BT Premiership Preview: Currie welcome Stirling County in bid for first win

BT Premiership Preview: Currie welcome Stirling County in bid for first win

Stirling County travel to Malleny Park to face Currie as the two strive for a win to raise themselves into the middle of the league table.Currie have had a shaky start to the season; losing away to Ayr 53-10, followed by a narrow defeat at home against Gala 23-28, and last Saturday suffering a 52-22 loss away to Melrose.Stirling County on the other hand won their league opener at home against Hawick 28-19, but have been unable to secure a victory in the weeks since.With Stirling Country tabled at eighth and Currie behind at ninth, the game is hard to call, especially as the hosts have yet to claim a victory this season.Currie head coach, Ben Cairns, said: “Although the score line would suggest otherwise, there were definite signs of improvement from the match against Melrose.”Stirling will no doubt be targeting this match having had a couple of losses since their opening day win against Hawick and we know we will need to improve once more if we are to get the win we desperately need.”Cairns is confident his men will perform on Saturday and added: “Although it’s been disappointing for us, the players have shown great application to improve and we stay positive in the belief that better results are just around the corner.”All eyes are on Currie following their success last season, finishing second in the league table behind Ayr, although they were knocked out in the first round of play-offs by Heriot’s who went on to win the BT Premiership league title after defeating Ayr away 26-29.Elsewhere Hawick, like Currie, are yet to win a game this season and may struggle to change this as Ayr venture to Mansfield Park with Glasgow Warriors’ Finn Russell (on return from injury) starting at fly-half.Ayr will look to use Russell’s experience to secure a win to topple Melrose off the top spot as the boys in pink and black currently hold second place on the table.  Glasgow Hawks host Watsonians who will be looking for their fourth consecutive win to stay in the top three, but if the Hawks are successful they could bump themselves above Watsonians into the top spots.Last year’s BT Premiership title winners Heriots travel to Meggetland to take on Boroughmuir who narrowly lost away to Watsonians 26-25 last weekend, and considering both Heriots and the hosts have 7 league points, this Edinburgh derby has all to play for as the winner will boost their chances of being in the top four.Gala face a tough game as they welcome table-toppers Melrose to Netherdale on Saturday, but after returning home last weekend with a losing bonus point the boys proved that they are capable of holding their own in this league.Tune in to Scottish Rugby TV for an as-live broadcast of Hawick v Ayr available post-match.Currie v Stirling County will be live-tweeted from @Scotlandteam with match build-up from 2pm.Clubs from across BT National Leagues 1, 2 and 3 will also continue their season on Saturday. For a full list of fixtures, visit scottishrugby.org.BT Premiership round four (Saturday 17 September)Currie v Stirling County, Malleny Park, 3pmCurrie: Matt McPhillips; Harvey Elms, Richie Vernon, Robbie Nelson, Cameron Gray; Jamie Forbes, Charlie Shiel; AP McWilliam, Fergus Scott, Graeme Carson, Hamish Bain, Stephen Ainslie, Rhys Davies, Thomas Gordon, Ross Weston CAPTAIN. Replacements: Paul Mundell, John Cox, Dan Marek, Chris Davies, Richard Sneddon.Stirling County: Jonny Hope; Craig Pringle, Jake Cresswell, Fraser Lyle, Bruce Sorbie; Ross Jones, Nemia Kenatale; Colin Hutton, Reyner Kennedy, Adam Nicol, Callum Hunter-Hill CAPTAIN, Adam Sinclair, Ruairidh Lieshman, Shaun McDonald, Alex Taylor. Replacements: Matt Emmison, Mark Hunter, Hamilton Burr, Struan Robertson, Ryan Elliston. Hawick v Ayr, Mansfield Park, 3pmHawick: Neil Renwick; Darcy Graham, John Coutts, Gary Johnstone, Wesley Hamilton; Lee Armstrong, Bruce Campbell; Matt Landels, Fraser Renwick, Callum Mackintosh, Dylan Harlen, Michael Robertson, Bruce McNeil CAPTAIN, Struart Graham, Keith Davies. Replacements: Terry Skeet, Ryan Hogg, Ross Gibson, Kirk Ford, Grant Huggan. Ayr: Grant Anderson CAPTAIN; Danny McCluskey, Archie Russell, Ross Curle, Craig Gossman; Finn Russell, David Armstrong; George Hunter, David Young, Steven Longwell, Robert McAlpine, Scott Sutherland, Will Bordill, Gregor Henry, Blair MacPherson. Replacements: Robbie Smith, Adam Prentice, Craig Stevenson, Cameron Taylor, Frazier Climo.   Glasgow Hawks v Watsonians, Old Anniesland, 3pmGlasgow Hawks: Peter Murchie; Junior Bulumakau, Bobbie Beattie, David Milne, Kerr Gossman; Josh Henderson, George Horne; Steven Findlay, Grant Stewart, Gary Strain, Kiran McDonald, Tijuee Uanivi, Andy Hill, Andrew Kirkland, Tommy Spinks CAPTAIN. Replacements: Scott Rodgers, Brendan Cullinane, Brendan McGroarty, Paddy Boyer, Jack Steele.Watsonians: Rory Steele; Mark Bertram, Scott McLeod, DJ Innes, Joe Helps; Andrew Chalmers, Reiss Cullen; Martin Christian CAPTAIN, Neil Cochrane, Shaun Ruwers, Fraser Morrison, Craig Borthwick, Sean Crombie, Angus Duckett, Euan Dods. Replacements: Nathan Borel, Ally Middleton, Kenny Beattie, Euan McKirdy, Blair Kinghorn.Boroughmuir v Heriots, Meggetland, 3pmBoroughmuir: Dougie Steele; Grant McConnell, Ronan Kerr, Mark Hare, Jordan Edmunds; David Reekie, Sam Johnson; Ross Dunbar, James Bett, Dale Robertson, Jamie Ure, Matthew Tweddle, Craig Keddie CAPTAIN, Douglas Hearn, Aubrey MnCube. Replacements: Tristian King, Dan Winning, Jamie Scott, Ross Bradford, Alex Cox.Heriots: Gavin Parker; Andy McLean, Liam Steele, John Semple CAPTAIN, Josh Laird; Alex Hagart, Andrew Simmers; Murray McCallum, Michael Liness, Struan Cessford, Russell Nimmo, Clarke Smith, George Turner, Jack McLean, Struan Dewar. Replacements: Chris Mulligan, Martin Bouab, Euan Jackson, Donald Crawford, Jordan Webster. Gala v Melrose, Netherdale, 3pmGala: Rory Scholes; Graham Speirs CAPTAIN, Chris Dean, Paul Hendry, Craig Robertson; Gregor Hunter, George Lott; Matt Carryer, Dean Brooker, Chris Keen, Opeta Palepoi, Chris Weir, Rob Louw, Josh Irvine, Stevie Cairns. Replacements: Curtis Reynolds, Ritchie Tod, Alan Emond, Gregor Mein, Ross Combe.  Melrose: Fraser Thomson; Ross McCann, George Taylor, Richard Taylor, Austin Lockington; Jason Baggott, Murdo McAndrew; Jamie Bhatti, Russell Anderson, Nick Beavon, James Head, Lewis Carmichael, Neil Irvine Hess, Grant Runciman CAPTAIN, Ian Moody. Replacements: Cameron Mckay, Ruari McLeod, Ruaridh Knott, Struan Hutchison, Gavin Wood.    

Spread the word

Newsletter Sign-up

Sign-up for our newsletter today to receive the latest updates, content and releases from Scottish Rugby.

Sign-up

Principal Partners