PEEBLES entertain Hawick in the Border League this evening at the Gytes (kick off 7.30pm)

Head Coach Drew Moore is expected to use the opportunity to take a look at some of the players on the fringes of the first XV.

But with quite a gap between this game and the pivotal league clash against Stewart's Melville on February 20, he is unlikely to make wholesale changes.

Fly-half Greg Raeburn is one of a number of key players hoping to be involved this evening.

Speaking to the Peeblesshire News, he said: “We're on good run of form at the moment and it's frustrating to not be able to follow up our recent wins against GHA and Aberdeen with another league game.

“It's the Border League, but it is still useful game-time. We only had two games in January due to the weather, so there is no danger of fatigue, even at this stage of the season.

“So the Hawick game will be good for match-fitness. For the players who do come in, it gives them a chance to shine. They have worked hard this season, so if they get an opportunity to make an impression, they have to grab it with both hands.”

In a difficult campaign, Raeburn's skill and precision with the boot has been a major positive. But he soon switches any talk of individual contributions, focussing instead on the collective. “I'm reasonably happy with my own form,” he said. “But we have improved as a group recently, so it is unfair to single out individuals.”

Earlier in the season the club utilised modern methods such as video analysis in an attempt to arrest the slide, but Raeburn says a back to basics approach has paid dividends in recent weeks.

“We had a few sessions of that at the start of the season and it was actually quite useful. Sometimes you might not pick up on an issue straight away, but when you watch it back, you can stop the video and someone would be able to come in at a different angle and say ‘you could have responded quicker there.' So I would never dismiss it. It has a role to play.

“But the big thing for us is getting more numbers in training. I would never criticise anyone who has to miss training because of work commitments. Kenny Clyde travels down from Stirling and works three weeks on and three weeks off on the rigs, so that's unavoidable.

“But we have had far more people attending recent sessions, which means you can actually do more with that time, and that's translating to what you see on the pitch.

“As a group, even some of the younger players are more comfortable now pulling up a teammate if a mistake has occurred, or if something needs to be worked on. So long as it is constructive, it’s fine. The knock-on effect of that is we're actually making less mistakes. Confidence is crucial at any level, and we have that now.”