2nd XV vs Melrose Storm

The 2nd XV traveled to the Greenyards on Saturday with a strong team and a desire to make up for the disappointing loss to Gala the week before. The match started with Hamilton kicking off and Melrose immediately went on the attack, with Hamilton being pinned on their own line for 5 minutes. Strong defense kept the home side at bay and some excellent scrummaging from the Hamilton pack allowed the pressure to be relieved. Hamilton came more into the game and exerted pressure of their own by some hard carrying by Josh White and Ryan Butcher. Quick thinking by scrum half Ross Bryan who took a quick tap from a penalty set up Fraser Dunnachie who carried well into the Melrose half, an offload to Seve Wright and then some excellent handling from the backs allowed Adam Ryan to glide over in the corner. 5-0 Hamilton. Melrose came back into the match with a try of their own before Martin Tarditi was yellow carded for Hamilton. This did not slow the play down and good work from forwards and backs sent Willie Maxwell scooting into the corner for Hamilton's second try. Half time came with the away team 10-7 up and confident that they could continue their excellent start into the second half. Unfortunately Melrose had other ideas and their experience showed when they scored 2 tries at the start of the second half to take the lead. There was a glimmer of hope for Hamilton when the Melrose number 5 was red carded for punching, however Hamilton's inexperience showed when, instead of trying to play their own game at their own pace they allowed Melrose to dominate loose play and score a further few tries. Final score 42-10 to Melrose. There were a number of positives to take from the game, the main one being the way we are starting games this season but against the top teams in Scotland that level must continue for 80 minutes or we will be punished for it. Man of the match was Josh White for his excellent ball carrying but a special mention must go to Ryan Butcher who stepped up to prop.