Selkirk 34 - 14 Watsonians: Borderers leave it late to seal win

IF YOU back a Border club into a corner you have to expect them to come out fighting which is exactly what Selkirk did yesterday at Philiphaugh.

Ignore the score board, this was nip and tuck right up until the final 15 minutes when Selkirk claimed their third and fourth tries of the afternoon, with the bonus point try coming after 50 second half minutes. The Borderers have a tough looking run in, with matches against Currie and Ayr still to come, so yesterday's win was a timely boost in their bid to play Premier One rugby next season.

The home team did the damage at either end of this match. They scored 17 points in the first half hour to take a grip and, when Watsonains threatened to make a game of it in the third quarter, the home team responded with another 17 points in the final 20 minutes.

After looking out on their feet, Watsonians gave themselves a lifeline thanks to Michael Ker's try with the last move of the first half and they added another try late in the game from replacement centre Grant Somerville but it was never going to be enough.

The city side was not helped by Ker leaving the field injured with half an hour left and with him went any hopes Watsonains had of poaching the points.

Gavin Craig got the home side off to a dream start when the flyhalf darted through a gap in the line before rounding the fullback to claim the first try of the match with just three minutes on the clock. Selkirk continued to dominate the first half, hungrier at the breakdown and with more bite in the tackle.

They were helped by Watsonians' lock Harris Grant who was binned after putting home scrumhalf Michael McVie through some spectacular aerial acrobatics in a tackle that registered a 9.8 for artistic merit.

The second try appeared on 22 minutes with Craig again making the break before the winger Lee Jones, who turned out for the Barbarians midweek, was given the ball ten yards out with one man to beat. Both touchdowns were goaled by David Cassidy who added a penalty on the half hour mark.

On a rare sortie into Selkirk 22 Watsonains came up with a try to round off the first half. With Fraser Harkness getting a warning for killing the ball, prop Gordon Patterson was asking for trouble by dropping the Watsonian maul.

Sure enough he saw yellow and Ker was able to ghost past a couple of half-hearted tackles to touch down beside the posts.

Having been on the ropes for much of the first half Watsonians, now a man to the good, produced their best rugby of the afternoon in the third quarter. They pushed hard but were unable to add to their points tally. One quick tap penalty from their own line looked dangerous until Craig tracked back 50 metres to make the all important tackle on Max Learmonth.

With nothing to show for all their efforts Watsonians lost heart and Selkirk dominated the last quarter just as they had the first. They butchered a couple of scoring chances before everything finally fell into place. Cassidy added his second penalty before flanker Callum Johnston and flying winger Lee Jones added the final two tries for Selkirk to claim five important points on the day.

Selkirk: Harkness, Hendrie, Cassidy, Nixon, Jones; Craig, McVie, Patterson, Grieve, Taylor, Aglen, Willet, Darling, Johnston, Renwick.

Subs from: Clapperton, Forrest, Smyth, Murray, Tomlinson.

Watsonians: Forbes, Rowe, Brown, McKee, Learmonth; Ker, Blackwood; Scott, Turnbull, Coertze, Grant, Weizman, Callander, Fedo, Dennis.

Subs from: Hart, Main, Masson, Trotter, Somerville.

Scorers: Selkirk – Try: Craig, Jones (2), Johnston. Conv: Cassidy (4). Pen: Cassidy (2). Watsonians – Try: Ker, Somerville. Conv: Ker, Forbes.

Referee: Iain Heard (Gala).