BT Premiership Preview: Currie look to hold onto top four spot

This Saturday sees the return of the BT Premiership for 2017 with an Edinburgh derby at Goldenacre between Heriot’s and Currie to kick-start the year (2pm).  Currie are currently fourth in the table on 39 points, with Heriot’s close behind on 37 points, making an away victory crucial for Ben Cairns’ men who look to cement their top four position.However, defending champions Heriot’s know that to be in contention for the league title they need to finish in the top four. Therefore, securing a home win against Currie is vital to further their season’s ambitions as they currently sit fifth.There is also the Bill McLaren Shield up for grabs this weekend with Heriot’s defending for a fourth time and therefore hoping to have their name engraved on the coveted shield.With more than just a top four position to play for, Cairns has announced a settled squad to face Heriot’s with the starting pack unchanged.Glasgow Warriors’ Ratu Tagive starts on the wing adding confidence to the backline and Scott McGinley is called up to the bench having impressed during the festive period and fresh from his Scotland U20 call up.In spite of this, Currie know it will be no easy feat to conquer Heriot’s at Goldenacre, especially after narrowly defeating Watsonians 23-22 on home turf before Christmas.Cairns said: “Heriots will be determined to right a few wrongs from their performances against us last time, however having played each other several times over the last few seasons and only coming out on top once, we are determined to do the double over them this season.These matches normally go down to the wire and we have talked a lot about needing an 80-minute performance if we are to come away with the spoils.”Although Heriot’s lost 19-14 away to Glasgow Hawks in the final round of 2016, they will be determined to put on a show and win in front of a home crowd this weekend.Head Coach Phil Smith has also put together a well-rounded squad, with Murray McCallum propping up the scrum after a successful few weeks with Edinburgh. After training well in recent weeks, Martin Hughes will earn his first start for Heriot’s in the engine room.Smith said: “Our worst performance of the season so far was our first encounter with Currie. They outplayed us in most facets of the game and the boys are keen to rectify this.We recognise we have been slightly off the standards we have set and have trained well to try and pull things back in an effort to guarantee an exciting end to the season.”Elsewhere in the capital, Watsonians host Gala at Myreside in the hopes of rectifying their one-point loss against Currie at the end of last year.Gala, who are in ninth place, managed to secure a losing bonus point at home in the last round against Stirling County who won 22-29.Consequently, Gala Head Coach Chris Dalgleish said his men know they must take the points on Saturday if they want to preserve any chance of retaining their BT Premiership status.League leaders Melrose travel to Bridgehaugh and will aim to further their lead with an away win against Stirling County, as they defeated Ayr 27-10 before the Christmas break, and are ahead of the second-place west coast side by five points in the table as a result.Stirling will be feeling confident however since they won their last match away from home and will work hard to build on last month’s win, with Head Coach David Adamson expecting a passionate performance in Stirling’s first home game of the year.The BT Premiership returns to Millbrae on Saturday as Ayr welcome Boroughmuir and with Calum Forrester’s men focused on returning to winning ways in front of a home crowd.The ‘Muir know this will be a tough match but after defeating Hawick 26-21 in December, they will be feeling refreshed after the festive break and ready to try and muscle their way into the top spots.In the Borders, Glasgow Hawks will face Hawick with plans to return home with a winning bonus point that puts them in sure stead of remaining in the top four.Hawks Head Coach Finlay Gilles welcomes Robert Beattie and George Horne to the blackline after training and playing with Scotland 7s in recent weeks and hopes they will bring confidence and pace for a free flowing performance.Hawick know that Glasgow will be determined to secure a victory but will look to hit the ground running and win on home turf in the hopes of moving out of tenth place in the table.