It was almost two years to the day that the sides last met in pre-Covid times, with the East Lothian side coming out on tops that day with a 31-22 victory. The reverse fixture was to be called off at the eleventh hour in March last year as the pandemic forced the grassroots rugby calendar into its lengthy shut-down.

Haddington went into the game seeking back to back victories whilst veteran Chris O’Neill took his side into combat, looking for Broughton bouncebackability following their narrow defeat against Royal High.

Despite the hosts dominating the opening quarter and taking an early lead, Broughton rallied and a brace of tries from Kane Templer and scores from Gavin Tainsh, Craig Wishart and Logan McKenzie saw the visitors eventually edge their noses out in front in a humdinger at Neilson Park.

In a hard fought encounter, Haddington pushed for a late winner but a last ditch David Starrett defensive stint saw Broughton hold out to seal the bonus point victory and earned Starrett the man of the match award in the process.

The result puts Broughton into 5th spot with seven points in the table after playing two games, with three out of the top four having featured in twice as many outings so far.

An ebullient Captain Ryan McKnight said, “I’m delighted that we managed to secure the win and plenty for us to work on this week. It was a tough shift in the heat and despite being tired we managed to hold on which is a great effort.

“As a squad we really fronted up and worth shouting out Logan who was called upon to kick when needed and his points proved crucial in the end. Great to get 5 points before yet another big fixture for us next week”.

“A big thanks to our hosts Haddington for the tough match and hospitality. Next week sees the lads return to Wardie where we welcome Ross High. The bar will be open for a 3 o’clock kick off and the boys would welcome all support for what’s sure to be a big one.”

(Photo courtesy of Paul Smith)