Stirling County 20 - 24 Melrose

IN THE end none of it mattered, but the writing was on the wall for Stirling County from the first minute when Melrose skipper Scott Wight intercepted a crazily ambitious cross-pitch pass and ran 40 metres to touch down.

There were many more mistakes to come as a difficult task for Stirling - an outright win was needed for them to have any chance of forcing their way into the top eight at the split - proved impossible even though nothing was certain until the final whistle.

Melrose, lying second, looked as if they would blow Stirling away after 20 minutes when hooker Wayne Mitchell crashed over at short range for the away side's second try.

But Stirling fought their way back into it and, although they never managed to catch Melrose, they stayed in the hunt right to the final whistle.

They did push their luck outrageously at times as they played high-risk rugby and attempted to launch attacks wherever they got hands on the ball.

It almost worked. There was always the prospect of a last-ditch try to cancel out the one they gave away in the first minute that would have scrambled a victory but Melrose were too good and too organised to let it slip while, to rub salt in the wound, Hawick's win down in the Borders meant Stirling never had a chance of making the top eight anyway.

Scorers: Stirling County: Tries: Lindsay, McDonald. Cons: Archibald (2). Pens: Archibald (2). Melrose: Tries: Wight, W Mitchell, Brown, Runciman. Cons: Wight (2).

Stirling Co: R McGowan; B Addison, G Gilliland, B Archibald, G Lindsay; S Edwards, S Kennedy; M McDonald, A Moffat, G Mountford, G Gilchrist, C Deacons, D Denton, S Robertson, B Barsanti. Subs: J Graham, C Black, T Edwards, R Boswell, G McRorie.

Melrose: F Thomson; C Anderson, C Jackson, E Ford, D McColl; S Wight, R Chrystie; N Beavon, W Mitchell, G Holborn, G Elder, H Mitchell, J Dalziel, G Runciman, G Dodds. Subs: F Brown, G Innes, R Miller, C Hardie, C Murray.

Referee: A Healey.