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 15 – Saturday 14 January 2017Heriot’s v Currie, Goldenacre, 2pmHeriot’s: John Semple; Charlie Simpson, Junior Rosalea, Rory Carmichael CAPTAIN, Gavin Parker; Alex Hagart, Andrew Simmers; Murray McCallum, Michael Liness, Struan Cessford, Russell Nimmo, Martin Hughes, Michael Maltman, Jack McLean, Callum Marshall. Replacements: Stewart Mustard, Martin Bouab, Clarke Smith, Tom Wilson, Liam Steele.    Currie: Harvey Elms; Ratu Tagive, Robbie Nelson, Cameron Hutchison, Ben Robbins; Jamie Forbes, Charlie Shiel; John Cox, Fergus Scott, Graeme Carson, Hamish Bain, Mike Vernel, Luke Crosbie, Stephen Ainslie, Ross Weston CAPTAIN. Replacements: AP McWilliam, Reece Patterson, Scott McGinley, Ruaraidh Smith, Richard Sneddon. Watsonians v Gala, Myreside, 3pmWatsonians: Andrew Chalmers; Scott McKean, Scott McLeod, DJ Innes, Keith Young; Ewan Scott, Reiss Cullen; Nathan Borel, Sean Crombie, Shaun Rowers, Euan Dods, Craig Borthwick, Villiami Fihaki, Angus Duckett, Rory Drummond CAPTAIN. Replacements: Darren Miller, Martin Christie, Charlie McLean, Euan McKirdy, Mark Bertram.Gala: Graham Speirs CAPTAIN; Ross Combe, Dwayne Burrows, Lewis Berg, Paul Hendry; Gregor Hunter, Connor Adams; Chris Keen, Matt Carryer, Terry Skeet, Opeta Palepoi, Chris Weir, Rob Louw, Stevie Cairns, Gary Adams. Replacements: Dean Brooker, Fraser Hunter, Sean Johnstone, Sasa Tofilau, Craig Robertson.Stirling County v Melrose, Bridgehaugh, 3pmStirling County: Logan Bonar; Jonny Hope CAPTAIN, Craig Pringle, Alex Black, Logan Trotter; Ross Jones, Matt Donaldson; Fergus Bradbury, Matt Emmison, Adam Nicol, Hamilton Burr, Adam Sinclair, Alex Taylor, Shaun MacDonald, Ruairidh Leishman. Replacements: Dougie Westwood, Mark Hunter, Stef Yarrow, Colin Turnbull, Danny Gilmour. Melrose: Fraser Thomson; Ross McCann, Nyal Godsmark, George Taylor, Sam Pecqueur; Craig Jackson, Murdo Mcandrew; Jamie Bhatti, Russell Anderson, Ruairi McLeod, James Head, Anton Bresler, Ruaridh Knott, Grant Runciman CAPTAIN. Replacements: Richard Ferguson, Dan Elkington, Peter Eccles, Gavin Wood, Austin Lockington.Ayr v Boroughmuir, Millbrae, 3pmAyr: Grant Anderson; Danny McCluskey, Archie Russell, Ross Curle, Craig Gossman; Frazier Climo, David Armstrong; George Hunter, David Young, Steven Longwell, Robert McAlpine, Scott Sutherland, Blair Macpherson, Will Bordill, Pete McCallum CAPTAIN. Replacements: Lewis Anderson, Djustice Sears-Duru, Gregor Henry, Jamie Bova, Stafford McDowall.  Boroughmuir: Greg Cannie; Grant McConnell, Ronan Kerr, Mark Hare, Jordan Edmunds; Chris Laidlaw, Nathan Fowles; Dale Robertson, Tristan King, Thomas Gracie, Callum Atkinson, Craig Keddie, Aubrey Mcube, Matt Walker, Matthew Tweddle. Replacements: Stuart Clark, Michael Henry, Rory Woodland, Dougie Steele, Alex Cox.Hawick v Glasgow Hawks, Mansfield Park, 3pmHawick: Lee Armstrong; Darcy Graham, Rory Hutton, Gary Johnstone, Kirk Ford; Ali Weir, Bruce Campbell; Shaun Muir, Fraser Renwick, Callum Mackintosh, David Lowrie, Keith McNeil, Ross Gibson, Stuart Graham, Bruce McNeil CAPTAIN. Replacements: Matt Landels, Gary Douglas, Shaun Fairbairn, Grant Huggan, Wesley Hamilton.Glasgow Hawks: Josh Henderson; Junior Bulumakau, Robert Beattie, Brendan McGroarty, Kerr Gossman; Hagen Schulte, George Horne; Steven Findlay, Cammy Fenton, Gary Strain, Andy Linton, Andrew Kirkland, Ross Miller, Andy Hill, Tommy Spinks CAPTAIN. Replacements: Scott Rodgers, Chris Barnes, Bruce Flockhart, Bob Houliston, Paddy Boyer.