Obituary : Sir Gordon Hourston
Please see excellent obituary in the Scotsman (8 October 2018)
Weekend Sport – Sat 29th Sept. Narrow win for 1st XV
Stewart’s Melville RFC 24 Preston Lodge 22
Seemingly winning comfortably by 24 – 12 with just 15 minutes to go our favourites contrived to lose a couple of scores in the next five minutes to leave home spectators biting their nails and encouraging the referee to end the game. Eventually he did so giving the 1sts a fourth win in five league wins and holding on to third place in the league with 19 points behind top team Biggar on 24 points (our one defeat) and Highland (21 points).
Full report: http://www.stewmelrugby.com/match-report-vs-preston-lodge-rfc-29th-september-2018/
On Saturday the 1sts visit GHK (the original team not the Hawks) and then on Saturday 13th have a home match v Peebles (3pm). After that its away to Dumfries and then away to Highland the following week – best look out the Air miles !
Weekend Sport – Sat 22nd Sept. Rugby – Another win for 1sts
Lasswade 13 Stewart’s Melville RFC 17
A narrow away at Lasswade took the 1sts up to fourth place on 14 points in National League 2 after four matches in the current campaign. Biggar lead the way on 19 points followed by Highland on 16 and Peebles on 15.
Match report here http://www.stewmelrugby.com/match-report-vs-lasswade-rfc-saturday-22nd-september-2018/
Next up is Saturday’s home match v Preston Lodge, 3 pm kick-off.
Weekend Sport – Saturday 15th Sept. Rugby – Big win for 1st XV
Stewart’s Melville RFC 40 Glasgow Academicals 15
The 1st XV recorded a resounding win against Accies, promoted from the District Leagues last season after initially going 10-0 down. With two wins on the board now the club look forward to the coming matches with more confidence and hopefully a continuation of results like this.
The full report is available on the rugby club website http://www.stewmelrugby.com/match-report-vs-glasgow-accies-saturday-15th-september-2018/ .
Report on FP Club Dinner : Friday 7 September 2018
Report on the Annual Dinner: 7 September 2018
Sixty members and guests sat down to an excellent 3-course meal prepared by our in-house caterers, following pre-dinner drinks in the bar.
Colin Rigby, an SRU Council Member and Former Pupil, very kindly agreed – at the last minute – to fill the gap left by our main speaker who called-off unexpectedly the week before. Colin spoke eloquently on Agenda 3, the formation of the Franchises, better known as the Super-6 and why the SRU see this as the way forward for Scottish Rugby at all levels. Colin went on to explain how this new structure will impact on school and club rugby and the Super-6 themselves for the foreseeable future. He also gave examples of how clubs are taking steps to meet the challenges that will face them following implementation of the new structure in season 2019/20 e.g. closer collaboration between SMC RFC and Heriots RFC, which will see more ‘nails’ on the pitch at Inverleith.
Linda Moule, the new ESMS Principal, replied on behalf of the school encompassing, for our benefit, a resume of her career to date. During her speech, amongst other things, she brought us up-to-date on the academic achievements of both schools viz-a-vis the 2018 examination results, progress on the current developments on the Queensferry Road estate and the threats facing independent schools if certain Government policies are implemented.
Jack Mainland replied on behalf of the Club, emphasising the importance of the part the affiliated sports clubs play in the well-being of the Club.
Ross Johnston, SMC Head Boy, gave a very articulate and interesting speech on his ‘Perspective of life at SMC’; how the school had shaped him as a person over the years from P1 to S6.
John Archer proposed the Toast to the Guests, which was graciously replied to by Rob Heatly, Watsonian Club President. Bob Young brought the official proceedings to a close by giving the Vote of Thanks.
After saying their ‘Good-byes’ to those that had to leave early(ish), the remainder of the company repaired to the bar for a chat and ‘one-for-the-road’. All-in-all, a good time was had by everyone.
