As Dundee HSFP continue to search for away form to match their performances at Mayfield, their spotless home record needs maintaining from the visit of ambitious Peebles.
Dundee have won all four home games thus far but lost all three away from their own patch, although only a few missed goal-kicks cost them dearly at Inverleith last week.
It leaves them sharing third place in the RBS National League with three other clubs, including Saturday’s visitors.
Leaders Boroughmuir are now 15 points clear of the pack after their last gasp victory over second place Watsonians last week and already looking in a strong position for the guaranteed promotion place.
Meanwhile, High’s absence of Kiwi Bryce Hosie, nursing niggling elbow and hamstring injuries, and the unavailability of Nick Alston meant that they had to go to their third and ultimately fourth choice placekickers against Stewart’s Melville, with only one penalty strike from Andy Dymock to go with three tries.
Dymock will be missing through injury this week, a bad blow as the scrum-half has been the club’s most consistent performer for the past year and a half ironically just after he was set to cut ties but brought back when injuries brought an emergency call last year.
Similarly, the back row will have to be reshuffled with Richie McIver unavailable, but they hope to have Hamish Livingstone back this week, allowing Danny Levison, who was back in the side at Inverleith, to move to No 8.
The injury situation did abate a little for Dundee last week with Levison’s return and Darrel Russell back at hooker and scoring a try on his return, but there’s no doubt it’s badly disrupted plans for the first month and a half of the season.
Last week George Arnott and James Mulligan made their debuts for the club just a year after playing for the school first XV due to Livingstone and Alex Wright unavailable, but both performed well.
Peebles have lost only at Myreside on their travels so far, and have made the adjustment to the higher league well.
The Tweedsiders employed former Scotland and Lions prop Peter Wright, who has coaching experience with Glasgow Hawks, to get them from the Championship to the Premiership.
They’re halfway there, having won Championship B narrowly from Howe of Fife last year and now level on points with High, Kelso and Stewarts Melville in pursuit of the top two.