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Watsonians deny Selkirk in Earlston
final, but 'Kings' title now one victory away
AIN'T NO STOPPING US
NOW! Fraser Harkness demonstrates what he does best - scoring tries with defenders hanging off him - in Selkirk's
quarter-final tie against Peebles at Earlston on Sunday.
SELKIRK reached their third final of the spring
sevens circuit at the Graham Earlston Sevens on Sunday, but for the third time the winners' trophy eluded the Philiphaugh
team. Watsonians not only took the silverware at The Haugh following a 36-17 victory over the Souters, the Myreside
men also ensured that the destiny of this season's 'Kings of the Sevens' title will not be decided until Saturday's
final competition at Riverside Park.
Despite the disappointment of Sunday's defeat, Selkirk have the consolation of knowing that a first round victory
at this weekend's Jed-Forest Sevens will be enough for them to retain their Kings of the Sevens title. Indeed even
if Neil Darling's men lose their opening round tie, Watsonians must still win the Jed tournament outright (thereby
picking up 10 points) to deny Selkirk their second successive sevens crown.
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DAVID AT THE DOUBLE.
Selkirk centre David Cassidy sprints home for his side's fourth try in their semi-final against Jed-Forest at Earlston
Sevens on Sunday, putting the tie beyond the Royal Blues' reach.
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CONSOLATION PRIZE.
Selkirk skipper Neil Darling receives his runners-up medal from Earlston president's wife Trish Watson, following
his team's 36-17 defeat by Watsonians in the final of Sunday's Earlston Sevens. Next in line is team-mate Fraser
Harkness, while also in the presentation party are Neil Macfarlane (representing sponsors Graham Construction)
and Earlston president Keith Watson (far left). [Pictures: Grant Kinghorn]
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In their opening tie at Earlston, Selkirk got off
to a worryingly slow start - trailing 17-5 at halftime to a lively Stewart's/Melville team (Selkirk's sole try
coming from Lee Jones). However, a no-holds-barred team talk from coaches Rodney Pow and Kevin Barrie at the interval
had the desired effect of sharpening up the players, and it was a completely different story after the break.
Selkirk pressed up hard on Colleges whenever the city side were in possession, as a result of which the Inverleith
men lost both their shape and momentum. Selkirk went on to score four answered tries through Gavin Craig (2), Fraser
Harkness and Rory Aglen, with David Cassidy kicking three conversions to steer the Souters to a 31-17 victory.
In their quarter-final against Peebles, Selkirk continued to play high-tempo, attacking sevens straight from the
kick-off, racing to a 17-0 halftime lead thanks to two tries from Cassidy and one from Harkness, who followed up
his own grubber kick to collect the ball and crash over. It was more of the same in the second period, with Cassidy
completing a hat-trick of tries and Harkness scoring another to make the final score 29-5 (Haldane grabbing a consolation
touchdown for Peebles).
Up against Jed-Forest in the semi-final, Selkirk's large band of supporters were willing the team to make a positive
start, and to their relief that's exactly what the Souters did. A sandwich tackle by Cassidy and Jones on Jed centre
Gary Hill led to the ball going loose, and Rory Aglen showed good footballing skills to dribble the ball over the
line for the first try of the tie. Cassidy converted.
Soon afterwards a clever box kick into space by Gavin Craig was chased by Harkness, and the scrum-half collected
the ball in textbook fashion to charge over the line and touch down. Just before halftime Jed-Forest hit back through
Hill when the strong-running centre held off the attentions of both Neil Darling and Lee Jones to touch down near
the posts. Hill's conversion made the halftime score 12-7 to Selkirk.
Showing real determination in the second period, Selkirk's Eddie Gauché set the ball rolling by releasing
Harkness on a scoring run down the right touchline. Seconds later Cassidy followed up his own kick-ahead to score
Selkirk's fourth try, which he converted to put the Souters 24-7 ahead. Gavin Craig then intercepted a stray Jed
pass to put the issue beyond doubt, although Jed managed to score a consolation try through James Hogg to make
the final scoreline Selkirk 31, Jed-Forest 12.
