and receive alerts when they’re in the news Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London We are experts in medium and small-cap markets we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies commodities and broader investment stories This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation THG PLC (LSE:THG) has confirmed that it rejected a cash and shares bid of up to £600 million for its MyProtein business from London-listed acquisition vehicle Selkirk Group PLC (AIM:SELK) which is run by a former director and backed by ex-Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy The FTSE 250-listed group said the proposal was "wholly unsolicited, largely unfunded, highly conditional and non-binding", mostly made up of shares in the shell vehicle, which floated last November Selkirk was founded with funds from major THG shareholder Kelso Group Holdings PLC (LSE:KLSO) and run by two early backers of THG It valued the business at between £400 million and £600 million on the protein shakes maker on a cash-free THG's management said they felt the bid "fundamentally undervalued Myprotein and its prospects" as well as carrying "significant execution complexity and risks" With doubt also cast on Selkirk's ability to raise sufficient funding which is due to post a first-quarter update next week said it has reduced debt and secured long-term banking facilities since spinning off its Ingenuity arm at the start of the year with a priority on its growth and cash generation strategy Shares in THG rose 5.5% to 30.65p in early trading on Wednesday House broker Peel Hunt said its base valuation for THG Nutrition was £775 million equivalent to 1.2 times revenue and 12.8 times EBITDA ** Update: Adds share price and broker comment ** Sign up to receive alerts and news direct to your inbox Autonomix Medical CEO Brad Hauser joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce a significant milestone in the company’s development of breakthrough neuro-modulation technology The company has released a compelling new video testimonial from a patient who participated in the initial phase of.. Proactive Investors Limited, trading as “Proactiveinvestors United Kingdom” is registered in England with the Company Registration number 05639690. Group VAT registration number 872070825. You can contact us here Market Indices, Commodities and Regulatory News Headlines copyright © Morningstar. Data delayed 15 minutes unless otherwise indicated. Terms of use Floated on AIM last year with plans to acquire undervalued consumer, technology and digital media sector assets, Selkirk’s backers include activist and vocal THG critic Kelso Group (KLSO) while non-executive director Angus Monro knows THG well it stressed Selkirk’s offer for Myprotein was ‘wholly unsolicited highly conditional and non-binding’ as the FTSE 250 firm insisted it is focused on ‘executing its growth and cash generation strategy’ Selkirk’s offer ascribed a headline value to Myprotein of £400 million to £600 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis, yet THG stressed that the bulk of the consideration offered was in the form of newly issued Selkirk shares THG highlighted that the remainder of the consideration would have been ‘payable in cash from a new equity and debt issuance which was largely unfunded and without appropriate detail on its source’ Manchester-headquartered THG ‘unequivocally’ rejected the bid on the basis it ‘fundamentally undervalued Myprotein and its prospects’ and carried execution risks in particular the ability of Selkirk to raise sufficient funding Cult Beauty and Dermstore online platforms said that following the demerger of its Ingenuity e-commerce and logistics business in January and a recent refinancing it has reduced net debt and secured long-term banking facilities and is now ‘focused on executing its growth and cash generation strategy’ Lukewarm on the THG story with a ‘hold’ rating Panmure Liberum calculated that Selkirk’s bid would have valued Myprotein at an EV/EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest depreciation and amortisation) multiple of 11 to 17 times 2025 estimates falling to 7 to 11 times on 2026 forecasts ‘not much higher than the group’s current traded 2026E EV/EBITDA multiples of 9 times’ ‘Given the strategic rationale for the bid this was probably an easy decision for the board but also highlights that the equity value within the group remains significantly trapped behind a wall of debt and ongoing weak trading,’ said the broker ‘This deal would not really alleviate that for shareholders.’ commented: ‘THG boss Matt Moulding always made out there was hidden value in the business and no-one listened… until now An approach from Selkirk to buy THG’s Myprotein business for up to £600 million puts down a marker for what the division is worth and it’s more than the value of the entire group as of last night ‘For all the drama around THG since it’s been a listed business it does deserve credit for building up Myprotein into one of the leading brands in the fitness and wellness world.’ Mould added: ‘Protein products are everywhere but Myprotein has done a good job at standing out from the crowd That’s partly down to THG’s marketing tactics always offering deals on Myprotein products via its direct-to-consumer operations and that’s helped to build up a loyal fanbase ‘It’s exactly the type of business that would appeal to an outfit looking to capitalise on a hot trend this might have fired the starting gun for other interested parties to think about making a move.’ DISCLAIMER: Financial services company AJ Bell referenced in this article owns Shares magazine The author of this article (James Crux) and the editor (Steven Frazer) own shares in AJ Bell Trunk roads authorities have undertaken numerous detailed road and traffic surveys* to inform potential improvements for pedestrians and those using wheels (e.g wheelchair users) on the A7 Selkirk town centre since the public consultation concluded late last year BEAR Scotland and Scottish Borders Council (SBC) have met to review the results of the surveys and agree next steps has been tasked with building a base traffic model which initially looks at the introduction of pedestrian crossings at the High Street/Tower Street junction This location was one of three priority sites highlighted in the public consultation The other two were Market Place/Ettrick Terrace junction and the Tower Street footways This process will interrogate how traffic lights at this junction would impact traffic flow and pedestrian movements in the wider area As Scottish Borders Council has been considering the establishment of a one-way system on the local network along High Street and Tower Street this is being considered in the initial development of options to be tested using the traffic model “The various in-depth surveys undertaken over the last few months have offered a more in-depth analysis of the hot spot areas highlighted by locals The surveys include detailed surveys on traffic flow data pedestrian and traffic movement data and underground utility equipment mapping “It has been decided to focus on investigating the potential impact of improving one of the priority locations in the first instance The model will look at how traffic lights at this junction would impact on traffic flow and pedestrian movements in the wider area Once we understand that we can then take it from there and look at other options “We are hoping the model on the above can be completed and initial assessment of the options will start this side of Christmas “We appreciate the patience of the community while we identify potential improvement options These things take time but it’s important that everything is considered appropriately.” For updates on this project, please subscribe to the Walk A7 Selkirk project page Have Your Say Today – Walk A7 Selkirk – Commonplace Image: Traffic modelled network overlaid on a satellite image Vehicles can be seen using the dark grey road network Other elements such as traffic lights and pedestrian crossings (denoted by the red and green lines) and bus laybys (the crimson rectangles) can also be seen HERIOT’S did what they had to do by coming away with a bonus-point win nearly came away with a losing bonus point only for Calum Anderson’s extra-time penalty to drift wide It was a harsh finale for the Borders club who defended robustly and made the most of the limited chances they had coach Bob McKillop firmly rejected the idea that his players had half a mind on next week’s clash with league leaders Ayr but he also admitted they are going to have to step up several levels if they hope to come away with a result when that clash comes What the result does do is arithmetically assure Heriot’s of a top-four spot at the end of the season and a place in the play-offs as a result They are still odds-on favourites to finish in the top two with the games against Ayr deciding who ends up in first place Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Watsonians muscle past Marr Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Andrew Mitchell hat-trick propels Hawick to victory over Glasgow Hawks Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Kelso ease relegation fears with dominant second half versus Edinburgh Accies and they competed very hard at the breakdown,” McKillop said and they counter-attacked and looked really We’re a little bit disappointed with how we played I think both teams will bring their A-game next week “One of the key foundations for any team is a good set-piece And we’re very lucky that we’ve got a good set-piece Our scrum and line-out were probably the biggest differences between the two teams in this game.” it was probably a result that Selkirk had factored into their season and they know the games that really matter as they battle for their spot in the play-offs are the ones coming up against the likes of Currie Chieftains and Watsonians this should have done them a world of good as they showed their battling qualities and running threats “I’m really proud of the guys’ effort,” said Gordon Henderson “Heriot’s are one of the best teams in Scotland and when we attacked and put them under real pressure “What’s really plain over the season is that these boys will