Sevens roundup: Jed triumph in Riverside Park final

HONOURS were shared in the last Borders sevens tournament of the season on Saturday at a rain-drenched Riverside Park, where Jed-Forest earned their first success of the year while Melrose collected the Kings of the Sevens title.

Jed, driven on by a noisy support, and a member of the local band, outplayed Melrose in the final to lift the cup for the first time since 2007. However Melrose, with wins at the Peebles and Earlston events as well as two runners-up spots, a semi-final and three quarter- finals, topped the table with 52 points followed by Watsonians (46), Gala (44) and Jed (39).

Jed captain, Ross Goodfellow, was first to praise all of the players in the squad. “I was very proud of them,” he said, and thanked the crowd for their “unbelievable” support.

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The hosts were rampant in the final, with crucial tackling, pace and the ambition to end what was a disappointing league season on a high note.

Their direct running and pace forced Melrose on the back foot for most of the tie, played in heavy rain and on a sodden pitch. Jed led 14-7 at the break with tries from Robert Hogg and Goodfellow to an Andrew Skeen score and conversion. And it was all Jed again in the second-half as Lewis Young and Glen Young scored tries and Iain Chisholm kicked a penalty from in front of the posts to complete a 27-7 win.

Melrose had already been crowned as Kings before the final as Watsonians’ ambitions of the title ended in the semi-final when Goodfellow scored the only try of a close contest while Melrose squeezed out a gallant Gala side.

Melrose captain Graeme Dodds said: “The title makes up for our league season, and the ‘Kings’ is very important to us. It is difficult when you have 15s as well and I really think that eight tournaments [there are currently ten] would be enough,” he said.

Holders Heriot’s were knocked out but a talking point was the red card dished out by referee Dave Charlton to Gala’s George Graham for an alleged punch against Kelso. Gala’s Lee Millar played his last game before joining London Scottish while Scott McCormick is returning to Peebles from Melrose.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors won the Glasgow City Sevens Cup at Cartha Queens Park RFC after beating Glasgow Hawks 26-17 in the final. The squad for the Legacy Sevens Series event included first team players such as Scott Wight, Gordon Reid, Niko Matawala and Chris Fusaro, who was making his comeback after five months on the sidelines.

Scrum-half Murray McConnell scored four tries and Fusaro scored two. Captain for the day Scott Wight was on song with the boot, while Edinburgh Accies’ Callum Reid ran in six tries, including a hat-trick in the final. Glasgow reached the final with wins oner Glasgow University (38-12), Howe of Fife (24-5) and Munster (31-10).

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