2005-06 Reports

Game abandoned after 60 minutes because Jed were down to 12 players because of injuries.

Jed faced a Dumfries side that are 5 divisions below them but knew they were never going to get an easy time of it against a side topping National League 4 and unbeaten this season. They were also undefeated at home for a couple of seasons and had already beaten Glasgow Accies in round 2 34-0 and that was a side 2 divisions above them!

Conditions were ideal during the warm up but the rain started at kick off and just got worse as the day went on. Jed started well enough and were taking the game to the stuffy Dumfries outfit who lost a man to the sin bin for a wild punch on Scott Laidlaw in front off the ref, to be honest it should have been a red card. Jed pressed hard and when Ross Goodfellow broke through near the posts Roy McFarlane was on hand to finish off. For the remainder of the half it was the home side who were on top and 2 penalties reduced the deficit to 7-6 and with the large home support getting behind them it was taking some good defending to keep them out. Greg Laidlaw got a penalty before half time to make it 10-6 and with the elements at their backs for the second half hopefully Jed had weathered the storm.

However Dumfries had other ideas and got an early penalty to reduce the gap to 10-9, Jed managed to increase the lead with a Laidlaw drop goal . The next score was going to be crucial and when Neil Smail put up a good up n under that the full back missed Smaily gathered the bouncing ball to shoot under the posts to allow Jed to go 20-9 up. Again Dumfries hut back to make it 20-12 but as you would expect against a side 5 divisions below the fitness levels started to show and with Jed playing a sound game tactically just keeping them pinned into their own 22 the points came in the last quarter with Dampney scoring from a back row move, Goodfellow pouncing on a ball at the back of a ruck and the pick of the tries at the end from McCraw after some good handling from the backline. Justice for McCraw after an outrageous call from the ref denied an earlier score from McCraw after a superbly executed back row move put him in from close range only to be chalked off for a forward pass that left linesman for the day Roy Laidlaw shaking his head. With Laidlaw adding all the conversions it was a very respectable 41-12 victory but Jed had to work hard for it and to be fair they were prepared to do so.

Jed kept up their winning momentum on Saturday with a scrappy 35 - 26 victory over Murrayfield Wanderers. Jed started the game well scoring 2 penalty goals from the boot of Gary McGarva after dominating possession. Although dominating, we never really pressured the Murrayfield defence, but a great little shimmy from Neil Smail saw him slice through to set up Donald Grieve for Jed's first try, McGarva converted. Perhaps we thought it was going to be easy but whatever happened seemed to deteriorate our defence and this allowed them to score a soft converted try to make it 13 - 7 at half time.

The second half got off to a terrible start and we gifted another try to let them be within 1 point. McGarva then added another penalty before we were forced to make a change. Scott MacDonald had to hobble off and he was replaced by Garry Hill, who was making his first appearance in the 1sts for 2 years follow a horror knee injury. He looked pretty sharp too, making a wee jinxy run. His comeback was complete when the ball was switched blind after a ruck and Gary had to out run the covering defender to reach the corner. Yet again we relaxed and the ball bounced out of our second rows arms at the re start straight into their forwards who fed wide for another easy converted try.

This seemed to wake us up and a neat little chip from Greg Laidlaw was brilliantly picked up by Roy McFarlane who dived in at the corner. McGarva converted brilliantly. There were no more horrors at the re start and Roy McFarlane capped off a fine game by making a break up the wing before being caught, but he fed Neil Smail who juggled the ball into captain Goodfellow's grateful hands for him to stroll into the corner to gain our bonus point. McGarva again kicked a beauty from the touchline. Worryingly though Murrayfield score another try to give them a bonus as well but it was too little, too late.

A win is a win and I suppose we were without 4 1st regulars but I wish we could concentrate in these so called easier games.

This friendly was a poor spectical of a match with jed fielding a much weakened side due to last minute call offs in the first team. Jed defended well but the game was full of mistakes and needless kicking. Jed turned around 5 - 0 at the break but had rarely challenged the Hawick line and Hawick increase their lead half way through the second half from a peel from a lineout. Jed did respond well with Cranston and then Mcilroy going close before Pip Renwick stun and flopped over from 1 m out. Elliot converted. Game peetered out after that!

A typical dis-jointed friendly match with a make shift team but no fresh injuries so at least that was a positive. Burty had a good match at 8 but it was the backs this week that looked more dangerous with Skippy putting in a good shift at center but this weeks star was Tom Elliot at full back.