go for 80 minutes and give everything that they’ve got They’ll fight for every inch of that park and really push each other to do that The thing was that when the power came on in the mauls and scrums Though it was the strength of the home pack that earned them the win it was the strike players who got them under way There shouldn’t have been much on as the hosts ran a routine ball from an off-the-top line-out but when centre Angus Hunter hit the line at pace and under the posts to give Ross Jones an easy conversion The Selkirk response was far more of a team effort before it was rapidly shifted across the pitch managed to squeeze the ball out of the tackle where fly-half Aaron McColm came on a loop move to catch the defence flat-footed and send full-back Anderson in for the levelling score Heriot’s could also do things the easy way and a penalty to the corner earned them the next score with the line-out maul motoring over the line and Sam Wallace Selkirk were coping with most of the plays Heriot’s threw at them with Bennett prominent both as a runner and distributor The frustration for the Edinburgh club was clear and Borders’ defiance was still there as the game moved into the second half Twice Heriot’s manufactured scoring positions but messed up the final pass and when their line-out maul was held up over the line The law of averages suggested they had to get it right sooner or later and a move down the right with Hunter making the break took Heriot’s to within inches of the visitors’ line where hooker Michael Liness was in position to make the final drive and score The bonus point eventually arrived when a scrum near the visitors’ line saw the home pack drive their opponents off the ball and keep the effort going until No 8 Ruaridh Leishman was in position to pick up and make the final inches they managed to threaten a comeback as Oliver McClymont came off the bench to round the defence and send Anderson on for his second try with the conversion making it an eight-point game as it went into the final seconds The Borderers had that chance to earn a losing bonus point but Anderson was wide with a penalty from the final kick of the game and Heriot’s were able to turn their attention to the big game seven days hence Scoring sequence (Heriot’s first): 5-0; 7-0; 7-5′ 7-7; 12-7 (h-t) 17-7; 22-7; 22-14 Player-of-the-Match: There were plenty of eye-catching performances with Mark Bennett making things happen for Selkirk as did his opposite number It was the home pack that made the difference with lock Jamie Campbell outstanding in the tight It showed Selkirk they can live with the best in the league and gave Heriot’s a bit of a wake-up call before they face Ayr at home in next week’s round of rearranged games Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Watsonians muscle past Marr Arnold Clark is the UK’s largest independent car retailer With over 70 years of experience in the automotive industry As proud partners of Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) we’re committed to supporting both professional and grassroots rugby across Scotland aligning our passion for driving forward excellence on and off the field Whether you're looking for your next car or cheering on the national team Arnold Clark is with you every step of the way Website: www.arnoldclark.com Stuart Hogg facing lengthy lay-off and … “If Langholm proves anything, we have to stay focused. As far as the title race goes, it was huge for us that Kelso got only three points at Earlston.” … “We did well to fight back at times, but we gave away some silly penalties, allowed them far too easy access into our 22. When you give them access to the 22 time and time again, it’s difficult to put that amount of effort in.” … Enjoyed this article? Quality journalism like ours is made possible by readers like you. If you value our in-depth coverage of Scottish rugby at all levels and want to see more, please consider supporting us with a subscription or donation It helps us keep delivering the news you love Thank you for being a part of The Offside Line community independent and up-to-date coverage of all aspects of Scottish rugby photographers and business minds bring their talents and enthusiasm to our unrivalled coverage of the game © 2016-2025 Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line | Kept onside by webporty Center Parcs has offered a first glimpse of its latest destination near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders The holiday accommodation provider shared its early plans during a public consultation to share its latest thinking for the village forest spa and on-site retail and dining facilities the firm will target staycationers wishing to get away from it all by booking a short stay in a wooden lodge with ready access to outdoor activities such as tree trekking Fronted by landscape architect Paul Hogarth the £350m development comprises a designed landscape of lochs said: “From the layout of our lodges to the design of key facilities like the Subtropical Swimming Paradise and Aqua Sana Forest Spa every detail has been carefully considered to reflect the unique