Stewart's-Melville 7 - 75 Currie: Rampant Currie stay top following merciless 11-try hammering of Stewart's-Melville

CURRIE remain top of Scottish Hydro-Electric Premiership Division One after a comfortable bonus-point win over Stewart's-Melville last night.

The rearranged match was played at Watsonians' Myreside ground, which just beat the frost, and in the opening 20 minutes the already-relegated Inverleith outfit gave as good as they got against a Currie side who had not played a league fixture since 23 January.

After a quarter of the match it was still 0-0, but had been quite enterprising. The Malleny Park side then began to step up a gear and scored four tries in 16 minutes to wrap up the bonus before the break.

Second-row Ryan Wilson claimed the first touchdown in the 23rd minute and four minutes later Scotland club internationalist Mark Cairns powered over.

In the last five minutes of the half these scores were added to by a great solo effort from stand-off Jonny Smith and then one from replacement Steve Burton. Smith had also kicked three conversions and at 26-0 the match was all but over.

The Currie attacks on the Stewart's-Melville line only became more frequent after the interval with former Livingston player Andy MacMahon, Wilson again and winger Willie Moala going over for converted tries to make it 47-0 before the hour-mark.

Another four tries were run in by Currie to take them up to the 75-point mark while the beleaguered 'home' side gained scant consolation when Liam Steele went over.

The only annoyance for Currie will be that they have no match this coming weekend due to champions Ayr's exploits in the inauguaral British and Irish Cup.

Scorers: Stewart's-Melville: Try: Steele. Con: Grant. Currie: Tries: Wilson 2, Cairns, Smith, Burton, McMahon, Moala, Weston 2, Taggart, White. Cons: Smith 10.

Stewart's-Melville: R Borthwick; M Doneghan, H Lingard, C Marshall, A Cox; R Grant, E Clark; R Merrilees, S Blackwood, A Statham, B Leathes, A Lean, A Fraser, B Tweedie, R Sutherland. Subs: J Charles, C MacIntosh, C Sutherland R Primrose, L Steele.

Currie: G White; W Moala, J Johnstone, A MacMahon, S Walker; J Smith, R Snedden; J Cox, N Scobie, A Hamilton, A Adam, R Wilson, M Cairns, R Weston, J Thomson. Subs: A Reekie, M Erskine, S Burton, J Taggart, A Whittingham.

Referee: G Gordon.