncan is only here on a few days holiday after finishing his contract in Hong Kong, before moving back to Morocco to run the Mainetti factory there. Just goes to show there is hope for us all.
Saturdays game at Heriots will see the Debut of ex Kelso man Ross Ford. Ross comes to Jed because the professional players have to be affiliated to a Premier Division 1 club. Jarrod Ward also makes his debut after impressing in last weeks seconds victory. Check the full team sheet on the team news page.
Jed secured their first win of the season by beating Currie 16 - 12 at Riverside this afternoon. Jed went into half time 6 - 3 up after 2 Amos penalties, and scored the only try of the game through Ross Goodfellow, Amo converted then kicked another penalty. All Currie's points came from the boot of Duncan.
The win came at a cost though with Alen Dunnet having to be replaced after half an hour with a broken hand, which leaves us desperately short of cover in the second row.
The seconds had a good win beating Stew-Mel 18-11 with Nod Laing kicking 6 penalties. New prop Jarrod Ward getting half a game.
Jed will boost their squad this weekend with the arrival of 2 New Zealanders. They are 21 year old Karl McBride a 6ft 1" Full Back/ Winger/Centre. He comes from the Woodend Rugby club, who have supplied us with Trevor Brown and Tony Loffhagen in the past. Karl has represented North Canterbury at all age groups, including the senior team this year.
Jarrod Ward will also arrive on Saturday. Jarrod is the younger brother of Dave Ward who had 2 successful seasons with us. He is a Prop/Hooker and comes highly regarded. I will find out more about him soon.
The club is also in negotiations to try and bring in a second row player after the injury to John Szkudro, who sees a specialist this week for further investigation on his shoulder injury. Remember to check the Team News page for this weekends teams and news.
Jed lost 42 - 11 to Glasgow Hawks after collapsing in the last 10 minutes. Jed had held their own through out the game leading 11-10 for most of it, after a Gary McGarva penalty and an Alan Hotson try. They then suffered a huge blow with McGarva being carried off with a shocking head injury. Kevin Amos landed a penalty after taking over the kicking duties. Jed also lost Neil Cook with a broken nose and had James Henderson sin binned which all contributed to their collapse.
Gary Mcgarva was taken to hospital after his injury with a bad head cut and being unconscious for 5 minutes. There doesn't seem to be anything to serious but he is being kept in overnight for observations.
The Seconds beat Hawick Trades 24-0 this afternoon.
1st £200 R. Laidlaw
2nd £50 L. Armstrong
3rd £25 Mrs E. Davidson
Jed received a £6154 cash bonus this week from the SRU for the development of Clark Laidlaw prior to his signing for the new Borders team. The payment – a maximum figure of £10,000 per player – is part of the SRU’s enhanced player reward scheme and delivers on a pledge the Union made a year ago.
SRU Chief Executive Bill Watson said: “This payment is recognition of the many hours of dedicated service to the game at rugby clubs and schools around the country, service that not only produces talented rugby players but also allows many thousands of young people the opportunity to enjoy rugby.”
A formula is drawn up to reflect the involvement of clubs and schools in a player’s development. Only the domestic (Scottish) nurturing is eligible for a share of the maximum amount.
Every part of Clark's development has been recognized with The Mini Rugby, Howdenburn Primary School. Jed Grammar School and Jed Thistle all getting a slice of the £10,000.
The list of payments are. Jed-Forest (mini-rugby) - £879; Howdenburn Primary School - £352; Jedburgh Grammar School - £747; Jed Thistle - £1868; Jed-Forest RFC - £6154
The Mini-Rugby also received £658 s part of Hawick's Stephen Cranston's payment.
Jed reached the semi final of Selkirk sevens on Saturday and lost to eventual winners Rotherham. This gives Jed a great lead in the Kings of the Sevens, Check the sevens page for full results and an up to date table.
We have added a separate page for team news, you will find both 1st and 2nd team squads on that page for the weekends games.
