Rugby: Relief for Wilson as stand-off's late kick is off target

Having overcome a shaky start to establish a six-point lead, and with five minutes of injury time played, the Capital side conceded a try to leave Wight a conversion that was well within the compass of the Borderer's reliable boot.

However, his attempt on goal rattled back off the post to hand Heriot's a 26-25 win that sees them move into fourth place in the league table.

Recalling a similar scenario at Murrayfield in May 2009 when Wilson and his colleagues emerged 21-19 victors after Wight was awry with a last-ditch kick, the Heriot's man said: "I was pretty sure he had it. At the cup final two years ago, he hit the post with the last kick of the game. I wasn't expecting that again."

Wilson was the hero for the hosts, bagging all of their points with a brace of tries, two conversions and four penalties as Heriot's bounced back from surrendering their unbeaten record against Ayr the previous weekend.

"We didn't do ourselves justice in Ayr," added Wilson. "We just made too many basic errors and we felt it was an opportunity missed, so we were keen to get back to winning ways."

However, despite a solid defensive effort that withstood repeated spells of Melrose pressure, he acknowledged that the lapses which allowed the visitors to grab a four-try bonus point illustrate the work that remains to be done before Heriot's can consider themselves title contenders.

"I don't think we started particularly well, in fact all of their tries were a bit soft from our point of view", he said. "But we never let the game get too far away from us and weren't playing catch up. In the second half, we really just played in the right places which helped us a lot."

Melrose displayed their potency in attack after only two minutes when Edinburgh pro Alex Blair produced a bristling run that took him past three defenders for the afternoon's opening try.

The Heriot's response came in eight minutes when Wilson picked up at a close-range scrum and cleverly darted over for a try before adding the conversion.

The visitors eased back into the lead when Wight slotted a penalty and he added the extra two points after Callum Anderson had finished off another Melrose attack by emulating Blair's earlier effort as he skirted past three defenders to touch down.

A penalty from Wilson briefly halted the Borderers' momentum before Ben Allen sliced through the home defence for a third Melrose try then the home captain completed the first-half scoring with his second penalty.The hosts restarted well and, after impressive centre Pete Saunders was thwarted just short, Wilson picked up and pirouetted over for a score which he also converted to restore parity.

The scrum-half was also on the mark with a penalty 15 minutes from full time as Heriot's capped their best spell of the game by retaking the lead, and he nudged them further ahead with another three pointer as the game entered injury time.

However, with the referee adding an additional five minutes, there was time for Hayden Mitchell to crash over for the try that handed Wight the opportunity to take all five league points.

Wilson is delighted with the way the side has rallied from a disappointing campaign last season when a devastating injury list delivered a fatal blow to any hopes of challenging for the title. Saturday's performance featured exceptional contributions from front rowers Alan Dymock and Scott Burnett, but the captain believes the promising start to the season can be attributed to an improved defensive effort.

"Our midfield has been very good defensively and, although we gave away soft tries, they had a lot of pressure on us which we held - that was good. Before the game, I would have taken a win and four points, so I'm happy with that.

"But we still cut it a wee bit fine at the end."

Scorers: Heriot's: Tries: Wilson (2); Cons: Wilson (2); Pens: Wilson (4). Melrose: Tries: Blair, Anderson, Allen, H Mitchell; Con: Wight; Pen: Wight.

Heriot's: C Goudie, G Bryce, M Learmonth, P Saunders, M Nimmo, C Ferguson, G Wilson, A Dymock, S Burnett, W Blacklock, R Martin, M Reid, P Eccles, M Lee, J Hill. Sub: G Cameron.

Melrose: A Dodds, C Anderson, A Blair, C Murray, B Allen, S Wight, S McCormick. K Cooney, W Mitchell, R Higgins R Miller, G Elder, J Dalziel, G Runciman, G Dodds. Subs: G Innes, G Holborn, H Mitchell, R Chrystie, C Hardie.