Boroughmuir 12 '“ 45 Melrose: Rob Chrystie welcomes '˜real buzz'

George Taylor crossed the line for Melrose in their victory over Boroughmuir.

The Borderers ended a mediocre spell of form and now face Glasgow Hawks at the Greenyards, while Heriot’s travel to Ayr. All four teams collected try bonus points at the weekend as their free-scoring styles blew away opponents unable to stem the flood of points that overwhelmed them.

Boroughmuir had no excuses and their match against fellow strugglers Stirling now assumes extra significance as they flirt with the relegation zone.

The home side expended all their energy in the first half keeping the visitors in check and there wasn’t enough in the tank for the second when Melrose ran away with the game.

Melrose coach Rob Chrystie said: “I think people were getting a bit carried away just because we weren’t racking up loads of points but now we are getting back into it and there is a real buzz developing.

“They chucked the kitchen sink at us and we defended really well. Our defence was solid and once we started to play a bit we did it at the right times, which was important because in weeks past we have tried to play a little bit too early at times. It is about having balance in our game and it was good today.”

Melrose opened the scoring after ten minutes with a penalty in front of the posts by stand-off Jason Baggott and they were never behind after that, one point ahead at half-time but 33 points ahead by the final whistle.

First-half tries by outside centre George Taylor,  pictured, and winger Ross McCann were matched for Boroughmuir by Matt  Walker and Jordan Edmunds.

There was little to choose between them in the first 40. After the break, however, Boroughmuir’s contribution was minimal and Melrose could easily have gone beyond the half-century mark if the place kicking had been better.

Baggott landed a second penalty but thereafter it was a case of running everything. McCann went more than 25 metres with barely a hand laid on him for his second try.

The bonus point came from a lineout and driving maul, one of Melrose’s most effective tactics that Boroughmuir couldn’t cope with. Richard Taylor got the touchdown at the bottom of a pile of bodies.

Baggott converted two in a row but there were no more conversions for the final three tries as the substitutes benches were emptied. Nyle Godsmark didn’t need the overlap on his left, McCann powered his way through some half-hearted tackles to complete a hat-trick, and Austin Lockington was the last man to get his name on the scoresheet.