Jed suffered a huge setback only 1 week before the league campaign begins with John Szkudro dislocating his shoulder whilst scoring a try against Peebles. It is unclear yet how long our influential lineout jumper will be out for after he was taken to hospital after some unsuccessful attempts to put his shoulder back into place.
Jed had started the day brightly enough against Selkirk when they came to life in the second half to score tries through Gary Hill , Gary McGarva and Calum Brown rounded of the scoring with a well taken "Tam Haney" style try. McGarva slotted two conversions and an early penalty.
Jed made wholesale changes for their next match, including a first run out for new Kiwi stand off, Daniel Yuill against Gala. However Jed struggled to make any impression for most of the match until a late try from Gary Hill after some sustained pressure on the Gala line reduced the score to 7-14 after Gala scored an early try and three penalties.
Jed still had a chance to progress to the final if they could score more tries than Peebles in their last group match. Things started well with Jed well in control when James Henderson finished of a burst from the Jed pack, however Jed couldn't add to their lead and lost a fairly soft try on the stroke of half time to make it 7-7. Jed again started brightly in the second half with the forwards combining well to set up a scoring opportunity from a close range line out. John Szkudro secured the possession as he had done all day and after the initial drive was halted Szkudro was on hand to finish the rolling maul. Unfortunately this could be the last action from Szkudro for quite some time. Jed were unable to hold onto the lead as Peebles managed to score two breakaway tries for a 19-14 win which put them into the final against defending champions Hawick.
Best players for Jed were possibly the two Shaws, Steven Shaw produced some bullocking runs while Chris Shaw had a fine scrummaging day at tighthead and showed up well in the loose on occasions. John Szkudro and Gary Mcgarva had also been showing up well.
Jed-Forest have been allocated last years captain Clark Laidlaw and former Kelso flanker Ross Ford. Both will be available for the league campaign if they are not involved with the Borders squad during the weekend. Further details can be found at the following SRU news page.
22nd Aug Draw for Hawick Millennium Cup
Jed bid to go one better than last years 2nd place at the Millennium Cup at Hawick on Saturday. The four teams in each pool play each other in two 15 minute halves with the winners in each pool meeting in the final. The first tie is 1pm. The draw is.
Pool A. Hawick, Kelso, Langholm, Melrose
Pool B. Jed-Forest, Gala, Peebles, Selkirk
22nd Aug Jed Draw with Selkirk
Jed started their Border League campaign with a disappointing 22-22 draw at Riverside on Wednesday night. Jed led 16-8 at half time thanks to a John Szkudro try converted by Gary McGarva, and 2 McGarva penalties, Gary Hill also landed a drop goal. Selkirk's points came from a Michael Jaffray try and a Guy Blair penalty. Selkirk scored a try early on in the second half through P. Lyons, then Blair added a penalty to make it 16-16. Jed's cause was not helped by Ali Campbell being sin binned for a needless trip 15 minutes from time with Blair slotting the resulting penalty. 2 McGarva penalties and 1 more for Blair set up an exciting last 5 minutes. Kevin Amos try as he may, but he could not land one of his 3 drop goal attempts in the dying seconds and the game ended 22-22.
Jed's team.
| 15. K. Amos | 8. D. Forster |
| 14. S. Lightbody | 7. M. Lee |
| 13. S. Laidlaw | 6. A. Hotson |
| 12. G. Hill | 5. J. Szkudro |
| 11. S. MacDonald | 4. N. Cook |
| 10. G. McGarva | 3. A. Campbell |
| 9. M. Dungait | 2. J. Henderson |
| 1. B. McDonnell | |
| Subs : | |
| M. Brown | C. Shaw |
| R. Goodfellow | A. Dunnet |
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19th Aug Jed Sign new Stand Off
Jed have signed 26 years old Stand-off Daniel Yuill for the up coming season. Daniel comes highly rated having played for Bay of Plenty U19s and Waikato U19s and he currently boasts an 80-85% goal kicking average. He has a Degree from Waikato University and is also the Bay of Plenty Tennis champion. Daniel arrives in Jedburgh on Thursday.