Weekend Sport – Sat 8th September. Rugby – 1st XV at Biggar
Biggar 32 Stewart’s Melville RFC 3
Following an opening win against Whitecraigs the 1sts headed to Biggar for the second match of the league season in National 2. In seasons past Biggar has rarely proved a happy hunting ground and so it proved once again. Playing with a following wind the first half was relatively even and no points scored in the first quarter. After 25 minutes Biggar took the lead with a penalty and before half-time added a try to lead 8-0. Five minutes into the second half a Stew Mel penalty reduced the deficit to 8-3. This remained the score into the final quarter when things turned in Biggar’s favour with the home side finding ways to penetrate the Stew Mel defence adding four tries and converting two without reply to take the score line to a decisive 32-3.
A full report and other rugby news can be found at http://www.stewmelrugby.com/match-report-v-biggar-rfc-saturday-8-september-2018/ .
Saturday sees the 1sts at home to newly promoted Glasgow Academicals at 3pm.
Weekend Sport – Sat 1st September. Rugby – opening league win for 1st XV
Stewart’s Melville RFC 27 Whitecraigs 21
The 1st XV started life in National League 2 with a match against one of the few clubs we hadn’t met before in league rugby. Ultimately we held on to secure a bonus point win in a game of fluctuating fortunes after the visitors kicked a penalty for an early lead after which two tries had us in a 12-7 lead before the visitors got ahead again with converted try. Thereafter two home tries put us ahead 24-13 and looking good for the points but another try by the visitors reduced the deficit before an exchange of penalties finished the scoring. Nice to start off with a win in what should be a very competitive league.
A full report will appear at http://www.stewmelrugby.com
Next up is a visit to old rivals Biggar.
SMC FP 45th Annual Dinner | Friday 7 September
A few tickets remain for the SMC FP 45th Annual Dinner which is being held on Friday 7 September at the Clubhouse at Inverleith.
To book your place please email smcfpclub@esms.org.uk
Weekend Sport – Sat 25th August. Cricket / Rugby / Golf
1st XI v Grange for last match of the season
Cricket: Grange 344 for four (50 overs); Stewart’s Melville CC 154 for nine (50 Overs). Lost by 180 runs.
The 2018 cricket season drew to a close for the club with a final league match against Grange, the new league champions, at Raeburn Place. With ninth place secured a fortnight earlier the club had already retained their place in the Premier League for 2019. In the event as anticipated Grange’s batting proved too strong for a Stew Mel bowling attack missing professional Shaylen Pillay who returned to South Africa earlier in the week, with Nick Farrar a very accomplished opening bat compiling a score of 120 for the home side supported by Tom Foulds (52) and Neil McCallum, a former Scottish international bat playing his last league match before retirement with 46. Facing an unlikely target to win the Stew Mel batsmen were faced with aggressive seam bowling on a pitch that suited them from Graham Goudie and Stuart Davidson, another two former capped players. 20-4 suggested another early finish but Hayden Sweet dug in against the rest of the Grange attack to achieve a personal best for the season of 75 (from 86 balls)supported by Sam Tait who resolutely blocked out 117 balls in 98 minutes to finish with 13 not out and leave Grange still looking for the 10th wicket when play finished with the score on 154. Although well beaten the lasting thought was that with the same approach to batting shown by Hayden and Sam in earlier games we might have finished with more than three league wins.
Rugby: National League Cup. Carrick 19 points Stewart’s Melville RFC 41 points
Maybole was the destination for the rugby club’s first competitive game of the season with a comfortable win being achieved which takes them into the second round of the National League Cup.
A full report is available on http://www.stewmelrugby.com
Golf: Third place finish for Grant Forrest on European Challenge Tour Event
Grant Forrest showed a return to form with a 15 under par score of 273 (71,70, 66,66) and third place finish in the 40 man field for the Rolex Trophy in Geneva, one of the more significant events on the tour. This takes Grant back up into seventh place in the tour rankings with the top 15 at the end of the season winning cards for the main European Tour.
SMC FP 45th Annual Dinner | 7 September
Make sure you get your ticket for the Annual Dinner held on 7 September at Inverleith.
We have an excellent speaker; Thomas (Tommy) Kelly, Director & Co-founder of Jöttnar Ltd , an On-line Outdoor Clothing Specialist. Tommy left SMC in 1993 and after University and the UK Defence Academy, joined the Royal Marines. On leaving the service, he was a Performance Coaching Consultant prior to forming Jöttnar Ltd.
Places are priced at £36 per head (£26 for under 25’s)
To book your place please email Lindsey Geddes
