Stewart’s Melville 25 - 18 Hamilton: Stew-Mel run close by battling Hamilton side

Stewart’s-Melville took all five league points from a bruising Premier B encounter at Inverleith. However they were pushed hard by a Hamilton side that may not be ready for the top flight but could have a significant say on who steps up.

The visitors took the lead after five minutes when Craig Inglis won the race to the line after Scott Murray chipped ahead. But home full back Liam Steele squared matters when he darted between two defenders and stretched over.

The hosts doubled their tally after Angus Lean did the spadework for Hayden Lingard to score. However, Hamilton responded with a penalty by Ross Inglis, and the winger bagged two tries as the visitors dominated the closing minutes of the first period and turned around 18-10 ahead.

Stew-Mel restarted well and trimmed the deficit with a powerful surge that shunted the Hamilton pack over the line, allowing Alex Edmonstone to apply the final touch. And they took the lead on the hour when Andy Hughes raced up the left flank and cut inside to dot down between the posts for the bonus point try and leave Mike Hanning a simple conversion.

But, despite a strong finish by the hosts the only addition to their points tally came from Kaide Whiting who hammered over a long range penalty.