Selkirk move their sevens event to next May

SELKIRK will not stage their annual sevens in 2010, however they won't miss a season as they instead move the 91-year-old tournament to spring 2011.

In a move designed to fit in with talks ongoing at Murrayfield to improve the club season, Kelso are also considering the future of their sevens tournament with provisional agreement for their annual August date also to be scrapped in favour of a slot in the spring.

Selkirk president Donald Macleod said: "It is becoming increasingly difficult to get teams to play in the pre-season sevens because the coaches and players are concentrating on preparing for the XVs season, and so teams were regularly calling off or sending weakened sides. We also noticed the supporter numbers dropping off over the last three seasons, though the hospitality side of things has been very well supported which showed people still wanted to be associated with the tournament.

"But our own coaches were quite keen to move away from August and the only way we could get a Saturday was by moving to May. So after meetings with Jed-Forest and the SRU we are moving to 7 May in 2011 – we have already had our event for this season so we couldn't do it this May – and Jed are moving to the following Saturday to keep their traditional place as the final event."

• Jed-Forest took a giant stride towards escaping the drop from Scottish Hydro Premier Two last night thanks to a bonus-point 37-23 win over relegation rivals Haddington at Riverside Park.

The victory, courtesy of tries from Robert Hogg, Paul Pringle, Chris Laidlaw and Gregor Young, lifted third-bottom Jed to 28 points with three games remaining, five clear of the second-bottom East Lothian side, who now have just one game left.