You have to really love rugby to endure a match like Howe of Fife’s BT National One clash with Stewart’s Melville at Duffus Park on Saturday.
Not that the game itself or the admirable commitment that personified it should be called into question. The love of those who stood on the sidelines when saner souls stayed indoors was only surpassed by the bravery of the two teams that played in it.
It was the sort of day when nobody could judge those who enjoyed the pre-match hospitality at the Howe clubrooms in Provost Wynd getting “lost” on their way up to the ground. Indeed, their wisdom or prescience was not to be questioned as a lashing rainstorm and freezing wind set in for the afternoon.
As the shining steel girders of the new community stand rise up from behind the concrete of the now roofless old one at Duffus Park when it’s finished next summer no more getting “lost” excuses will be tolerated – those who did turn out deserve a medal. The soup tent, the only real cover in the ground, was unsurprisingly a bit busy all afternoon.
Somehow, in the midst of a lashing rainstorm and freezing wind, Howe and Stew Mel conjured up a game of rare skill refereed with real empathy by Neil Muir.
The visitors, perhaps better constructed than the Howe to deal with those abormal conditions, came away with a bonus point 22-5 win which looks like an upset on paper but was rarely in doubt after the Stew Mel pack drove the Howe scrum back for the first of several occasions inside the first five minutes.
Promotion candidates for the last two years, the Inverleith side is rebuilding and was barely out of the relegation zone prior to Saturday, but the deluge and storm played right into their hands. The fact that they stayed out in the rain after the warm-up rather than retiring to the temporary dressing rooms for their pre-match “squeeze” huddle suggested they relished what was to come.
With the massive Swede Alexander Rappestad augmenting their second row and Howe down a key man or two in the pack, it was a day that the home club’s power deficiency was exposed.
Howe tried to play their speed and precision game, popping passes to men in the gaps as usual, but with kicking a lottery they were unable to gain the territory they required.
After the excellent Ross McCann’s opening try for the visitors, they perhaps should have hit back immediately, but a pass was spilled under the posts after Chris Mason tapped a penalty.
Howe battled as much as they could in the scrum but Adam Howie scored two pushover tries for the visitors to take them into a commanding position at half time and McCann’s super line brought him a second try in the final quarter.
Howe did get one try which lifted spirits for a while and the power of Fraser Clark and Greg Frearson promised much, but they were unable to get their natural game going.
So should dropping from second to fifth in two weeks set any alarm bells ringing at Duffus? The team have certainly surpassed expectations in National One so far but having got up there, you detect an impatience to push on.
Yet with Saturday’s game clearly lost in the final minutes and the team camped defending their own line, there was such a ferocity and pride in not conceding any more points that convinces you that they’re not out of the promotion hunt yet.