Newcastle moved a step closer to a return to the Aviva Premiership after claiming a nine-point lead over Bedford in the first leg of their Championship final last night, with stand-off Jimmy Gopperth doing most of the damage.

THE French Top 14 will feature another Scotsman next season after Borderer Scott Newlands was handed an extension with new arrivals Oyonnax.

The forgotten man of Edinburgh Rugby has finally upped sticks and moved back south, leaving a string of questions unanswered as to why he never received a single opportunity at RaboDirect PRO12 or Heineken European Cup level.

eDINBURGH Rugby have taken the unusual step of 
advertising for an assistant coach before the vacant head coaching role has been filled.

GLASGOW’S narrow loss in the RaboDirect PRO12 semi-finals for the third time in four years has only whet the appetite of supporters it appears, with the club predicting a record number of season ticket sales for 2013-14.

Edinburgh Rugby were today urged to put down even firmer roots at Murrayfield Stadium by Iain Milne, one of the team’s most distinguished players of the amateur era.

BRITISH and Irish Lions flanker Sean O’Brien could yet play for Leinster in Saturday’s RaboDirect PRO12 final after making rapid progress in his recovery from a knee injury.

RORY Lawson long ago gave up worrying about whether he was flavour of the month in Scotland, but the Newcastle scrum-half is eagerly looking forward to a return to the Aviva Premiership and a reviving of his battle with Mike Blair.

Edinburgh and Glasgow Rugby could soon learn exactly what they must do to secure a place in the Heineken European Cup after next season.

Former Scotland Rugby 
supremo Phil Anderton today insisted any move to a more compact stadium for 
Edinburgh’s team would have a beneficial effect on fortunes.

NORTH Berwick RFC will temporarily close its doors this summer before re-opening as an improved community sports hub in East Lothian.

ONE of the Borders’ and Scottish rugby’s more popular characters, Robin Charters, has passed away at the age of 82.

GLASGOW and Scotland centre Graeme Morrison is the latest talent to confirm his retirement from rugby as a result of injury problems that refuse to go away.

Watsonians finished second in the overall Kings of the 
Sevens title race to Melrose, following the final event at Jed-Forest on Saturday.

NATHAN Hines’ quest for a second Heineken Cup winner’s medal ended in crushing disappointment on Saturday when his Clermont Auvergne side were beaten by French rivals Toulon in Dublin.

HONOURS were shared in the last Borders sevens tournament of the season on Saturday at a rain-drenched Riverside Park, where Jed-Forest earned their first success of the year while Melrose collected the Kings of the Sevens title.

JONNY Wilkinson described winning the Heineken Cup with Toulon as a bigger achievement than his Rugby World Cup triumph with England ten years ago.

IF CLERMONT’S coach Vern Cotter is to set up office in Murrayfield as Scotland’s next coach, as looks increasingly likely, the Kiwi will do without the added kudos that comes with winning the Heineken Cup.

AT the Ulster end-of-season dinner a couple of weeks ago, prop Paddy McAllister collected the award for Personality of the Year... except he hadn’t won it.

IT POURED at Riverside yesterday but it failed to rain on Jed-Forest’s parade as the hosts rose to the occasion of the final round of the Kings of the Sevens competition to win their own tournament with victory over Melrose in a quality final.