Hawick 14 - 19 Melrose: Misfiring Melrose still too potent for Hawick

This was a largely entertaining game on a balmy day, James Matthew's slick refereeing of the breakdown ensuring ball was whipped out from ruck after ruck and both teams enjoying a good share of possession to delight both sides of a healthy-sized crowd.

However, Melrose's lineout was a real weakness, their stand-off Scott Wight, so often the match-winner, missed seven kickable points that could have eased his side's passage, and the penalty and error count were too great for any side, never mind a title-contending one, to be satisfied.

But, in its perverse way, that was what pleased Chalmers. "I wasn't happy with the performance, but there is truth in the fact that good teams can play badly and win, and we did that today," said the Melrose coach.

"I've come down here quite a few times and played well and come away with nothing, so I have a lot of respect for Hawick."

Chalmers continued: "We played much better in our first two games this season and got one win and one defeat.The boys stuck in, showed a lot of character and got the win and now we go back and work on making it better for Dundee's visit next week."

Hawick were gutsy, typified by the Landels brothers, Matt and Danny, around a clutch of quality performers, notably their skipper Bruce McNeil, lock Craig Charters and Stuart Hogg, a centre who appears more dangerous every time he plays.While McNeil was leading forays into Melrose's underbelly and Charters was delighting in securing good home ball and stealing plenty from the opposition's throw-ins at the touchline, Hogg's pace stretched Melrose across the park and asked questions of their back three.

Melrose full-back Fraser Thomson, however, stamped brilliance on the game at regular intervals, with dazzling runs from deep which should have brought more reward, but despite the prompting of John Dalziel, the indefatigable Melrose player-coach, and No 8 Ross Miller, the visitors were hindered by a lack of support and mistakes that disrupted their phases of possession as much as did the home defence.

Rory Hutton, the Hawick stand-off, did not have a great game by his standards, the options he took invariably being read by the Melrose defence, however he did succeed where Wight failed in slotting two early penalties to put the Teries 6-0 up inside the first quarter.

The see-saw nature of the contest brought a try apiece in the second quarter, Melrose grabbing the first score with great composure in the Hawick 22, drawing in Hawick bodies until Robert Chrystie, the scrum-half back in his home town, timed the blindside attack perfectly for Ben Allen to finish off.

Allen was then swiftly involved in stopping Hawick at the other end, intercepting a Stuart Hogg pass.

But the Teries' spirit and ambition was never in doubt and they earned reward when, after a penalty from Wight pulled the scores close, Danny Landels, the openside flanker, broke upfield, found lock Michael Robertson in support, and with Melrose scurrying to their left to dam the flow, the tireless Greg Cottrell whipped ball crossfield and Graham Hogg breezed through to hand his younger brother Stuart the chance to go in behind the posts.

There was similar end-to-end excitement in the second half, largely from turnovers, and after Graham Hogg kicked a drop-goal, the skilful Melrose lock Graeme Dodds picked a fine line to sprint through the home 22 for a score.

Wight found his range with a 45-metre penalty and added a second to hand Melrose a 19-14 lead with 15 minutes remaining.Ironically, Hutton was just coming on to a game, stepping through the Melrose rearguard, when he was walloped in a tackle and forced to spend the rest of the game on the wing with a leg injury.

The intensity lifted again in the final stages as Hawick tried hard to find a winner, but Melrose held out for a precious four points that puts them back in the top half mix.

Hawick coach Derek Armstrong later bemoaned the SRU's appointment of a rookie referee, but, in truth, while Mathew could have shown yellow cards, to players from both sides, his warnings were generally heeded and the official deserved much credit for the way this game ebbed and flowed.

Armstrong knows he needs to look closer to home for the reasons behind why Hawick have managed to push all opposition close this season, but have so far failed to get over the line. Much focus will be on selection this week, with talk after this game of how the new head coach has to stop changing the team late when benched players threaten to walk out.

Scorers: Hawick: Try: S Hogg; Pens: Hutton 2; Drop-goal: G Hogg. Melrose: Tries Allen, Dodds; Pens: Wight 3.

Hawick: N Renwick; G Johnstone, G Hogg, S Hogg, S Anderson; R Hutton, G Cottrell; B McNeil (capt), M Landels, S Linton, C Charters, M Robertson, N Mactaggart, D Landels, D Lowrie. Subs: J Coutts for Renwick 40mins, K Davies for Robertson, A Dunbar for Johnstone, both 49, L Gibson for M Landels, A Marsh for Linton, both 58.

Melrose: F Thomson; C Anderson, J Murray, C Jackson, B Allen; S Wight (capt), R Chrystie; N Little, R Ferguson, G Holborn, G Dodds, G Elder, J Dalziel, G Runciman, R Miller. Subs: E Ford for Murray 29mins, K Cooney for Holborn 30, S McCormick for Chrystie 40, W Mitchell for Ferguson 45, H Mitchell for Miller 49, Miller for Elder 74.

Referee: J Matthew.