Stirling County

Stirling County booked their place in the BT Cup final with a spirited display that saw them rout Hawick in style.

The SRU has received 12 applications from clubs to form franchises in the new part-time professional Super 6 league which is due to launch in the 2019/20 season.

Marr did what they had to: secured the bonus-point win they needed, but, with Melrose losing at Hawick, it wasn’t enough and they will go back to National League 1 next season.

In a match that meant little to either side in terms of the BT Premiership, Melrose had enough power to eke out yet another home win.

Boroughmuir coach Peter Wright emerged from the dressing room after his players dismantled a bewildered, tactically poor Stirling, relishing the knowledge that victory had earned them a shot at survival in the Premiership with three games left to play.

Boroughmuir more than halved the eight-point difference between the teams to keep their hopes of escaping the relegation zone alive with only three Premiership games left to play.

Currie went into this fixture as considerable favourites, given their good form which has seen them post recent wins over both Melrose and Ayr, the only two sides above them in the BT Premiership prior to this match.

These are curious times at Stirling, with an improved side apparently incapable of seeing out matches from winning positions.

The year ahead promises to be an interesting one for rugby. The best two teams in world rugby will meet for the first time since 2014 and either New Zealand or England will get a huge boost one year out from the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

There was less than a fag paper separating these sides before the start, so a close encounter always looked to be on the cards – and so it turned out.

Hawick achieved their first BT Premiership win of the season after scoring five tries against Stirling County with a performance that exuded a new-found confidence.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold and there was certainly a nip in the air as Heriot’s made amends for their defeat at home to Stirling on the opening day of the league season.

Stirling County continued their renaissance with a second successive win, this time over newly promoted Marr.

This always had the makings of an intriguing and unpredictable encounter, and so it turned out. Both these sides have been involved in high-scoring matches so far this season, so there was always the prospect of an entertaining game on the cards.

Currie Chieftains withstood a second-half fightback to take all five league points against fellow play-off aspirants Stirling County.

A blistering first quarter of an hour built Melrose a platform to continue their seamless start to the season.

Ayr emerged victorious from a 12-try spectacular in which both sides claimed try bonus points indicating how both were prepared to attack.

Hawick head coach Darren Cunningham has asked his players to “stand up and take responsibility” ahead of today’s BT Premiership match at Glasgow Hawks.

Boroughmuir’s wretched start to the season continued with a fourth straight defeat.