character of the location.” A planning application is expected later this summer All comments are pre-moderated and must obey our house rules the AIM listed cash shell which has made an offer to buy MyProtein from THG has said the nutrition business is “dramatically undervalued” and a successful reverse takeover would be advantageous to THG and its shareholders The £400m to £600m offer would have comprised a mix of cash and new shares in Selkirk which it claimed would have to be issued at a premium to the current Selkirk share price The statement issued this morning said: “Unfortunately the Offer was rejected based on (i) valuation (ii) proposed structure of the offer (iii) the deliverability of the offer and (iv) a lack of certainty that a newly listed MyProtein would have sufficient stock market trading liquidity Whilst we respectfully disagree with the conclusions we would like to thank the board of THG and their advisers for their time and efforts in considering our proposal “Where we are completely aligned with the board of THG is in its conclusion that MyProtein is a world class brand with tremendous growth prospects but which is currently dramatically undervalued by the UK market Whilst Selkirk is no longer in any form of discussions with THG we reserve the right to reconsider this in future should there be a change in circumstances Selkirk has continued to build a pipeline of acquisition opportunities We remain more convinced than ever that our reverse takeover into a listed vehicle model is a strong option for companies either seeking to IPO or for existing listed companies looking to realise value for a subsidiary Our model gives the owners of assets the opportunity to realise the benefits of a market listing – price discovery ongoing access to capital and brand profile – whilst maintaining exposure to valuation upside “The Board of Selkirk will continue to actively pursue our current pipeline its advisers and its larger shareholders have significant experience both in the target sectors and the wider UK stock market Meanwhile we have continued to focus on a disciplined filtering approach to opportunities and preservation of the capital raised at IPO In a statement this morning (23 April 2024) which was highly dismissive THG rejected an offer from cash shell Selkirk to acquire MyProtein which it dismissed as “wholly unsolicited The statement was supposedly in response to “media speculation” of which there was none which values the Blackburn-based business at £82m and last year’s £300m plus float of Applied Nutrition must have left the THG board frustrated at the lack of recognition by the market in their undervalued supplements and nutrition business “The Board considered that the Proposal fundamentally undervalued MyProtein and its prospects and in addition carried significant execution complexity and risks the Proposal was unequivocally rejected by the Board THG confirms that there has been no further engagement with Selkirk since the Proposal was rejected,” the statement said THG demerged its ecommerce and logistics business Ingenuity at the start of 2025 and has refinanced the remaining group into a THG Beauty and THG Nutrition divisions securing long-term banking facilities and focusing on growth and cash generation The Group’s preliminary results and Q1 trading update are expected to be announced “on or around 30 April 2025.” Selkirk was set up as a cash shell in October 2024 by former THG director Iain McDonald saying he wanted to buy “an undervalued company or business in the UK” in the consumer partly funded by McDonald’s Belerion Capital vehicle which provided 18% of the funds McDonald is working alongside another former THG director Angus Monro investment director at Manchester investment platform said: “THG boss Matt Moulding always made out there was hidden value in the business and no-one listened… until now An approach from Selkirk to buy THG’s MyProtein business for up to £600m puts down a marker for what the division is worth “For all the drama around THG since it’s been a listed business it does deserve credit for building up MyProtein into one of the leading brands in the fitness and wellness world to hit the gym and have a protein-heavy diet Protein products are everywhere but MyProtein has done a good job at standing out from the crowd always offering deals on MyProtein products via its direct-to-consumer operations and that’s helped to build up a loyal fanbase.” He added: “This success has paved the way for MyProtein’s products to be stocked in supermarkets and that has further widened the net for reaching existing and potential customers “It’s exactly the type of business that would appeal to an outfit looking to capitalise on a hot trend this might have fired the starting gun for other interested parties to think about making a move.” Shares in THG rose 5.5% to 30.65p in early trading on Wednesday THG’s broker Peel Hunt said it values THG Nutrition at £775 million A crunch match at the top of the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership table awaits as Watsonian FC hosts Selkirk RFC Watsonians can cement their berth in the