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19th Aug Jed face tough draw at Selkirk
Jed face a hard task defending their lead in the Kings of the Sevens race on Sunday after today's draw for Selkirk Sevens. They play surprise Jed Sevens finalists Murrayfield Wanderers in the first round only to set up a potentially tougher game against the Scottish Thistles next. The full draw is follows with the first tie kicking off at 1:30pm
Royal Scots v Berwick
Kelso v Annan
Peebles v Gala
Hawick v Selkirk
Watsonians v Melrose
Rotherham v Langholm
Scottish Thistles v Ayr
Jed v Murrayfield Wands.
Jed won Kelso sevens yesterday beating Selkirk 17 - 14 in a great final. Trailing 14 - 12 with seconds to go Ross Goodfellow forced his opposite scrum half to fumble the ball over his own line from a scrum, and he managed to beat the Selkirk defence to the ball. This was a fitting end to the tournament for Ross as he had produced some brilliant defensive work all afternoon and probably emerged as Jed's best player on the day. Grangemouth coached by ex Jed stalwart Brian Hughes must feel themselves unlucky. They were leading Selkirk 17 - 12 with 3 minutes to go and had to try and hold on with 6 men, because they had used all their subs then they had a player injured. Therefore they were not allowed to bring any of their subbed players back on and they failed to hold on with Selkirk scoring under the posts to take the tie.
Jed's winning squad: David Forster, Scott Laidlaw, John Szkudro, Gary Jackson, Ross Goodfellow, Kevin Amos, Gary Hill, Simon Lightbody, Robin Laing, Scott MacDonald,
Jed beat Berwick 38 - 5 in what was supposed to be their first Border League game. Unfortunately due to the SRU ruling that there was to be no competitive rugby before the 17th of August the game had to be classed as a friendly.
With the new season about to get underway on Saturday, here is a brief summary on what has been taking place over the summer months.
New President: Former player and selector Gordon Hume takes over from Ian Tunnah who has completed his term in office which has seen the club relegated and then bounce straight back up, win the Kings of the Sevens series and tour Benidorm where they won the sevens. Taking over as Vice-President is current kit man Jock Ormiston.
New Coach: Former Hawick player Davie Grant takes over as backs coach from Donald Miller. Davie has been working with Hawick 2nds and some of the District age group sides and is looking forward to taking up the challenge of coaching a Premiership side. Keith Sudlow is the Head coach who will work along with Alan Goodfellow the Director of Rugby at Riverside.
New Captain: Mark Lee takes over as captain from Clark Laidlaw who has been signed by the Borders team. Clark will be unavailable during the league campaign but be available for the new competition starting in January hopefully along with another former Jed captain, a certain Gary Armstrong. Mark is no newcomer to captaincy having been captain of the Scottish sevens squad last season and at the recent Commonwealth Games. His vice captain will be Gary Hill, recently returned from a spell playing rugby in Melbourne, he will be hoping for a return to form and an injury free season after missing the whole of last season following a back problem.
New Players:
|
IN |
OUT |
| Gary McGarva (St Boswells) | Johnny Bradburn (Melrose) |
| Mike Dungait (Melrose) | Tony Earl (returned to NZ) |
| Alan Dunnet (Retirement) | Jason Davies (returned to NZ) |
| Clark Laidlaw (Borders) | |
| David Grieve (playing in NZ) | |
| Jamie McCraw (playing in Oz) |
It is not yet clear if last years successful imports Mark Fitzgerald and Jason Gill are returning but there are negotiations with other players currently going on and we hope to make an announcement soon.
Rugby League Honours: Congratulations to Nod Laing our reserve scrum half who has been representing both the Scottish Students and the Scottish Amateur Rugby League sides in competitions over the summer.
