Boroughmuir face moment of truth at Glasgow Hawks

Boroughmuir coach Peter Wright will be urging his men to focus on their own performance when they travel to face Glasgow Hawks in their final match of the regular BT Premiership programme.

Boroughmuir head coach Peter Wright

If results go in their favour, it will be the last outing of a season that has promised much but has proved frustrating for Wright.

And he knows that there are many facets to the game, not least results elsewhere, although the two bonus points garnered in last week’s defeat at home to Heriot’s mean Muir have escaped the one automatic relegation spot. They are also now in control of their own fate as they seek to avoid a relegation/promotion play-off against the team that finishes second in National Division One.

Wright has selected a side that includes Jordan Edmunds and Jonny Matthews, who have also been named in the Scotland Club XV to face Ireland at Netherdale tonight. Dale Robertson is recalled after suspension and Matt Walker returns to the starting line-up, while Edinburgh professional Sean Kennedy is on the bench.

“It’s a huge game for both teams with the winner safe for another year. A huge amount of factors will decide who gets relegated and who goes into the play-off game,” said Wright, whose side have more bonus points than any other team in the league yet find themselves in a four-way scrap with Hawks, Hawick and Marr to escape from the relegation mire.

The two sides vying for the automatic promotion spot from Division One and the play-off berth are pacesetters Edinburgh Accies who travel to face their nearest challengers, Jed-Forest. Accies, unbeaten, hold a five-point advantage over the Borderers, whose only defeat came in the reverse fixture last September.

Accies, who have a substantially better points difference than Jed, are guaranteed a top-two finish, meaning the worst outcome will be a head-to-head decider against the side that finishes second bottom in the top flight.

Coach Derek O’Riordan said: “Riverside hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for us in recent years, with Jed taking the spoils on both occasions down there since we joined the ranks of National One. But we have learned from those experiences and understand what it takes to win.”