After last weeks shocking display down at Kelso , Jed bounced back in style with a second half blitz that blew away a decent Selkirk side. Jed started well but were unable to put any points on the board, Simon Lightbody twice splitting the Selkirk defence early on but the attacks broke down on both occasions. When a kickable penalty arrived Jed went for bold option of the line out drive but failed to secure possession on their second effort after getting another penalty. Jed again found themselves pressing near the Selkirk line when a pass went astray allowing Selkirk to launch a very impressive counter which after going through several pairs of hands should have resulted in a try as Jed eventually ran out of defenders the Selkirk man spilled the last pass for a certain try in the corner. This produced a greater self belief in the Selkirk side and they finally got the touchdown from Tomlinson after a line break from their powerful No12 Ally Dickson their former pro-team player. This was converted and was to be the only points of hard fought 40 minutes,

In the second half Jed produced a massive effort with the forward pack really taking the game to Selkirk with Dampney, Henderson, Jeeves and Szkudro carrying ball well. The Jed breakthrough finally came when a speculative bomb into the in-goal area resulted in full back Goodfellow out jumping his opposite number to secure the touchdown, a superb touchline conversion by McGarva leveled the scoring. With the pack launching some good drives pressure was turned into points with a brace of penalties to take the lead. As Jed continued to control the match it was fitting that tries from forwards should clinch the match with Hendy and later Szkuro crossing for tries both converted by McGarva for a fine home win.

This was a much improved performance on the previous week, it was hard to believe that this was virtually the same pack which played so incompetently at Kelso last Saturday. Jon Dampney finally showed us what a player he can be with a powerful display at No8 , Jeeves bounced back from a shocking line out display at Kelso to throw well and also carry ball to good effect , the question now is can the players do it again next week against Murrayfield ????

Jed bunced back to winning ways in a deserved home win against a strong Melrose seconds team on the muddy woodend pitch. Jed showed a greater commitment and a huge desire to win the match and dominated the first half with Melrose very rarely in the Jed half. Although camped on their line Jed just couldn't break through the last defensive line although McFarline would have been in the corner has Rob Hogg giving him a decent pass. The break through eventually came when another driving maul saw Jed rumble into the Melrose 22 to see Tattie Elder receive the ball only to produce his classic big dummy, the whole Melrose team bought it so he raced in and touched between the posts for Hilly to convert. Melrose replied with a penalty but on the stroke of half time Hilly responded with a similar goal. Jed's tempo to the game was missing in the first 25 mins of the second half with Melrose showing glimpses of what they could do but some great covering defense held them out.

In the last quarter Jed upped the pace again and seriously asked lots of questions on the Melrose line and Hilly would have been in at the corner if the pass from the driving maul was in front of him. Minutes later Jed attacked a Melrose lineout and caused panic on their line and with a loose ball Campbell pounced to dive over and Hilly again converted. Again Jed pushed on and Hoggy should of done better when he was bundled out in the corner. In the last minute another Jed attack broke down Hogg hacked on but this rebounded off their backs into the arms of their center who raced clear before finding a forward on his shoulder to dive under the posts but Jed held on easily after that.

The score doesn't reflect the dominance of the Jed performance and it was great to see some excellent forwards rucking and driving and some clever backs play. Great attitude and hunger for this win with some good perforamances. Weekley again was lively around the park, Mcfarline looked very sharp on the wing, Hilly is now producing solid games and is ready for the 1sts again, Pip again was solid, Skippy had a great match at full back but man of the match by a mile was again Rob Ferguson. His work rate in attack and defense is an example to all, his attitude is spot on and if a prop can be found he will make a star in the back row.

It was a filthy wet autumn day and Jed were looking to bounce back from last weeks humiliation. Things did not look good right from the start though as Jed fell behind to an early penalty. Jed were playing towards Kelso and it seemed as there was a jinx on the 10 yard line, because every time we tried to cross it we seemed to knock the ball on. We did not seem to be respecting the conditions and instead of stuffing the ball up our jerseys we were trying to do too much. We fell further behind to a drop goal from just outside the 22. We did have chances to get back into the game but Gary McGarva was having a total nightmare half and he missed 3 longish but kickable penalties. Hills went further ahead when they drove over from a line out in the corner. Just as things looked as if they couldn't get any worse the ref (who seemed to be blowing up very quickly) decided that Mark Lee had infringed once too often when he played the ball on the ground with his hands and he was sent to the sin bin, Hills capitalized by kicking the resulting penalty and they went into half time 14 - 0 up.