Jed were competing in the tug of war yesterday at Kelso show , after once again emerging from their group undefeated the Jed side faced defending champions Peebles in the Final. Despite a valiant effort the ageing Jed side could not quite get the better of their opponents and were beaten 3-1 in the final. The Jed side was Lids, Howler, Tommy Heard, Humey, Bryson, Davie Forster, Murray Brown, Beige and Cooky came on as sub for the injured Tommy Heard in the final.
Congratulations to Mark Lee who has been appointed captain of the Scotland squad for the Commonwealth games 7s tournament. Also included in the squad is former Jed captain Clark Laidlaw.
1st £100 Mrs E. Raeburn
2nd £50 Mrs C. Mason
3rd £25 Mr J. Moody
Jed lost 29-5 to the eventual champions Royal Scots in the first round of Gala Sevens, leaving them in 4th place ion the Kings of the Sevens tournament and £800 better off. The top four are.
Melrose (54pts) £4000
Kelso (46pts) £2000
Peebles (39pts) £1200
Jed-Forest (38pts) £800
For a full Table and results see the sevens page.
Watsonians Won the Jed-forest tournament for the first time in 39 years beating Murrayfield Wanderers 53-7 in the final, in front of a huge sun baked crowd. They also beat Jed 21-14 in the semi-final and in a big shock demolished Melrose 35-7 in the first round. The other big shock of the day came in the second semi-final when Murrayfield Wanderers beat Jed sevens specialists Kelso 19-14. Jed beat Kirkaldy 36-14 in the first round, then Gala 28-23 after extra time before losing out to Watsonians.
The last tournament of the season comes next week at gala where Melrose just need to win one game to clinch the Kings of the sevens title. The draw follows.
| BIGGAR | V | KIRKCALDY |
| MELROSE | V | PEEBLES |
| WATSONIANS | V | SELKIRK |
| JED-FOREST | V | ROYAL SCOTS |
| HAWICK | V | BERWICK |
| GALA | V | AYR |
| WEST OF SCOTLAND | V | LANGHOLM |
|
KELSO |
V | GLASGOW HAWKS |
Clark laidlaw is once again absent, and has probably played his last game for Jed-Forest before turning professional. He had a successful operation to clear some loose cartilage from his knee on Wednesday, therefore ruling him out of the remaining Sevens tournaments. The squad sees 2 changes from last weekend with John Szkudro replacing Euan Kelly and Garry Goodfellow Replacing broken hand victim Simon Lightbody. The full squad is.
David Forster, Scott Laidlaw, Alan Hotson, John Szkudro, Ross Goodfellow, Kevin Amos, Mark Lee, Roy Mcfarlane, Scott MacDonald, Garry Goodfellow.
The Scottish Borders clinched the Inter District Championship on Wednesday with a 38-29 victory over Caledonia Reds at Cupar.
1st £1000 W. Redpath
2nd £250 H. Clarkson
3rd £50 Miss. Douglas
Jed lost 35-26 to an impressive Melrose in the final. Melrose led 35-0 at half time but a late Jed rally with tries from Mark Lee, David Foster, Kevin Amos and Scott Macdonald was never going to be enough. Earlier in the day Jed beat St Boswells 26-0 in the first round, then Selkirk 26-15, and then Kelso 24-21 in a closer game in the Semi-Final.
Melrose can clinch the Kings of the Sevens title at Riverside this week. The draw is as follows.
| GLASGOW HAWKS | V | GALA |
| JED-FOREST | V | KIRKALDY |
| BERWICK | V | LANGHOLM |
| MELROSE | V | WATSONIANS |
| MURRAYFIELD WAN'S | V | SELKIRK |
| PEEBLES | V | WEST OF SCOTLAND |
| STEW-MEL | V | HAWICK |
|
KELSO |
V | EDINBURGH ACCIES |
Jed were beaten 36-19 by eventual winners Melrose in the semi-final of Langholm Sevens, They earlier beat Glasgow Hawks 27-12 in the first round and then Peebles 29-12 in the second round. Melrose went on to beat Watsonians 33-19 in the final, and this result gives them a 10 point lead at the top of the Kings of the Sevens table. For full results check the Sevens page.
