Head coach Alan Tait calling on ​rugby’s Southern Knights to raise their game versus Stirling Wolves at weekend

They play Stirling Wolves at home at Melrose’s Greenyards, with kick-off at 3pm.

It’s their first meeting of this campaign, though the Borderers were due to host Wolves for a pre-season friendly in July but had to cry off due to lack of players and they did end up facing a double-figure contingent from the club bolstering the Fosroc Future XV’s ranks later that month.

That opening-day 39-38 home victory against the development side is Knights’ only win so far this season but head coach Alan Tait is hopeful there’ll be more where that came from before too long.

Tait’s team go into Saturday’s game second bottom of the seven-strong table, on seven points from four fixtures, head coach Eddie Pollock’s visitors being fourth, on 17 from four following a 21-7 home win against Edinburgh’s Watsonians on Saturday gone.

The two teams’ last meeting saw Knights beaten 36-11 in mid-May at Stirling’s Bridgehaugh Park in the Fosroc Super Series Sprint.

Tait, 59, is hoping the extra recovery time afforded by having had a blank weekend will ease Knights’ injury issues so far this season, saying: “A lot of the guys had been in since the middle of June training so they were due a break.

“Hopefully we’ll get a couple of injuries sorted out. We’ve got Sam Derrick and Johnny Rutherford just around the corner so hopefully they can get involved within the next couple of weeks and get some numbers back for us.

“It is really tough and obviously with premiership rugby starting up, Borders clubs won’t want to give up players to help out.

“It’s going to be difficult getting players in if we do pick up more injuries.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s game against Wolves, he added: “Stirling are a team with a lot of experience.

“They’re a team that have got the balance right. Eddie’s done a good job of getting it right – they’ve got experience in the frame and they’ve also got some really talented youngsters and Glasgow Warriors are always there to help them out with players now and again.

“I’d expect them to come down with a very, very strong squad so we’ll have to put a huge performance in even to get close to them at the minute. Hopefully we’ll get a reaction from our guys to their loss at Boroughmuir as we’ll need it.”

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