Selkirk fail to shape up
Heriot's 44
Selkirk 20
DEFENCE and discipline have been two areas of increasing concern for Selkirk in recent weeks – and last Saturday both of these qualities were found wanting.
Heriot’s were more aggressive in the tackle, while a proliferation of penalties and the game’s only yellow card greatly reduced the Souters’ chances of success.
It took the home side just four minutes to open the scoring, former Jed-Forest player Mark Lee providing the link to send Colin Goudie over in the corner.
To their credit, Selkirk hit back immediately – Lee Jones celebrating his return to the team with a scything run through the home defence before sending Rory Aglen in for a try under the posts. David Cassidy converted.
But Heriot’s were back in front 10 minutes later. A rare knock-on by Jones allowed the home side a foothold in opposition territory, and a series of penalties against the visitors close to their try line resulted in prop Alan Dymock being driven over from a lineout maul for his team’s second try. Wilson added the two points.
A bout of aerial ping-pong ended when Michael McVie kicked to touch just outside Heriot’s 22, and when the ball went loose from the resultant line-out, stand-off Gavin Craig cleanly gathered it and proceeded to dummy his way past a clutch of Heriot’s defenders to touch down close to the posts. And Cassidy’s conversion put Selkirk 14-12 ahead.
Soon afterwards Wilson kicked a penalty to restore Heriot's lead, and just before half-time Selkirk received another setback when flanker Neil Darling was yellow-carded by the visiting Italian referee for a ruck infringement.
Another Wilson penalty stretched the home lead before a bout of sustained Heriot’s pressure inside the Selkirk 22 saw Lee touch down the city side’s third try.
Two penalties from the boot of Cassidy managed to keep Selkirk in touch, but some loose kicks and indifferent first-time tackles saw Heriot’s rattle the visitors with a three-try burst from Dymock, Goudie and Jonathan Alston. Wilson converted all three to complete the visitors’ misery.
Afterwards Selkirk coach Kevin Barrie said: “We are always going to have a hard game here and we were always in the game for 50 minutes and keeping the board ticking over. But the sin-binning did not help and we were left to defend in our own 22.
“We also lost a bit of shape. We are trying to put it down to not having enough game time – that’s only the third game this year, and that is not good enough. Heriot’s have also been playing at a higher standard against British and Irish sides.
“We came off the rails in the final 20 minutes and that disappointed me.”
Selkirk: F. Harkness; D. Clapperton, D. Cassidy, S. Hendrie, L. Jones; G. Craig, M. McVie; G. Patterson, D. Grieve, M. Murray, R. Aglen, S. Willet, N. Darling, C. Johnston, A. Renwick. Subs: R. Nixon, J. Smyth, S. Forrest, R. Taylor, D. Moussa.
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Weather for Selkirk
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 7 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
