A MAN with a foot in both camps today predicted home advantage would hold sway for champions Boroughmuir as they begin their Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership title defence against neighbours Edinburgh Accies at Meggetland tomorrow.
Norrie Rowan, who played for both clubs in a glittering career at prop forward which brought 13 Scotland caps, said: "A really important season lies ahead with clubs at last starting to become more professional in their outlook by appointing full-tim
e staff to drive the game forward.
"It is what should have happened a decade ago but at least we are getting there and, with standards rising, there will be plenty of excitement as current kingpins Boroughmuir look to their laurels in trying to match the ambition of Glasgow Hawks and Ayr, who are among the more pro-active.
"To begin with, though, I fancy 'Muir will be grateful just to get off to a winning start by taking advantage of the fact Accies are expected to have two or three players absent at a wedding.
"The reason I say that is 'Muir have lost hooker Sean Crombie to Edinburgh and the draft system has allocated him to Selkirk."
As a former Test front rower, Rowan speaks with authority when he adds: "Of all the positions on the field, I regard hooker as one of the most important and certainly key at Boroughmuir meantime.
"If they fail to adequately replace Crombie then both the scrum and line-out will suffer.
"That's how much a quality hooker means to a pack and there will be no shortage of teams waiting to take advantage.
"It is definitely on the cards that Accies could upset the applecart based on the form they showed when going to Heriot's at the end of last season and winning by three tries to nil (34-18) when their Division One future was on the line.
"Overall, Boroughmuir should be a bit too strong but whether they can find the same resolve against teams from outside the Capital remains to be seen and here I see Melrose as a major threat.
"At last the professional teams seem to be settling down so I don't envisage as many raids on the Premiership for players while guys like Gordon Bulloch are dropping back into club rugby after full-time careers. Gordon will be leading newly-promoted West and it is fantastic to have that sort of experience around helping raise standards." Also in the Capital, Heriot's await Hawick with Tam McVie taking on the captaincy for the first time following Marc Teague's elevation to professional status.
Heriot's coach Bob McKillop says: "We are blessed to have someone of the calibre of Tam, the Scottish clubs' international captain, ready to take over the helm.
"It is going to be a tough opener but Ian Nimmo, a former Scotland under-20 second row, has re-crossed the Border to join while Greg Rutherford and Jamie Syme have returned from abroad to beef up our resources."
A key figure could be goal- kicking scrum half Graham Wilson – at least until newly-signed winger Dave McCall (ex-Stewart's-Melville and Edinburgh) is ready to resume after injury.
Elsewhere, Watsonians head for Stirling County with a squad showing two recruits from Stew/Mel in threequarter Tupu Saena and scrum half Euan Clark. Also on board is a former Rovigo and Dundee High prop, Andy Fisher.
New coach Bruce Aitchison says: "We have been very fortunate in having several quality players come to us as opposed to going out and recruiting them."
Currie face an awkward assignment at newly-promoted Selkirk. Currie coach Ally Donaldson, who looks set to field one or other of the club's South African recruits – Mitch Murphy (second row) and Mark Fuche (stand off) – said: "Newly-promoted teams always manage to find a bit extra on the opening day so we have to be wary."
The Division Two programme gets underway with an East Lothian derby between Musselburgh and Haddington at Stoneyhill while Stewart's-Melville, under new coaches Graeme Moffat and Andy Muir, await Peebles.
In Division Three, Livingston have received a boost ahead of their opener at home to Morgan Academy FP with the return of clubs' international centre Andy MacMahon from Currie.
The full article contains 717 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