semi-finals with a win of any kind over fifth-placed Selkirk Selkirk can keep the pressure on Currie Chieftains who currently occupy the fourth and final semi-final berth With just two or three rounds remaining for most in the league after this weekend every point matters at the top and the bottom of the ladder Sign-up for our newsletter today to receive the latest updates We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns IT WAS a game which followed a predictable script to reach a familiar outcome but there were enough exciting and intriguing sub-plots along the way to ensure it was a worthwhile 80 minutes for both teams and those watching. Musselburgh fired plenty of shots and battled to the very end they were bold in attack and brave in defence but they struggled at times to turn the promising opportunities they engineered into points and when they switched off they conceded tries in damaging clusters “When you get caught napping and chasing shadows in the first half against a team which throws a lot of deception at you and it feels like they have two numbers on each edge every time then you are always going to be up against it,” said defeated head coach Derek O’Riordan “The adjustments we made at half-time made up for that but then a lot of tries that came in the second half were either soft through the middle or it just seemed like everything their 10 did came off URC: Glasgow v Munster: Warriors do it the hard way This Is Murrayfield … and it is 100 years old today Long read: Hawick must adapt now or accept a bleak future and the other side is that all I asked from the guys today was not to give up on themselves and in the last five minutes we were still trying to get tries out of a game which was gone from us but it has just been a tough old season and I don’t blame the guys for this but they just want it to be done now.” “We’re a group of blokes who just enjoy each other’s company and if you turned up at training on a Tuesday or Thursday night or even came into our dressing room before a game you wouldn’t think that we are in the situation that we are in There are boys at the club who care deeply about each other and care deeply about doing well its just that there was a set of circumstances we had to deal with this year which we didn’t have the capacity to adjust for so we have to take our medicine and come back stronger But I can’t fault the players for what they have done today or for what they have done across the whole season.” played with the self-belief and composure of a play-off chasing team which is what they are – even if their top four aspirations rely on Currie Chieftains suffering a highly unlikely implosion They absorbed pressure and clinical when they needed to be “We knew Musselburgh would make us work hard because they’ve done that the last few weeks and when they scored early doors in the second half I thought we might be under a bit of pressure but fair play to our guys for sticking to task and scoring four tries on the bounce killed the game off,” said Gordon Henderson but at the same time we would like to be close to Currie it took some excellent last-gasp defensive work from teenager Bruce Weatherhead to dislodge the ball from Ben Pickles grasp as he dived for the line but the Selkirk winger made sure a few moments later when he picked up and rampaged home after Musselburgh lost their way with a kick-return on their own 22 Pickles threatened again when he ventured in from his left wing slot to collect possession and break clear in the outside centre channel straight off scrum ball but Musselburgh’s cover defence once again thwarted an excellent try-scoring opportunity then Selkirk scrum-half Hugo Alderson went close when he chased down Callum Anderson‘s chip ahead but didn’t quite reach the ball before it trickled over the dead-ball line it was Musselburgh – who had contributed their share to the contest in terms of possession without much territory to speak of – who struck next with a long-range try straight off scrum ball featuring a Rory Watt midfield burst before Tom Foley showcased his pace to finish the score off Pickles responded on behalf of Selkirk in quick-order with another foray off his left wing to score in the opposite corner and the hosts soon added to that score with a free-flowing try which was initiated by Pickles collecting a kick ahead before some Harlem Globetrotters style handling – including a diving catch and offload from Corey Tait – eventually sent Dylan Bronlund cantering over on the right It looked like the floodgates had burst when when Josh Welsh and Alderson combined to send Ross Nixon over for Selkirk’s bonus-point try just a few moments later recovered to have the final say of the first half when Ross Brown burrowed under the posts with Jason Talac and Euan Bonthron having shown some impressive evasion skills during the build-up passage of play There was controversy just before the break when the Selkirk team their supporters and the PA announcer all thought Pickles had claimed his hat-trick only for referee John Smith and his touch-judge to rule that Pete Burns had managed to turn the lively winger