Selkirk's opponents in the final were Watsonians, their fiercest sevens rivals, and now the only team able to deny
them a second successive Kings of the Sevens title. After making bright starts in their previous two ties, Selkirk
quickly found themselves on the back foot against the Myreside men, who scored two well-worked tries through Dougie
Brown and Ali Rowe (both converted by Mike Ker). Although Selkirk hit back with tries from Neil Darling and Rory
Aglen, a second Dougie Brown try gave Watsonians a useful 19-10 halftime lead.
The decisive try of the final came two minutes into the second period, when a lengthy spell of possession by Watsonians
was finished off in style by Ali Rowe, who latched on to Andrew Skeen's precise cross-field kick to increase Watsonians'
lead to 24-10. Although Selkirk then cut the deficit with a try by Fraser Harkness, converted by Cassidy, following
a powerful break from half-field by Gauché, it was the Myreside team who had the ultimate say with tries
from Andrew Skeen and Ali Rowe, making the final score 36-17 to Watsonians.
SELKIRK - Rory Aglen, Neil Darling,
Eddie Gauché, Fraser Harkness, Gavin Craig, David Cassidy, Lee Jones, Scott Hendrie, Ryan Crockatt, Ross
Nixon.
Selkirk 'A' players shine at Walkerburn Sevens to end season
on positive note
OLD HABITS DIE HARD. Selkirk's Michael
Jaffray goes over for a score in Saturday's Walkerburn Sevens final against Biggar - a feat he has been performing
for Selkirk for more years than he'd care to remember. Team-mate Ali Lyall looks on admiringly.
A TREMENDOUS team effort saw Selkirk 'A' reach the
final of Walkerburn Sevens on Saturday. And although staging a great second half fightback against tournament favourites
Biggar, the Philiphaugh players couldn't quite overhaul their Hartreemill opponents, losing the tie 30-17.
Coach Ewen Robbie had nothing but praise for the whole Selkirk side. "The boys really worked hard today, and
I'm delighted they were able to reach the final. Biggar were fielding their senior seven, and perhaps we gave them
too much respect early on. Still we performed better after the break, and managed to give them a run for their
money. Everyone in the squad pulled their weight all day, and as a coach you can't ask for more."
Selkirk faced a stiff examination in their opening tie against a slick Gala YM team, which featured senior players
Mike Christie and Shaun Law, but a blistering start saw the Souters race to an early lead thanks to tries from
Callum Johnston and Ali Lyall, and although Gala staged a fightback, the Philiphaugh men hung on for a 19-17 victory.
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ONE MAN BAND. Selkirk's
outstanding performer at Caberston on Saturday, Callum Johnston, heads for a hard-earned try in the final against
Biggar.
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CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Stand-off Michael
McVie slips past a Biggar defender in the final of Saturday's Walkerburn Sevens. [Pictures: Grant Kinghorn] |
Next up were Duns, and after a bruising contest
it looked as though the Berwickshire side were heading for a place in the semi-finals when 21-19 in front with
only seconds remaining. However, a well worked try by Callum Johnston saved the day for Selkirk, who ran out narrow
24-21 winners.
Selkirk's semi-final against Lasswade proved a one-sided affair, with Fraser Jack's men producing their best rugby
of the afternoon to demolish the Edinburgh side 36-12 to book their place in the final against a powerful Biggar
team who had swept all before them in the other half of the draw.
As expected the Hartreemill side hit Selkirk early and hard, running up 24 unanswered points before Michael Jaffray
managed to crash his way over for a try, making the halftime score 24-5 in the Lanarkshire club's favour. It was
a different story after the break, however, with Selkirk finally finding their feet to score tries through Callum
Johnston and skipper Fraser Jack. Biggar had the last say with a fifth try, making the final score 31-17. Still,
a great overall display by the Selkirk players, who have reached two finals on this year's spring circuit.
SELKIRK - Callum Johnston, Michael
Jaffray, Keith Connor, Fraser Jack, Michael McVie, Alistair Lyall, Chris Davies, Scott McDonald, Andrew Miller,
Ryan Henderson.
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Selkirk Rhinos' tournament proves
yet another outstanding success
CROWDS of parents and supporters flocked to Philiphaugh
on Sunday for the 2008 Bannerman Burke Selkirk Mini-Rugby Tournament. This is the fifth year the event has been
sponsored by local solicitors Bannerman Burke, with perfect weather conditions setting the seal on a memorable
day.
