Selkirk RFC (6) vs Kelso RFC (7) - RBS Border Regional Cup

Pre-Match Report

Coming Soon…

Match Report

What price an away win? At the seventh time of asking this season, Kelso won a game away from home at Selkirk. It was a close run affair, played in cold and windy conditions with the occasional shower of rain lasting about 10 minutes each time it came.

Both sides were a little short of their best side with Kelso missing Kevin Utterson, Gregg Minto, Ewan Ford and David Lowrie, whilst Selkirk had to cope without their talisman, Fraser Harkness.

The game was mostly played at the Bannerfield end of the ground, with Kelso having the majority of the pressure in the first half and Selkirk being on top in the second half.

Kelso looked the sharper of the two teams at the start of the game and were playing as they have played for the past few weeks with their dominant pack causing the opposition no end of problems in the set piece, especially in the scrums. Selkirk’s cause was not helped by the loss of their French tighthead prop in the very first scrum. He was replaced by the debutant, Peter Mirrielees, who has come fromNew Zealandwith a good pedigree, having played provincial rugby for Otago.

Kelso had some good chances in the first half but their failure to capitalise on the possession and territory was a worry. Ryan Selkirk just failed to gather a ball cleanly in the act of scoring and Allan Haig just failed to slide in for a try in the other corner when chasing a kick through. Turn overs were also spoiling Kelso’s chances of scoring. One of the Selkirk players must have been doing some good work on the ground to secure these turn overs. The penalty count was also against Kelso.

However, the only try of the game came when Kelso set up a series of pick and drives and, eventually, were able to drive Ali Marsh over for a try near the posts. Mark Chester converted to take Kelso into a 7 point lead. He was the guilty party shortly after when he conceded a penalty for a tackle which the referee adjudged to be high. The usually reliable David Cassidy missed a fairly straight forward kick at goal. As half time approached,Chestermade a half break but, as the support arrived, he lost possession when he was tackled.

The question asked by most at half time was whether Kelso had enough points in the bag to counter the elements in what was likely to be a torrid half.

Lewis Mallin replaced Iain Wallace at half time and, following a bout of aerial ping pong, Kelso almost increased their lead when a Selkirk kick was charged down but the race for the line was won by Selkirk. Soon after, Ali Marsh was almost over in the corner but lost the ball in the act of scoring. Had there been a TMO at the game, the verdict would have gone to him. This chance came about after a good drive up the middle by Stef Carnegie, who fed Gareth Riddell, who was stopped at the posts. Quickly recycled ball almost did the trick for Kelso.

For the next 20 minutes, Kelso had to defend. Selkirk were winning line out ball and worked the touchlines, putting the Kelso back three, Ryan Selkirk, Allan Haig and Keiran Wilkinson under a lot of pressure. It was not easy to kick into the wind and running the ball back at Selkirk was too ambitious on the day in the conditions. So, it was Kelso’s turn to defend. They rose to the task manfully until Richard Minto was penalised for offside at a ruck. Cassidy slotted the goal. He repeated the medicine a few minutes later to close the gap to a single point after Kelso were caught for not releasing on the ground.

The pressure was all on Kelso. They did not help themselves with some slack play in defence. At this point, the heavens opened but that seemed to be a sign for Kelso to come back into the game and they finished up on top with a succession of driving mauls, working their way up to the Selkirk line. They were held up and from the resultant scrum, Mark Chester chipped the ball through for Frankie Robson to chase. He missed the touchdown by the slimmest of margins. Selkirk felt they had been let off the hook and quickly took the 22 drop out to take play up to the half way line but time had run out for them when Kelso won the final scrum to rush off the filed to the warmth and sanctuary of the dressing rooms.

All in all, there were some good performances by the Kelso squad as they prepare for the final 2 games in the RBS Cup and on to the restart of the Premier 2 group C games. All of the players deserve praise for playing in such conditions, but young Frankie Robson deserves a special mention for his display both in defence and attack. He did not look out of place in the centre!

Kelso team: Keiran Wilkinson, Ryan Selkirk, Richard Minto, Frankie Robson, Allan Haig, Mark Chester, Andy Tait ( Craig Renton), Keiran Cooney ( Stuart Lowrie), Chris Riddell, Alin Marsh, Donald Seed, Stef Carnegie. Gareth Riddell, Iain Wallace ( Lewis Mallin), James Stevenson. Replacement not used Allan Frame