Aberdeen Grammar coach Alex Duncan has warned his players to expect a good old-fashioned Premier 2 tussle at Falkirk tomorrow.
Grammar head south on the back of an impressive 36-23 victory at Stewart’s-Melville last weekend.
The lively capital encounter included eight tries but newly-promoted Falkirk will provide a different challenge, with Duncan expecting a more physical contest. He said: “This will be as tough as it gets. Falkirk is a notoriously difficult place to go. We have faced two rugby-playing sides in Edinburgh Accies and Stewart’s-Melville but Falkirk are more traditional in their style.
“Their side is littered with former top-level players and, having gained promotion from Premier 3 last season, Falkirk are a team used to winning.
“They have players who can damage you given the opportunity, so we have to make sure we are dominant and powerful.
“We need to reproduce some aspects of last week’s performance.
“We were excellent for 30 minutes but then we took our foot off the pedal. We allowed them back into the match when we really should have been much more comfortable.
“There were plenty of positives, however. We were very powerful in the first half and it was an improvement on the first match.
“There are a lot of new players at the club and there are several missing through injury, so I have repeatedly said we are still a few weeks away from being a very good side.
“As long as we continue to make progress we will be competitive.
“With this being an 11-match campaign, this is an important game for us.”
Grammar stalwart Colin Philips is set to make his first appearance of the season, having missed the opening two fixtures due to injury.
There will also be a debut for young scrum half Jamie Lauder, who replaces the absent Rob Lawson, while winger John Curtis is also available. Duncan said: “It is great to have Colin back. He is an important player who brings us plenty of experience.
“Unfortunately, Rob Lawson is unavailable but it is an opportunity for James. He is an exciting prospect and we are looking forward to seeing him. We have strengthened up our back line in terms of physicality and experience.”