Walkerburn 17

Inverleith 50

Colin McCudden

at Caberston Haugh

AFTER missing a few games prior to Christmas, Walkerburn were keen to get back into action with a home friendly against city slickers Inverleith last Saturday.

Despite the frigid weather a 10am pitch inspection found the surface in perfect nick. Perhaps unsurprisingly in the circumstances the Burn got off to a slow start shipping three tries early on as they tried to adjust to actually playing rugby again.

The visitors sent their big forwards running hard and straight.

The effect of what is now being termed ‘dominant collisions’ was that space was opened up out wide and Inverleith’s backs finished off the scores.

However the Burn came back into the game. Lead by captain Connor Weatherly they started felling the big forwards before they got any momentum going and also put together some attacking play of their own.

Centre Scott Grant made some prominent runs as Burn ran any ball that was available.

They made a breakthrough late in the half. The ball was kicked through and the Inverleith full back failed to deal with it. Another hack on took the ball over the line and youngster Aaron Fletcher must have got the barest of fingernails on the ball to get the Burn on the scoreboard.

The second half saw a keenly fought contest, although Inverleith did show some of the form that has taken them to the top of East League 3, and they extended their lead to a comfortable margin.

Burn however took a lot of plaudits for their play in the second half.

Kieran Walley and Tony Thomson made their mark around the pitch as the game flowed from end to end.

Some consistent pressure resulted in a penalty to the Burn in the Inverleith twenty two.

The tap was shifted to Aaron Fletcher who ran for a short gap and managed to power through for his second score of the day, capping a man of the match performance. Late in the game Weatherley scored from close range as Burn finished on a positive note.

This was a welcome return to action for Walkerburn and the home support enjoyed seeing their team for the first time in 2019.

Thanks go to Inverleith who made a big contribution to an enjoyable day and a game of rugby played in great spirit.