HERIOT'S lost the battle but won the war. They needed just one point from this closing match of the season to squeeze ahead of Boroughmuir in the Premier One table and book their place in the inaugural British and Irish Cup next year, and they managed that on two counts – by scoring four tries and finishing within seven points of their conquerors.
There was some satisfaction for Accies too, in that they managed to cobble together a team this week capable of claiming the scalp of their near neighbours and bitter rivals.
Alongside league champions Ayr, the Goldenacre men will take a step into
the unknown next year. But head coach Bob McKillop is in no doubt about the value of this innovation.
"If Munster put out their A team, they ran the All Blacks close so we know what to expect there – but it is a fantastic opportunity and the guys are really stoked about it," he said.
Given the significance of this match, switched to Lasswade because of the hardness of the Raeburn Place pitch, McKillop had opted to go with ten of the players who started Sunday's SHE Cup final against Melrose, as well as Jamie Parker who played most of that game, and for the first 35 minutes it looked as if he might have asked too much of his squad.
They took a beating up-front as Accies raced into a 17-0 lead with tries from Mike Campbell, Stuart Walker and Ed Stuart.
It was the 35th minute before Heriot's managed to get any meaningful possession and when they did they were quick to show the killer instinct which served them so well against Melrose on Sunday, with Richard Mill dancing inside his man and touching down between the posts.
That seemed to give Heriot's the shot of adrenalin they had been waiting for. Graham Wilson added the conversion then kicked a penalty before Jamie Parker rumbled over from close range to reduce the gap to two points at the break.
McCall showed his pace to put Heriot's ahead at the beginning of the second half, and with half an hour to go Wullie Blacklock grabbed Heriot's fourth try to secure the bonus point which ensured they would be playing cross-border rugby next season. No matter what happened from now on, it was a case of mission accomplished for the Goldenacre men – which is just as well, as far as they are concerned.
Accies battled on, with youngster Euan Bonner kicking a penalty. Then Tom Drennan came inside Tom Brown to square it before Bonner kicked two penalties to secure the win for his side.
Scorers: Edinburgh Accies: Tries: M Campbell, Walker, Stuart, Drennan; Cons: M Campbell, Bonner; Pen: Bonner 3. Heriot's: Tries: Mill, Parker, McCall, Blacklock; Con: Wilson 2; Pen: Wilson.
Edinburgh Accies: T Brown; C Dickie, I Berthinussen, S Walker, A Powell; R Bonner, M Campbell; P Burns, D Cherry, R Mathieson, E Stuart, G Campbell, C Jarvis, R Snape, T Drennan. Subs used: J Pecquard, E Bonner, A Marsh, R Lovett.
Heriot's: J Alston; C Goudie, D McCall, R Mill, A Douglas; O Brown, G Wilson; A Dymock, S Mustard, M Welch, G Anderson, M Reid, T McVie, C Fusaro, J Parker. Subs used: W Blacklock, S Mustard, D Mason, G Rutherford, S Bell.
Referee: A Healey (GHA)
The full article contains 569 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