over with his last-gasp tackle so as to prevent the ball from being grounded Musselburgh started the second half in determined fashion and got their reward when Watt and Burns broke the line for Murray McCowan but Musselburgh struck straight back with Pickles eventually claiming that third try and this time Alderson nailed the touchline conversion It looked like there wasn’t much happening for Selkirk when they fumbled the ball behind the game-line just inside their half but the cool-headed Aaron McColm tidied up who sent Andrew Grant-Suttie under the posts Kieran Westlake was next to cross for Selkirk before Grant-Suttie skipped home for his second and Brodie Allan then got in on the act to take the hosts past the half century mark The scoreboard had gotten away from Musselburgh but they showed admirable resolve to keep plugging on in pursuit of at a hopeless cause and although the bonus-point they picked up when Brown powered over again from close-range didn’t make any material difference to their season who would begrudge them the enhanced respectability that try added to the scoreboard H Alderson (O McClymont 66); L Pettie (B Malcolm 64) Musselburgh: T Foley; M McCowan (O Craig 60) Scoring sequence (Selkirk first): 5-0; 5-5; 10-5; 15-5; 20-5; 22-5; 22-10; 22-12 (h-t) 22-17; 27-17; 29-17; 34-17; 36-17; 41-17; 46-17; 51-17; 53-17; 53-22; 53-24 Player-of-the-Match: Selkirk winger Ben Pickles scored a hat-trick and got over the line twice more He went looking for work and made things happen when he got on the ball Talking point: It was a great effort by Pete Burns to get across and turn Ben Pickles with a last-gasp tackle on the line just before half-time but everybody in Philiphaugh was convinced thatthe Selkirk winger had managed to get the ball down and it is hard to fathom how the match officials saw it differently for generally accepting that everybody on a rugby pitch gets something wrong at some point in a game … even the referee URC: Edinburgh let it slip at the death against Benetton AYR reached the 1000-point mark by seeing off a determined Selkirk to finish their regular domestic campaign in front of their home fans sitting comfortably on top of the pile before their long wait to face the only team that have beaten them this season Although the rain managed to stay off for the majority of the match there had been a torrential downpour just preceding referee Dan Evans’ whistle “Conditions like that can sometimes be a bit of a leveller but like we’ve done all year the message to the boys coming in was to go and take their opportunity and perform,” said Ayr assistant Frazier Climo post-match Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Currie Chieftains pushed all the way by Hawick URC: Edinburgh slay toothless Dragons TOL teams up with ‘Find a Player’ … take the survey and find out more “I thought our 9-10 controlled things really well but on days like this you’ve just got to keep it pretty simple and with our forward pack and the dominance we can get Of the sizeable gap in their schedule while they wait for rearranged fixtures to be fulfilled Climo added: “We’ll be fairly sensible about it and then gear up for Currie and get excited about that we’ve been keeping an eye on where they’re going to finish and we’re really looking forward to it “I don’t think [that we’re not playing any fixtures] will change too much Obviously the boys know they can freshen up now and get rid of a couple of niggles and really fly into a couple of weeks training: we’ll be ready.” Ayr had broken the deadlock after a David McCartney kick was spilled Andy Stirrat took it forward and Lewis McNamara had a straightforward finish in the right corner but Selkirk came roaring back with a short-range score from Jack Fisher after they had taken a penalty to the corner Callum Anderson’s conversion meant Ayr found themselves in the unfamiliar position of being down Important line-out steals by Fisher and Taylor Wilson kept Ayr at bay and the sound of sodden shirts smashing off each other echoed round the ground as Selkirk fronted up well Scotland Under-20 star Cameron van Wyk showed good strength to bounce out of an Anderson tackle but when the more sizeable Rory Jackson did the same a few moments later he offloaded to highly-rated Jamie McAughtrie – making his first start for Ayr – who crossed the line with ball in hand A hammer blow was delivered just when Selkirk themselves thought they had an opportunity to counter Having ripped the ball back in their own 22 Dylan Brodlund opted to kick ahead and the chase was on; enter Jamie Shedden The hulking centre recovered possession just inside his own half and made mincemeat of the heavy pitch and the Selkirk defence ghosting past three before passing to McNamara to claim his second in the same corner as his first Van Wyk’s ability to bounce off contact helped secure the bonus-point try a late replacement in the starting XV for Robbie Orr making the final pass to fellow-Fijian Amena Caqusau Then Shedden slipped round Brodlund with the last play of the half Ayr had now scored 1001 points in the league Bogidrau’s monstrous 50-22 laid the set-piece