Melrose 29 - 20 Ayr: Melrose draw on inner strength to claim first title win since 1997

THE rain turned from an early spit into a constant stream on the famous Greenyards turf and, led by their inspirational Australian captain Damien Kelly, Ayr ran at their hosts with real purpose and bone-jarring aggression, refusing at every turn to give in.

Melrose coach Craig Chalmers stood at his familiar end of the ground, looking down the pitch towards the Eildon Hills, wearing a smile and remembering the day 14 years ago when he was on the field directing Melrose to their previous championship title.

This time he was helpless and soaked, but he recognised the test that the opponents and heavens were throwing in his face and, for the last ten minutes, was enjoying watching his players come through it.

Rarely does a Division One champion claim the crown without first uncovering a deep inner strength and a desire to take them across the finish line that some were unsure existed.

Melrose have threatened to come out on top in recent years, but never quite got there, and they showed on Saturday how much they had learned from disappointment. They led the way when the leagues split for the first time in October, and had to wait, but keep the focus.

Just to prod that mental toughness a bit more, Ayr gave them a timely reminder at Murrayfield the previous Saturday of how much it would take to topple a very good side moulded by Kenny Murray, Peter Laverie and Kelly into a perennial title challenger, by claiming the Scottish Cup.

Melrose returned home wounded but, despite falling behind in the opening minutes of this game, getting in front and being pulled back level in the second half, this squad, captained well by Scott Wight, proved it had the mettle to cope, the composure to stay in a game in which the Ayrshiremen again dented their sharpest attacking strengths, and come through comfortably in the end.

The most frustrating factor for Ayr was in their shipping of penalties. Kelly had provided the skipper's lead in his penultimate game in Scotland by crashing over after four minutes, but four penalties handed Wight the chance to kick 'Rose into a 12-7 lead before the half-hour mark.

In a frantic first half, Ayr set the tempo and Melrose eventually responded, Wight changing tack in the face of superb defence to produce some fine tactical kicking.

Referee Graham Knox had his work cut out at the breakdown as Melrose competed better there this week, but he showed great composure in the heat of battle too, warning Ayr clearly after a succession of penalties before reducing them to 14 men five minutes before the break when replacement prop Stuart Fenwick paid the price for another stupid ruck offside.Melrose failed to take advantage of the extra man, Wight's penalty from that infringement coming back off a post, and then Kelly provided a repeat of his first-half lead by scoring a second try from close-range eight minutes into the second.

But when Knox turned a home scrum into a penalty for back-chat, the game started to turn Melrose's way. Wight converted that, big Melrose No 8 Graeme Dodds flattened Kiwi centre Mark Stewart, and Jamie Murray darted under the Ayr radar and was only just kept out. The front five were standing up to a powerful Ayr pack, flanker Grant Runciman was everywhere and 'Rose scrum-half Robert Chrystie rolled back the years with terrific sniping behind the Ayr scrum.

And then the town of Melrose seemed to explode with the hosts' first try. It was Chrystie catching Glen Tippett that handed them a lineout inside the visitors' 22, from which Wight attacked, Garry Elder took a pass at pace and sprinted over.

With Cammie Murray, the 36-year-old whose career began with Hawick more than 17 years ago, bringing not only experience and a typically fiery and darting attacking presence to the Melrose midfield, and working well with Jamie Murray, there was precious little space this week for the cup final hero Mark Bennett, who was replaced before the end. But Ayr were not for lying down, and when Curle, a very different fly-half to Wight but clearly talented, struck a penalty to close the gap to 22-15, the large travelling support of several hundred found their voice again.

Indiscipline cost them territory, however, and as the rain grew heavier the Melrose desire thickened in the air around the Greenyards in the last quarter. The killer moment came with nine minutes to go. Wight revealed his running skills with a fine break through the Ayr defensive line to create a three-on-one inside the Ayr 22. His pass to Graham Innes was swiftly transferred to Ross Miller and the lock, a replacement on Saturday but a big part in the club's drive to the championship, was never going to be stopped from ten metres.

Wight converted and shortly after barrelled into a tackle to aid Joe Helps in taking full-back Grant Anderson crashing into touch. He got to his feet, the scar from the Melrose Sevens success visible across his cheek, the eyes dark, eyebrows tight and teeth clenched.Ayr's pride in defeat was as palpable, and they grabbed a deserved last-minute try through Curle, but it was merely the prelude to an immense wall of sound - the shrieking final whistle, cheers, and then the popping of champagne corks.

The smallest of the Border towns came to expect success with six titles in the 1990s, but this, their seventh since leagues became official in 1974, but tenth in all, was clearly that bit sweeter for the wait of 14 years.

Scorers: Melrose - Tries: Elder, Miller. Pens: Wight 5. Cons: Wight 2. Ayr - Tries: Kelly 2, Curle. Pen: Curle. Con: Curle.

Melrose: F Thomson; C Anderson, J Murray, C Murray, A Dodds; S Wight (capt), R Chrystie; N Beavon, W Mitchell, G Holborn, G Elder, H Mitchell, J Dalziel, G Runciman, G Dodds. Subs used: N Little, G Innes, R Miller, J Helps. Unused: B Colvine.

Ayr: G Anderson; S Manning, M Bennett, M Stewart, C Taylor; R Curle, AJ MacFarlane, G Reid, P McArthur, G Sykes, S Sutherland, D Kelly, R Colhoun, P Burke, A Dunlop.Subs used: A Kelly, S Fenwick, D Stewart, G Tippet, R McCallum.