Melrose 31 - 8 Currie: Tries from King crown day as Melrose power to third final in row

The business end of the club calendar also serves as the hunting season for pro coaches and it was no surprise to see Edinburgh's Rob Moffat at Melrose on Saturday, just hours after returning from Galway and the wreckage of a disappointing defeat to Connacht.

Both he and Sean Lineen, his counterpart at Glasgow, have tough jobs in striving to mould squads capable of competing for the Magners League with as little as a third of the budget of some rivals. They also have the significant responsibility of bringing on native produce, giving raw talents their opportunity at the next level and developing them to hand over to the national management hard-edged individuals capable of keeping Scotland in the running for the Six Nations title and World Cup knockout stages.

This match had some genuine talents – the likes of Matthew Scott, the Currie fly-half who, unfortunately, was forced off with a shoulder injury, wing Dougie Fife and Melrose youngsters Fraser Thomson, scorer of 15 league and three cup tries this season, and Grant Runciman among them.

There were other engrossing performers such as number-8s Ross Weston and Ross Miller, the blindsides John Dalziel and Mark Cairns, Currie's dazzling Kiwi Johnnie Smith and home wing Callum Anderson, whose age may rule out a shot, or another shot at pro rugby. All are lighting up the Scottish club game week after week.

One who has been a pro before and whose two-try role was at the core of Melrose's victory on Saturday is James King. Just 24 last week, he would love the chance to use a second final appearance as a launchpad back to the pro ranks, after an intriguing journey. "I came straight out of school to join the Borders at 17 and really enjoyed it," he explained, "but then they folded and it was difficult to know what to do.

"I went to New Zealand and they turned me from a stand-off to an inside centre, which I think is much better for me, and then I played a season in Italy with L'Aquila. I enjoyed that experience too, but it was a very stop-start game, very forward-orientated, which didn't suit me, and I became a bit disillusioned.

"I came back to Melrose last season, but I wasn't playing with any consistency and by February I'd had enough. I went off to Monaco with some friends to work on yachts, and just get away from rugby.

"I came back and played at the end of the season, but I told Chick (Melrose coach Craig Chalmers] that I needed to focus on starting a career, so couldn't play rugby. John Dalziel then called me and changed my mind. I'm glad he did because I've really enjoyed it this year and feel that I'm playing the best rugby of my life now.

"Obviously, if the chance came along to return to pro rugby, I'd be stupid to turn it down, but with only having two teams in Scotland now I'm not building my hopes up. I just want to help Melrose win some silverware right now – the Border League, our own sevens and then beat Ayr in the cup final."

If King's tries clinched Saturday's win, it was the Melrose pack who did the spade-work. Superbly drilled by Dalziel and Robert Chrystie, the scrum-half, they took on the impressive Currie eight, secured good ball at scrum and lineout and provided forward platforms for Chrystie and Scott Wight to attack from.

Then it was all about the finishing and this was where Melrose held the decisive edge, nailing three tries in the space of 15 minutes either side of half-time that proved too much for Currie.

The first was a fine example of how to beat a rush defence, the forwards creating the platform on the right, King and Jamie Murray drawing the fast Currie defence onto them outside the 22 to allow Anderson to streak in behind in a diagonal run from his right wing. King was in support to score. Wight's conversion added to an earlier penalty to overturn Currie's early lead from a Smith penalty and put 'Rose 10-3 ahead at the break. Then it was a quick one-two. Six minutes into the second half Dalziel broke off a scrum in the Currie 22 and fed King whose angle of run took him careering through Scott's tackle and round behind the posts. Melrose won the restart and inside two minutes had set up the platform for another backs attack, King turning provider for Anderson this time with another break through the Currie defence.

On work-rate and ambition alone, Currie did not deserve to be 24-3 behind and they proved as much when James Johnstone, their strong Under-20s centre, burst the Melrose defence and openside flanker Jamie Thomson finished off in the right-hand corner in a fine team try.

But in a terrific end-to-end encounter even a late deluge could not dampen, the combination of more gritty forward work, that set up replacement scrum-half Scott McCormick for a final try, and sparky defence against a never-say-die Currie side wrapped up Melrose's return to the big Murrayfield spotlight.

Winning a final medal is now uppermost in the minds of Melrose and Ayr players, but there may also be career possibilities for those who have timed their form neatly to blossom with the Scottish spring.

Scorers: Melrose: Tries: King 2, Anderson, McCormick, Pen: Wight, Cons: Wight 4.

Currie: Try: Thomson, Pen: Smith.

Melrose: F Thomson; C Anderson, J Murray, J King, B Allen; S Wight (capt), R Chrystie; R Higgins, W Mitchell, K Cooney, G Dodds, G Elder, J Dalziel, G Runciman, R Miller. Subs used: L Gibson, A Gillie, S Johnson, S McCormick.

Currie: J Smith; W Moala, J Johnston, A MacMahon, D Fife; M Scott, R Snedden; J Cox, A Walker, A Hamilton, A Adam (capt), R Wilson, M Cairns, J Thomson, R Weston. Subs used: N Scobie, J Taggart, S Burton, G White.

Ref: D Changleng. Att: 605.