The Borders kept their unbeaten record in the inter district championship with a narrow victory 23-22 against Glasgow on Wednesday night. They can win the title next week when they travel to play Caledonia on Wednesday.
It was confirmed today that Clark Laidlaw has signed a professional contract to join the new Borders team for next season. He is joined in the squad by fellow borderers Scott McCloud, Nicky Walker, Steven Cranston, Craig Dunlea (all Hawick), Ross Ford (kelso), Scott Paterson and Tony Walker (both Gala). They will Join up with the already confirmed trio Gary Armstrong, Doddie Weir and George Graham along with returning Edinburgh players Steve Scott, Kevin Utterson, Cammy Murray and Ian Fairley.
Chico woods was also confirmed as assistant to manager Alastair Cranston. This will be a full time job with Chico helping to take care of the kit as well as taking care of the players aches and pains with massages.
Good luck to Simon Lightbody and Mark Lee who are included in the Scottish Borders side to face Glasgow at Dalziel Park tonight , James Henderson is also listed amongst the replacements.
|
KELSO |
V | GLASGOW HAWKS |
| ROYAL SCOTS | V | LANGHOLM |
| JED-FOREST | V | ST BOSWELLS |
| SELKIRK | V | DUNS |
| MELROSE | V | STEW-MEL |
| HAWICK | V | WATSONIANS |
| GALA | V | WEST OF SCOTLAND |
|
PEEBLES |
V | EARLSTON |
Scotland won the bowl competition of the Malaysia Sevens beating Korea 41-12 in the final. Earlier in the day they beat Malaysia 33-5 and then defeated Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) by 14-7 in a close match. New Zealand won the main tournament to guarantee first place in the overall competition for this season. The next leg takes place at Twickenham on May 24-25.
Several Jed players were in action for the Scottish Borders this week in their 60-0 hammering of Edinburgh. Simon Lightbody scored twice and John Szkudro also scored, James Henderson came on as a sub. The Borderers are top of the league with 2 wins from 2 they play Glasgow next.
Simon Lightbody was also in double try scoring form for the Scottish Borders
Development team who beat their Edinburgh counterparts 62-14, James Henderson
also played and Alasdair Campbell came on as a sub.
Jed produced some brilliant rugby to win the Hawick Sevens Tournament and therefore move right back into contention for the Kings of the Sevens chase. Jed beat Gala in the first round then Glasgow Hawks, and in their best display of the day they beat the Melrose champions Boroughmuir before holding on to beat Peebles 26-24 in the final. Jed were boosted by the return of Mark Lee who had to return from Singapore to sit exams. A special mention must go to the new boys in the squad Scot McDonald and especially Ewan Kelly who played every game. The show rolls on to Langholm and Earlston next week and Jed will be further boosted by the return of Clark Laidlaw and Alan Hotson from International duty. Remember to check the Sevens page for the latest standings on the Kings o the Sevens. The draw for Langholm follows.
|
ROYAL SCOTS |
V | KIRKALDY |
| MELROSE | V | ANNAN |
| GLASGOW HAWKS | V | JED-FOREST |
| PEEBLES | V | HAWICK |
| BIGGAR | V | SELKIRK |
| KELSO | V | BERWICK |
| WATSONIANS | V | LANGHOLM |
|
GALA |
V | WEST OF SCOTLAND |
Scotland failed to qualify for the quarter finals in Malaysia, Losing 24-0 to Fiji, drawing 12-12 with Samoa and beating Singapore 33-0. This left them in third place, just missing out to Samoa for a place in the Quarter finals. Scotland will play Malaysia in the Quarter final of the Bowl competition. Further news will follow tomorrow.