Click here For full report
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Upcoming fixtures
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Saturday, May 10th
Jed-Forest Sevens at Riverside Park
Monday, May 12th
BSPC Border League Play-off Final
Poynder Park, Kelso (&.30pm kick-off)
BOROUGHMUIR TO FACE SELKIRK IN
JED FIRST ROUND
SELKIRK must defeat Premier One champions Boroughmuir in the first round of this Saturday's Jed-Forest Sevens to
make certain of clinching their second successive Radio Borders 'King of the Sevens' title. The draw was made live
on Monday morning at the Tweedbank studio of Radio Borders, with Selkirk being announced beforehand as the tournament's
number one seeds. The other seeds are holders Jed-Forest, Watsonians and Hawick.
Selkirk's clash with the men from Meggetland will be the sixth tie to be played at Riverside Park, with the kick-off
time estimated at 3pm. Watsonians are in the other half of the draw to Selkirk, and will face Scottish Cup winners
Melrose in the first round.
"It's going to be a tough contest, there's no doubt about that," commented Selkirk president George Thomson
after the draw had been made. "That said, the Selkirk players have done tremendously well to reach five finals
of the nine sevens tournaments staged to date, and I've absolutely no doubts about Neil Darling's boys being up
for one last push."
Ironically George himself has strong Boroughmuir connections,
having played for the club while based in Edinburgh during the seventies. "Selkirk has always had a good relationship
with Boroughmuir, but that won't count for a thing on Saturday. I expect Selkirk to treat the tie as if it was
the final, and I'm confident the boys will be able to get the right result on the day.
"To win back-to-back Kings of the Sevens titles would be a fantastic achievement, illustrating just what a
competitive and classy sevens squad the Selkirk club possesses at the present time. However, no-one's looking too
far ahead right now, and coaches Rodney Pow and Kevin Barrie certainly won't be counting any chickens just yet!"
The first tie at Jed-Forest kicks off at 1.30pm, with the full 1st round draw as follows -
Dundee HSFP v Peebles
Haddington v Jed-Forest
Edinburgh Accies v Gala
Watsonians v Melrose
Berwick v Kelso
Boroughmuir v Selkirk
Heriot's FP v Langholm
Stew/Mel v Hawick
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Recent Results
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22/04 Hawick 22 Selkirk 23 Report
05/04 Berwick 5 Selkirk 51 Report
29/03 Biggar 0 Selkirk 15 Report Match Photos
22/03 Selkirk 24 W.O. Scotland 10 Report
22/03 Selkirk 'A' 59, Berwick 2nds 7 Report
15/03 Haddington 52 Selkirk 10 Report
08/03 Selkirk 12 Gala 3 Report
08/03 Selkirk 2nd 5 Hawick Linden 14 Report
01/03 Falkirk 0 Selkirk 8 Report
01/03 Selkirk A 13 Peebles A 7 Report
16/02 Garnock 10 Selkirk 16 Report
16/02 Selkirk A 21 Melrose A 28 Report
09/02 Jedforest 23 Selkirk 30 Report
09/02 Selkirk 'A' 0, Edin Acc 2nds 32 Report
26/01 Aberdeen GS 12 Selkirk 29 Report
26/01 Aberdeebshire 2nds 17 Selkirk 2nds 21 Report
19/01 Selkirk 22 Cartha QP 14 Report
19/01 Selkirk 2nd 27 Jed 2nd 26 Report
05/01 Selkirk 13 Stew Mel 9
Report
29/12 Selkirk 8 Hawick 25 Report
15/12 Haddington 7 Selkirk 9 Report
08/12 Selkirk 33 Kelso 14 Report
01/12 Hillhead 17 Selkirk 27 Report
24/11 Selkirk 9 Muss'brg 8 Report
17/11 Selkirk 32 Hamilton 29 Report
10/11 West 39 Selkirk 15 Report
03/11 Selkirk 29 Aberdeen GS 7 Report
27/10 Cartha QP 11 Selkirk 17 Report
20/10 Selkirk 31 Jed 17 Report
13/10 Stew Mel 41 Selkirk 36 Report
06/10 selkirk 27 Hadd'tn 22 Report
29/09 Kelso 9 Selkirk 25 Report
15/09 Selkirk 52 H'head J'hill 13 Report
08/09 Hamilton 14 Selkirk 19 Report
01/09 Selkirk 17 Biggar 26 Report |
*****
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