Selkirk 43



Selkirk 38

Kelso 7

FriendlIES

With Selkirk's senior sevens squad in action at Kelso on Saturday, coach Kevin Barrie took a young side, including a number of up-and-coming Selkirk Youth Club graduates, to Duns.

And the youngsters didn't disappoint, showing plenty of commitment and skill in a convincing 43-0 demolition of their opponents.

Tries came from Jason Hendrie, Darren Scott, Scott Tomlinson (2), Callum Marshall, John Everitt and Andrew Renwick, while Scott kicked a total of four conversions.

Other notable performances came from winger Rory Monks and flanker Matthew Robertson, whose solid tackling around the fringes constantly frustrated the home team's efforts to put points on the board.

On Tuesday, a full-strength side took to the pitch at Philiphaugh for the last of the pre-season training fixtures against Kelso. The contest was overshadowed by a serious injury to visiting number eight Ali Ralston, who landed awkwardly following a tackle, suffering a dislocated ankle and breaking his leg in three places.

Kelso made the early running, with Selkirk struggling to win their own ball. However, following a scrum near the visitors' line, Alex Dunbar (making his Selkirk debut) broke through and offloaded the ball to Fraser Harkness, who evaded the clutches of Mee Kaa Eel Hartley before sending wing Lee Jones over for a try in the corner.

Soon afterwards, Harkness got his own name on the scoresheet. Number eight Ryan Crockatt secured deflected line-out ball and released Gavin Craig, who floated a well-judged pass out to Harkness. The full-back powered his way over for a score on the right. Michael McVie landed both conversions from out wide.

To their credit, Kelso's players refused to let their heads drop, and before the interval deservedly hit back when prop Stuart Lowrie was driven over under the posts. Sean Common's conversion took the interval score to 14-7 in Selkirk's favour.

The home players adapted better to the deteriorating conditions and flanker Callum Johnston caught the eye with a series of spirited runs. The loss of skipper Neil Darling (ankle injury) and Alex Dunbar (rib knock) failed to stop Selkirk's momentum. Further tries came at regular intervals from Fraser Harkness, Scott Tomlinson, Ryan Crockatt and Martin Murray, with McVie adding two conversions to put the issue beyond doubt.

Selkirk Squad: F. Harkness, L. Jones, R. Nixon, A. Dunbar, J. Hendrie, G. Craig, M. McVie, A. McDowall, I. Walling, M. Murray, R. Aglen, A. Renwick, N. Darling, R. Crockatt, E. Gauché, R. Taylor, C. Johnston, S. Tomlinson, S. Willet, S. Forrest, C. MacDougall, D. Scott, A. Lyall.