platform for Blair Macpherson to add to the lead before opposite number Corey Tait took a line-out then was at the back of the maul to reduce the arrears with a ball more slippery than a politician covered in Vaseline were proving difficult for both sides to handle Luke Pettie the culprit on this occasion allowing Ayr to get up the field before McAughtrie fired a sweet pass from the base of a ruck for Rhodri Tanner to go over Callum Smyth matched his opposite tight-head’s try from Caqusau brought a score for Fergus Johnston and a second for himself with Selkirk left frustrated they didn’t secure a try bonus point for all their efforts “I thought we dug deep today against a very good side we showed a bit of composure and scored three really good tries overall but I was really disappointed we didn’t get a point out of the game I thought we were worth it because of how well the boys stuck in” was the opinion of Selkirk head coach Gordon Henderson “They put in a massive shift against a powerful side we’re finishing fifth; winning the Borders League; I don’t think anybody saw us getting 60 points in the league at the beginning of the season but we’ve stuck together the whole season Scoring sequence (Ayr first): 5-0; 5-5; 5-7; 10-7; 12-7; 17-7; 22-7; 27-7; 29-7 (h-t) 34-7; 36-7; 36-12; 36-14; 41-14; 41-19; 41-21; 46-21; 51-21; 53-21 Player-of-the-Match: Jamies McAughtrie and Shedden both impressed in their 55 minutes on the park but the soon to be Northampton Sainted Amena Caqusau scored one excellent try and created an easy one for Johnston with his electric pace and footwork Talking Point: In the build-up to Caqusau’s first try there was a coming together of Ayr’s van Wyk and Selkirk’s Ethan Wilson which resulted in both suffering head wounds Some Selkirk staff and fans felt there was foul play from van Wyk but it was incredibly hard to tell at full speed if it was an elbow or head-on-head collision Van Wyk re-emerged bandaged up for the second half but Wilson himself a replacement for captain Aaron McColm had to receive stitches and didn’t come back on the park it is pleasing to report that it seems to be only superficial damage URC: Edinburgh slay toothless Dragons A third pro side in the east of the country would be a possible Would develop talent in this area and benefit the national squad too To improve the teams in the Premier bring back the British and Irish cup If we need a 3rd pro side but “don’t have the players money or support to make it a reality” does that not mean we don’t need a 3rd pro side As for worrying about Ayr domination of the world let’s see what it looks like in 3 years If every team in the Premiership continue to do what they are currently doing then Ayr and Heriots(Who should also be mentioned) will continue to dominate for many years to come and this would not be good for Scottish Rugby until such a time as other clubs stop whinging and moaning about top of the league teams success and start focusing their efforts on how to improve their own structure Teams like Hawick(I use them as an example) and their supporters are living off historic memories and I laugh at some of the nonsensical comments on this page In the absence of any imminent SRU financial intervention clubs are going to have to look at what successful clubs are doing and How good would the state of Scottish Rugby be if you had a top tier completing every week with 7 or 8 teams beating each other week in week out To be fair much of the whinging and moaning about the top of table team(s) is not being done by the other clubs but by so-called “fans” often wound up by a so-called “fan” of the top of the table team in his various guises Given how Ayr have so outrageously dominated the league following the Super6 experiment & the chronic finances at EH12 allowing the league winners to compete in the following season’s EPCR Challenge Cup Could bring a modest amount of TV money & gate receipts for the group stage games I realise this will likely just funnel more money into the top clubs in this case Ayr & it may develop into them being unassailable from the amateur game then the Pro & national sides will continue to lack depth & the inability to fully challenge at the top table Is it the solution I would personally advocate with the main purpose of developing talent & exposing players to the higher standards (See Connaught in the 00s & early 10s) The issue is supporter base & costs when we should all be looking to the good works of Ayr congratulating them & trying to see how it can be best utilised for the sport we love & give the national side that Hope we all know & occasionally despair More money was probably blown on Dodson’s remuneration during his reign than Stade Nicois London Scottish and Old Glory DC put together All of which collectively were failed investments – particularly Dodson Ayr would be on the same side of far worse hidings than they are dishing out in the Premiership if they played in the Challenge Cup A bridge might be the reintroduction of the B&I Cup to provide some competition for the play off sides in the Premiership versus the equivalent Irish Could also give the