Half time seemed to do us a lot of good and we started the 2nd half full of aggression, we drove over 3 or 4 rucks in front of the stand with Beige really cajoling the forwards along. This set the standard and the ref started awarding us penalties instead of them and Greg Laidlaw got us on the scoreboard from a penalty. A neat kick into the corner from another penalty gave Jed a line-out, we collected well and Michael Graham scooted out of the side of the ruck to score Jed's first try.

We were still struggling and a kicking battle back and forth saw Greig Laidlaw collect the ball deep inside his own 22, he then produced a piece of absolute brilliance. The Hills chasers were closing in an he just chipped over their heads and collected the ball to race clear, he was going to get caught but he kicked ahead and the ball went out just short of their line. They collected the line-out ball but we put real pressure on their stand-off and he slipped while trying to kick clear and he sliced the ball into Mark Lee's grateful hands, who had an easy 10 yard run in.

Hills then kicked another penalty to stretch into a 4 point lead and we looked dead and buried. With time running out we got a penalty in front of the posts and we opted for the scrum. Jon Dampney picked up and drove left which left a big over lap on the right. The ball was neatly passed out to Greg Nagle who then passed to fellow sub Jamie McCraw who dove for the corner, sliding in right in the corner just in front of the 2 cover tacklers. Gary McGarva converted to rub a little salt into the Hills wounds. The ref found another couple of minutes to play on but we were never tested and the win was ours.

A very scrappy first half put us under real pressure and I'd say we were pretty lucky to win, Hillhead/Jordanhill certainly didn't deserve to lose but we'll take it.

In constant rain and a rain soaked Glebe pitch both teams played hard basic rugby with surprisingly few mistakes in such conditions. County played 10 man rugby with their large pack happy to catch and drive at lineouts and this worked well for them in the first half and Jed found it hard to stop it leading to their first try and a 2 penalties with Elliot replying for a 3-11 first half score.

Just into the second half Pip had a kick charged down for a soft score to County but the introduction of experienced veterans Ali Campbell and Kevin Amos changed this match and Jed's pack took control giving the backs space and momentum to ask questions. Amo was sent racing clear by a Hilly break but ref pulled it back for a forward pass but seconds later the impressive Laidlaw picked and drove from a scrum before breaking clear and was heading between the posts when a puff of smoke from the grassy Knoll sent Laidlaw mysteriously to the deck! From this ruck Campbell was on hand to pick and drive over with Elliot converting. 10 mins from time Jed produced a stunning team drive with the pack catching a driving from a lineout and when finally stopped the backs produced a good move to allow Amo to slip a pass to Vinnie to romp in with Elliot converting. Jed now pushed for the winning try on County's line but the game finished with Pip earning the "dick of the day" with a nothing kick ahead on their line. Score 17-21

A very much improved performance with guts and determination and the pack rose to the occasion with some tremendous driving, rucking and defense giving the backs space to hit the ball going forward. New Argie hooker David lasted 1 min before an elbow to the throat spoiled his debut but Rob Ferg was again excellent with ball in hand, Rob Hogg also put in a great game at center, Hilly finding form again, Pip organised well, Murray / Cranny loved the muddy conditions but man of the match by far was the dynamic Scott Laidlaw. Great driving play, tackling, poaching and attitude will surely push him in the minds of the first selectors.

Jed Player of the Day
1. Clark Laidlaw	2. Mark Lee	3. Neil Cook

Jed Player of the Day
1. James Henderson	2. Mark Lee	3. Gary Elder

Jed Player of the Day
1. Clark Laidlaw	2. James Henderson	3. Roy McFarlane

Jed put in a good shift yesterday in tricky conditions down at Berwick to make sure that the hosts were not going to have any chance of making it two wins in a row over the royal blues. Jed were dominant in the early exchanges with Clark Laidlaw running the game well from stand off. Gary McGarva struck an early penalty and was also able to add an easy conversion of Laidlaws’ try when he cut back on the Berwick defence to race between the uprights for a great score. Another penalty had Jed 13-0 ahead and looking well in command albeit the scrum wasn’t as good as it has been and the lineout was struggling in the blustery conditions, but as usual something goes wrong and McGarva was harshly sinbinned for a high tackle which was pretty tough considering the Berwick prop was only warned for stamping. For the rest of the half Berwick enjoyed their best period of pressure with a penalty and a converted try after their forwards were able to drive over, Jed discipline was starting to go as the decisions went against them the half time whistle came with the score at 13-10 in Jeds favour.

