Melrose make strong start to defence of Kings of the Sevens title

Published on Sunday 3 April 2011 17:36

Melrose made a successful start to the defence of their Kings of the Sevens title by defeating Heriot's in the final of the 120th Gala tournament yesterday at Netherdale, the first of ten rounds in this season's competition.

The real test for Melrose, of course, will be next Saturday at their own tournament, but their 45-12 win over Heriot's in the final suggests that what is essentially the same team that triumphed on the Borders circuit last season is ready for the Greenyards blue ribband event. Outstanding for Melrose yesterday were John Dalziel and skipper Scott Wight, dual playmakers in a side that understands the subtleties of the short game.

And with Fraser Thomson providing immense pace and, at times, scoring tries at will, Melrose were unstoppable in the first two rounds, cruising past Berwick with a 45-0 win and then doing to the same to Peebles for a 39-0 result.

It was only in the semi-final that Melrose met real opposition as Jed-Forest showed why they have been such a formidable side on the Borders circuit in recent seasons.

Jed were only two points adrift going into the final minute with the scoreline at 19-17 but Melrose were able to step up the pace with a try by Callum Anderson to seal the tie.

Heriot's had looked the only other serious challengers, opening with a 56-7 win over Langholm and then enjoying a comfortable 33-12 victory against Hawick in the second round.

Then in the first of the semi-finals, they ran in four tries against Selkirk to earn their place in the final.

But in the final itself, Heriot's were simply no match for a Melrose side who recaptured their scoring technique after being challenged by Jed.

Melrose had the game won by half time with tries from Allan Dodds, Anderson, John Dalziel and Murray for a 28-0 interval advantage.

Second tries by Allan Dodds, Anderson and Thomson completed the job but, if Heriot's had been trounced, they at least were able to score two late tries by Laurie Seydak, a member of Edinburgh Academy's cup-winning team last season, and Max Learmonth.

"I was pleased we were able to score at the end," said Heriot's coach Mark Appleson, adding: "We didn't have possession at all for the middle ten minutes of the final. They certainly showed us how to play sevens."

Appleson's side will be reinforced by Scotland sevens caps Struan Dewar and Chris Fusaro for the Melrose Sevens in addition to Cammie Ferguson and Colin Goudie. "They will make a big difference," Appleson added.

Nevertheless, he would have been pleased with the performances of Seydak, Junior Bulumakau, the 18-year-old Boroughmuir High School pupil whose father played for Fiji, and Scotland under 20 cap Alex Spence.Elsewhere, Falkirk showed up well, beating Kelso in the first round and losing to Jed by a narrow margin after dominating the match, losing a score through the over-confidence of Graham Harkness, who tried to walk in for a try rather than sprint and paid the price for it. Another side to impress was Edinburgh University, who have become popular visitors to Netherdale in recent seasons. The capital students were comfortable winners over Haddington in the first round but, in the second round, they were unable to hold a skilful Selkirk side, for whom Callum Marshall excelled.

There was a second disappointment in the weekend for Watsonians, who were dismissed in the first round by Peebles a day after losing their Premier 1 status in the 15-a-side game, but the Myreside club, as past winners of the 'Kings' title, know that they have the capability to compete seriously on the Borders circuit.

Gala Sevens results

First round: Selkirk 15 Ardrossan 5, Haddington 5 Edinburgh University 35, Heriot's 56 Langholm 7, Hawick 19 Gala 17, Edinburgh Accies 7 Jed-Forest 17, Kelso 7 Falkirk 15, Watsonians 0 Peebles 17, Berwick 0 Melrose 45.

Second round: Selkirk 33 Edinburgh University 12, Heriot's 33 Hawick 12, Jed-Forest 14 Falkirk 12, Peebles 0 Melrose 39.

Semi-finals: Selkirk 0 Heriot's 26, Jed-Forest 17 Melrose 24.

Final: Heriot's 12 Melrose 45.

Heriot's: C J Osazowa, L Seydak, J Bulumakau, G Wilson, M Learmonth, J Kohn, G Bryce. Subs used: A Spence, M Nimmo.

Melrose: J Dalziel, J Murray, G Dodds, S Wight, A Dodds. S McCormick, C Anderson. Subs used: C Jackson, F Thomson, G Runciman.

Referee: A Ireland.