Rugby: Dunbar 'relishing' vital game in league title race

A lunchtime kick-off pits the top-of-the-table county side at nearest challengers Dalkeith in a game that will go a long way to determining the destination of the East Region League Division Two title.

Damian Jones, Dunbar head coach, was looking forward to the game in Midlothian.

He said: “From a club perspective, winning the league is everybody’s dream.

“It was our ambition at the start of the season.

“I am aware there is a bit of a buzz round the town.

“The football team has had some good results in the cup and the rugby team is doing well.

“That translates into an atmosphere in the town that you can almost feel.

“I think the rugby club winning promotion would be huge for Dunbar, not just the town but there will be a knock-on effect for participation in sport.

“We want to perform well so the kids at the grammar school want to come and play rugby and that feeds into the senior team in future years.”

Damian Jones is looking ahead to an important game against Dalkeith

Dunbar sit two points clear of their rivals at the top of the table.

However, Dalkeith, who have only lost once this campaign, also have a game in hand.

Victory for either side would not be enough to guarantee the league title but would be a sizeable step towards the prize.

Jones told Courier Sport that Dunbar would approach the game like they would any other.

He said: “It is about making sure people are just focused on the Saturday.

“You can almost put too much emotion into games like this.

“It is about keeping level-headed and keeping focused on how we have played as a group this season. That is the best way to approach it.

“We are focused like any other game. We are looking at where opportunities are within the game, how Dalkeith are likely to come at us and how we counter.”

Dunbar, pictured against Penicuik, travel to Dalkeith for an important game tomorrow. Image: Richard Taylor

It was the visitors to Hallhill who were celebrating back in September. A 20-7 win for Dalkeith came seven days after their only defeat of the season, a 16-15 loss at Hawick Linden.

Jones felt that his side were not at their best when Dalkeith picked up the victory and was hopeful the tables could be turned this time.

He said: “This weekend is the kind of thing that people play rugby for.

“It is these kind of opportunities and the chance to make memories that brings boys down to the club.

“We are absolutely relishing it.”

Jones and his team were due to face Portobello in the National Shield on Saturday but saw the game called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

The contest has been rescheduled for next Saturday (March 2) – with the winners hosting Livingston later in the month – but all attention will be on this weekend’s game.

Jones said: “We got together at Hallhill and went through a few things. We got together as a group on Saturday and still managed to have a hit.”