Boroughmuir win Selkirk Sevens as Watsonians are crowned Kings

Boroughmuir were the stars of the show at Philiphaugh, winning the Selkirk Sevens for the first time in their illustrious history by defeating ?Jed-Forest 19-7 in the final.

Boroughmuir's Gavin Parker scored a try in the Selkirk final. Picture: SNS

Watsonians, who lost in the quarter-finals, nevertheless retained their Kings of the Sevens title as the top performing side on the Borders circuit this season.

Boroughmuir came through the early rounds with wins over Kelso and Hawick before facing Edinburgh Accies in the first of the semi-finals. It looked as though Accies would win the tie after they led 14-5 at the break but a second-half hat-trick by Archie Russell, the younger brother of Finn, gave the Meggetland side a 22-14 win.

Jed-Forest knocked out Gala in the first round then produced a first class performance to defeat the newly-crowned Watsonians in the last eight. Then in the semi-final against Melrose, Jed looked to be in control when they led 22-0 at the break with a hat-trick of tries from Lewis Young and one from Rory Marshall. But two tries by Melrose’s talented teenager Kieran Clark and one by Ruaridh Knott signalled a fightback but not enough to impede Jed’s progress to the final.

In the final Boroughmuir’s greater physicality, their team work and their sheer pace proved too much for Jed, the Meggetland men scoring tries by Jonny Matthews and Gavin Parker for a 12-0 lead before Matthews added a second-half score, Jed replying late in the game with a Lewis Young score.