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Selkirk Rhinos' tournament proves
yet another outstanding success
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TOUGH GOING. Selkirk Rhinos P7 player Rowan Marr makes ground and looks for support in his team's final game against
Watsonians at Philiphaugh on Sunday. Keeping an eye on things is referee Ciaran Beattie, Selkirk's new Development
Officer.
WINNING SMILES. There's no disguising the delight of Selkirk Rhinos' P3 players as they celebrate winning their
group trophy on Sunday. Back row, from left: Kelvin Scott (coach), Aaron Cairney, Cameron Scott, Andrew Davidson
and Ryan Cottrell. Front: Struan Legge, Guy Mallin, Gregor Nichol, Liam Davidson and Ciaran McLaren. [Pictures:
Grant Kinghorn]
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.
In addition to Selkirk Rhinos' P3-P7 teams, the other guest sides included Gala, Melrose, Langholm and Watsonians.
The most successful Rhinos side on the day was the P3 side, who won their section outright - the third winners'
trophy lifted by the P3 players this season.
Rhinos secretary Karen Beveridge told the "Advertiser" she was delighted by the way things had gone.
"Everything went according to plan, with players and spectators enjoying a great day's sport. The Rhinos are
extremely grateful to Bannerman Burke for again sponsoring the event, and to Andrew Dickson for sponsoring the
winners' medals.
"I would also like to thank groundsman Alan Seal for his hard work on the day and throughout the year, while
Selkirk's new Development Officer, Ciaran Beattie, did a great job helping to pull things together and also refereeing
throughout the afternoon.
"Thanks also go to paramedics Mike Craig and Stuart Pringle, as well as to Alan Waldron for collating the
scores. Finally, our thanks go to all parents, helpers and committee members for working so hard to ensure things
went so smoothly."
Two special presentations were made on the day by sponsor Iain Burke. The award for the most enthusiastic parent
went to Ian Pringle, who drives his son Craig down to Rhinos training sessions and matches from their home in Eddleston.
The award for the most enthusiastic coach went to Scott McColm (P6s).
The P7 tournament saw Selkirk play Langholm first, with the Rhinos having to give three players to their severely
depleted opposition. Selkirk quickly took control and cruised to an 11-0 victory. Gala proved to be stiffer opponents
and managed to keep the ball for long periods, but Selkirk pulled away and finished 5-3 winners.
Melrose were next up, with the Greenyards side having often been the Rhinos' bogey team. This made the emphatic
8-0 victory for Selkirk a fantastic result. The last match of the round-robin against Watsonians turned out to
be the P7 final.
Selkirk took an early lead, but Watsonians drew level just before half-time. Despite some great handling and continuity,
Watsonians proved to be too strong for the Selkirk boys and added a further two tries. The Rhinos were bitterly
disappointed, but everyone had given it their best shot.
This match marked the end of an era - five years as Rhinos have come to an end for the P7 team members. The boys
have developed into a good squad which holds a lot of promise for junior and senior careers. Thanks go to all the
players for the effort they have put in, especially those who helped other teams out or volunteered to play in
other colours. Well done to you all - and good luck for the future!
The P6s played Langholm first and put in their worst display of the season and were well beaten 3-0. After getting
a legendary Scott McColm roasting the Rhino players came out against Gala with all guns blazing. After a great
display they eventually lost 5-2, Fergus and Moshin scoring. Gala went onto win the P6 cup.
In their final game the Rhinos' P6 players again stuck in well but went down 4-2 to Melrose. Kerr and Hamish played
well, while Jack made the tackle of the day when crunching the big Melrose prop! So ended a slightly disappointing
season, although injuries throughout the campaign and a small squad were key factors.
The P5 team's opening match against Melrose 'A' was a lot closer than the 3-0 scoreline suggests, with Selkirk
keeping Melrose at bay for the majority of the match. However, Watsonians proved too strong for the Rhinos, winning
4-1, with Tom Manson-Stubbs claiming the home team's consolation try.
Selkirk P5s finally got into their stride in their game against Melrose 'B', with
Mark Rutter opening the scoring, followed by Ryan Legge and Rutter again, making the final score 3-0 to Rhinos.
Caitlin Cottrell produced some excellent tackling in this game, while Sam Coltherd was unlucky not to score after
being pushed into touch just before the try line.
Against Langholm the P5s again triumphed by 3-0. Legge opened the scoring followed by Rutter and Rory Hamilton.
Josh Thomson was stopped just short of the try line after being tackled into touch by half of the Langholm team.
Alex Beveridge and Legge were instrumental in stopping Langholm from scoring. Once again, great support play was
provided by Ciaran Blair, Ruaraidh Donaldson and Jack Norgate.
The final match of this round robin competition saw Melrose triumph as winners with a 4-1 victory over Watsonians.
Selkirk team - A. Beveridge, C. Blair, S. Coltherd, C. Cottrell, R. Donaldson, R. Hamilton, R. Legge, T. Manson-Stubbs,
J. Norgate, M. Rutter, J. Thomson .
The Rhinos' P4 team hoped to finish the season on a high but just missed out on winning their home tournament.
Selkirk came from 3-1 behind to beat Gala 4-3, while the second game against Langholm saw the Rhinos 3-2 behind
at half time, before an interception try by Fraser Easson and some outstanding tackling by Aaron Henderson paved
the way to a 6-3 win and a place in the semi-final against Watsonians.
Some aggressive pressure by the Edinburgh outfit put the Rhinos on the back foot early on, and again the boys turned
round at half-time behind. Good work by Matthew Gentleman and Tom Elliot led to a Rory Dempster try and another
interception try by Fraser Easson to seal a dramatic 5-4 win for Selkirk.
This set up a final with Melrose and another cracking game. Melrose made the early running and at halftime were
3-1 up, leaving Selkirk having to come from behind yet again. However, this time the home players were unable to
break down an excellent Melrose defence, and the Greenyards side ran out 6-2 winners. Mark and Billy would like
to thank all the boys for their hard effort at training and games throughout the season, and hope they will all
be back next season to step up to a new challenge. Well done!
Meanwhile the P3 Rhinos completed a hat-trick of tournament wins by adding to their earlier victories at Jedburgh
and Gala. A change in the game format from what the boys have played all year failed to dampen their spirits, as
they set out their stall early, defeating a strong Watsonians 'A' 7-5, before accounting for Gala 4-2.
Wanting to finish the season on a high they saved their best till last, defeating Watsonians 'B' 6-1. A fantastic
first season has seen these youngsters win three out of four tournaments losing only one game in the process. Well
done lads!
* All primaries to meet at 10:30am this Sunday for a bit of fun and a parents/coaches versus the players game.
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