Historic Rivalry Leads Weekend of School and Club Rugby

Featured as Scottish Rugby’s Match of the Week, the game got off to a fast start. Merchiston winger William Blair crossed the try line twice inside the opening 10 minutes to give the hosts an early advantage. 

Edinburgh Academy responded through vice-captain Henry Weems before sustained pressure from their pack resulted in a lineout maul try for lock Zak Macgregor. The visitors continued to build momentum, with Gabriel Erasmus adding a second Academy try after another sustained period of pressure. 

Despite Merchiston’s quick start, Edinburgh Academy went into half-time with a 17-14 lead. 

Merchiston came out strongly after the break and quickly regained the advantage when full-back Samuel Lawaci finished off a fast-moving attack. Lawaci was proving a constant threat and added his second try to put Merchiston 26-17 ahead. 

The Academy refused to let the game slip away, with Oscar Welsh battling over the line to reduce the deficit to just four points at 26-22. With both teams having already secured a try bonus point, the final stages remained finely balanced. 

However, Lawaci produced the decisive moment, completing his hat-trick to seal the 31-22 victory for Merchiston. 

Rory Blair was also a key influence at scrum-half, controlling the tempo and directing his side’s attacking play. His performance earned him the Player of the Match award in an entertaining contest between two historic rivals. 

In Pool A, Boroughmuir Rugby fell short against Dollar Academy, who secured a 41-29 victory. George Watson’s College also enjoyed a convincing result, beating GHA RFC 41-14. 

Pool B produced two closely contested fixtures. Marr Rugby edged Stirling County RFC by a single point, coming away with a 25-24 win, while Strathallan School overcame Ayr RFC 42-33 in another high-scoring encounter. 

With the pool stages nearing their conclusion, the Boys’ U18 Open Competition is heating up, with teams battling for a place in the semi-finals and every result becoming increasingly important. 

Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership 

After a number of tight scorelines across the board last weekend, there was plenty at stake in Round Five of the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership. 

The headline result came at Goldenacre, where Heriot’s Rugby Men ended Ayr RFC’s unbeaten league run. The visitors had not lost a league match since November 2024, but Heriot’s produced an impressive performance to claim a 31-14 victory. The hosts dominated up front, while also showing their attacking strength to outplay the men from Millbrae. 

Spectators at The Greenyards were treated to a remarkable afternoon as Melrose Rugby and Watsonian FC produced more than 100 points between them. The visitors led for much of the contest in a fast-paced encounter that saw 15 tries scored. However, Melrose produced a dramatic late comeback, with Jarrah Bell completing his hat-trick to level the scores in the closing stages. Luke Townsend then held his nerve to convert from in front of the posts, sealing a 53-51 victory for the hosts. 

At Malleny Park, Edinburgh Accies enjoyed plenty of territory and possession in the first half against Currie Chieftains but struggled to turn that pressure into points. Currie proved more clinical with their opportunities and pulled away in the second half to secure a comfortable 31-12 win. 

It took Hawick RFC until around the 50-minute mark to find their rhythm against Glasgow Hawks at Balgray. Once they did, however, the Borderers took control of the contest. Andrew Mitchell was particularly influential, repeatedly finding gaps in the Hawks defence as Hawick ran in the points to secure a 43-19 victory. The result leaves Glasgow Hawks still searching for their first win of the season. 

At Braidholm, GHA RFC made the perfect start against Kelso RFC, with captain Euan McKirdy crossing for a try after just 40 seconds. The hosts continued to make a positive start, but Kelso fought back to level the contest by half-time, with just two points separating the sides. The second half remained closely fought, although GHA were unable to maintain their early momentum. Kelso eventually edged a thrilling encounter 35-33, with Dwain Patterson among those helping the visitors secure the points. 

Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership 

This weekend marked the first of the scheduled break weekends in the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership. However, there was still one fixture to be played as Cartha Queen’s Park and Garioch RFC brought forward their upcoming meeting at the request of both clubs. 

The two sides entered the contest still searching for their first win of the season and it proved to be an evenly matched battle from start to finish. Garioch ultimately came out on top in a dramatic one-point victory, edging Cartha Queen’s Park 35-34. 

Despite the defeat, Cartha secured both a try bonus point and a losing bonus point from the closely fought encounter.