In the second half with Jed back up to 15 men they were soon on the attack again with Neil Smail causing havoc with some good running. Berwick were guilty of illegally stopping a Jed attack 5 yards from their own posts with their man on the way to the sin bin McGarva slotted an easy 3 pointer and Jed continued their attack of the Berwick line and were able to make the most of their numerical advantage when a back row move was superbly executed by Goodfellow and Gill with the latter sliding in for a well deserved try, again the conversion was added to make it 23-10. The conditions then deteriorated pretty badly and both teams had trouble with the slippy ball in blustery conditions, Jed always looked in control of the match and when sub Tattie Shaw pounced on Hendys’ hack through to seal the game leaving Jed with about 4 minutes to try and grab a bonus point, unfortunately this was not to happen but you have to be satisfied with a comfortable away win in tricky conditions.

Jed Player of the Day
1. Neil Smail	2. Scott MacDonald	3. Clark Laidlaw

Jed Player of the Day
1. Donald Grieve	2. Gary McGarva	3. J. Gill

Jed put on a very disappointing performance for their first home league match. Against a formidable visiting pack the Jed line-out was a shambles however Jed were holding a definite advantage in the scrum but unfortunately the handling from the home back line was matching the standard of their line-out.

In a very scrappy opening half Dundee held a 5-3 advantage with a Greg Laidlaw penalty being Jed's only score of the half despite having some good opportunities to add to this, Nicky Bates going very close to touching down under the posts.

After the break Dundee kicked a penalty to go 8-3 ahead but Jed fought back and for once their line-out functioned and resulted in Jason Gill being driven over, the conversion struck the post to leave the score 8-8. Jed then had some of their best spells but could not manage the crucial next score. Dundee were able to launch some dangerous attacks from deep with their full back causing havoc with some strong running. With Jed unable to secure possession in their own 22, Dundee were able to capitalize and from the resulting close range lineout managed the breakthrough to go 15-8 ahead with 15 minutes to go. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Jed who without Nicky Bates and Bevan Hart seemed pretty gutless at this stage and allowed Dundee another soft score to go 22-8 ahead. Jed then pulled the finger out and went chasing the losing bonus point, with a series of close range penalties but a lack of composure and firepower allowed Dundee to turn over and go the length for an undeserved bonus point. To be brutally honest this was a dreadful performance with a lack of precision and hunger in almost every aspect of play.

Jed Player of the Day
1. Jason Gill	2. Nicky Bates	3. Roy McFarlane

Jed got their new league campaign off to a great start with a resounding 5 try demolition off Murrayfield , which I am pretty certain nobody in watching the first 20 minutes could have predicted as Jed were very slow to get going.

Murrayfield opened the scoring with a line out drive from close range to stun Jed in the opening minutes. Some sloppy defensive mistakes were allowing Murrayfield to make huge inroads in the early stages off the match. The introduction of former captain Mark Lee as a sub for John Szkudro who picked up an ankle injury (but returned to the fray before half time) seemed to spark some life into the Jed. Gary McGarva slotted a penalty to reduce the deficit and was also on target with a conversion of Mark Lee's close range score. McGarva also nailed a penalty with the last action off the half when Jed were down to 14 men as Clark Laidlaw had been sin binned.

HALF TIME: MURRAYFIELD 5 – 13 JEDFOREST

In the second half Jed produced a much improved display with Lee and Gill a constant threat, Greg Laidlaw was introduced at 10 and got the backs moving well and with the pack also supplying better ball Jed took control. Tries from Lee and Smail put Jed into a comfortable lead at 25 – 5 but it took a long time before the bonus point try was secured, courtesy of a well worked back row move which allowed Bevan Hart to use his strength to get over. With the bonus point secured Jed were able to open up from deep and a fine break from Neil Smail was finished off in style by Mark Lee romping in at the posts for his hat-trick , McGarva added another 3 conversions in the second half.

Plus points for Jed were obviously the return off Mark Lee who provides a great attacking force alongside Jason Gill. Also pleasing was the form off the front row with Hendy and Jeeves doing a lot off work and Nicky Bates having a very useful league debut. Captain Ross Goodfellow as always put in a good shift. Altogether a promising start as long as we don’t see too many repeats of the first 20 minutes again.

Jed Player of the Day
1. Mark Lee	2. Ross Goodfellow	3. Nicky Bates