John Szkudro was named as player of the year at the Jed-Forest dinner on Friday night. This is just reward for some fine displays, particularly in the second half of the season. Ross Goodfellow was also rewarded for a fine season by being named young player of the year.
A great night was had by all, with 140 people going to Riverside. The speakers were ex Hawick player, and now referee John Hogg, ex Heriots and Scotland Hooker Kenny Milne and Ex Melrose and Scotland Winger Keith Robertson.
Jed sent a weakened squad to Peebles, due to call ups for the Scotland sevens squad and lost 31-5 to Melrose. Peebles went on to win their own tournament for the second year running.
Jed were handed another nightmare draw for the Hawick tournament, being paired with Gala in the first round. Jed will still be without Clark Laidlaw, Alan Hotson and Mark Lee who will be in Malaysia for the next round of the IRB Sevens. The tournament looks very open on paper with no one really standing out this year yet, so the Kings of the Sevens should go all the way to the wire. The full draw is as follows.
| KELSO | V | ROYAL SCOTS |
| KIRKALDY | V | BOROUGMUIR |
| GALA | V | JED-FOREST |
| WEST OF SCOTLAND | V | HAWICK |
| STIRLING COUNTY | V | GLASGOW HAWKS |
| WATSONIANS | V | BERWICK |
| HERIOTS | V | PEEBLES |
|
SELKIRK |
V | MELROSE |
Scotland were beaten by Argentina 31-7 in the quarter final of the Singapore sevens tournament. Loosing in the quarter final gave the Scots second chance with a place in the plate semi final but they were beaten 29-12. New Zealand won the tournament, Fiji won the Plate and Wales won the Bowl. For the full story click here http://www.sru.org.uk/international/Scotland-7/news.cfm?CFID=928785&CFTOKEN=48673997&fuseaction=newsstory&newsid=1984
Jed lost a pulsating tie against Borougmuir, going down 17 - 14. Jed had opened up a 14 - 0 lead inside the first 4 mins, but Borougmuir fought back to 14 -12 and eventually capitalized on a scrappy Jed line out to score with the last move of the game.
Jed's attempt to win the Melrose tournament was not helped when Alan Hotson decided to rest himself for the upcoming trip with the Scottish sevens squad for the trip to Singapore and Kuala Lumpar for the next 2 rounds of the World Series Sevens. Alan is joined in the squad by Clark Laidlaw and Mark Lee.
Jed have a very tough draw for Peebles 7's next Sunday, playing Melrose in the first tie of the day .Their chances for next week are slim enough anyway with Clark Laidlaw , Mark Lee and Alan Hotson all away with the Scottish Sevens squad to the Singapore tournament. Another interesting first round tie is the Hawick v Glasgow Hawks who clash at Murrayfield the previous day in the Cup final.
| JED-FOREST | V | MELROSE |
| BOROUGHMUIR | V | ABERDEEN |
| HAWICK | V | GLASGOW HAWKS |
| BIGGAR | V | GALA |
| WEST | V | EDIN. ACCIES |
| WATSONIANS | V | SELKIRK |
| ROYAL SCOTS | V | BERWICK |
|
KELSO |
V | PEEBLES |
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Jason Gill and Mark Fitzgerald left Jedburgh last Thursday for a short trip to Wales before flying home to New Zealand. Everyone at the Club thanks them for their contribution this season and looks forward to seeing them again next season, as both hope to return next year.
Also good luck to David Grieve, Gary Hill, John Oliver and Jamie McCraw on their travels this summer. David left last week for a seasons Rugby in New Zealand at the same Club David Ward plays for. Gary, John and Jamie leave next week for Australia for a season playing at Melbourne University. Particular good luck must go to Gary Hill who is just regaining fitness after being out for a year with a back injury.