academy players who are rarely given the opportunity for proper game time We need a third pro side but don’t have the players nor the money or more importantly the supporter base to make it a reality David Nuciforo was employed to oversee a development plan but only in an advisory role and he is now on a secondment to the lions He has a track record but surely the position should be full time based in Scotland Look how successful Jim Malinder was in his remote role Hopefully he can implement a decade plan for player development as is his remit but at the moment the future doesn’t look bright if something doesn’t change Ayr are to be congratulated for their results this season Very impressive and essentially their own doing Have they massively benefited from the Super 6 investment- of course they have But they have used it wisely and financially backed themselves We seem to be getting ahead of ourselves though While Ayr are by far the top team this season and by a considerable margin you would have expected that given the fall out from the Super 6 competition I doubt EPCR will be that responsive to inserting them into one of their competitions Worth exploring these ideas but the financial position in Scottish Rugby is still very challenging SELKIRK withstood a spirited fightback from Premiership stragglers Musselburgh away from home to secure a well-deserved bonus point victory in an end-to-end game at Stoneyhill Eight tries from the Borderers may have suggested an easy time of it but Gordon Henderson’s side were put to task by an inexperienced Burgh outfit who threatened to pull off a surprise victory in the closing stages Selkirk arrived at Stoneyhill as the favourites off the back of three victories and a narrow defeat to high-flying Heriot’s in recent weeks while Musselburgh have remained very much tethered to the bottom of the table for most of the season 6N: England v Scotland report: hosts escape to victory after late Finn Russell miss 6N England v Scotland reaction: Gregor Townsend upbeat in defeat U20s 6N: England’s pack power prevails over error-prone Scotland With little to lose in the face of probable relegation come season’s end Burgh started the match well with an early Danny Owenson penalty before Selkirk opened their account via Josh Welsh’s well-worked try in the corner Those scores came inside the opening five minutes and the speed of the game continued unabated throughout a frenetic encounter Selkirk had managed to eke clear with their second try of the match through Taylor Wilson but a youthful Burgh proved they were up to the task by enjoying their own purple patch approaching the half-hour marker Jack Haynes touched down from close range and Owenson’s conversion reduced the margin to two points which gave Derek O’Riordan’s side some optimism before the break It was an arm–wrestle that Selkirk were just about winning and their cause was helped by full-back Callum Anderson crossing while Musselburgh were down to 14-men after Murray McCowan was yellowed for a deliberate knock-on That gave Selkirk a deserved 19-10 lead at half-time after which the visitors knew that they would have to strike first to avoid falling into a real tussle in the second period Keen to secure the bonus point as early as possible Selkirk came out of the blocks hard at the start of the second half and got their fourth score three minutes in The conversion from scrum-half Hugo Alderson but such was the back-and-forth nature of the match they were rarely given a chance to take their feet off the gas Musselburgh made sure of that by producing a superb fightback either side of Selkirk’s fifth try via Andrew Grant-Suttie His opposite number Bruce Weatherhead got the home team’s second try thanks to some lovely feet to round several Borders defenders before replacement Robert Stott crashed over from close range Selkirk responded with another score from Corey Tait but Burgh were in the mood for more and sensationally levelled the game at 38-38 thanks to tries from Rory Smith and Sandy Watt Burgh went in search of an supervise victory as the game entered the final quarter of an hour But the home side was undone by indiscipline Try-scorer Haynes was shown yellow – which could easily have been red – for a head-on-head high tackle while Selkirk also got the measure of their hosts at set-piece A sublime sprint down the line from Ben Pickles put Selkirk back in the lead and the visitors made sure of the victory with two late scores from Ben Malcom and Jack Fisher to secure maximum points “We analysed Musselburgh all week and one thing we knew is that they work teams hard,” Henderson said “They played some really good rugby today and you would not have thought they were bottom of the league the way they played but we got five points and that’s what we came here to do We just need to park this and get better for next week against Currie.” Opposite number O’Riordan was left frustrated at the perceived lack of refereeing decisions that went his side’s way “We had two yellow-cards and they got none so we weren’t rewarded at all for the pressure we put them under,” he said “We had a young side who were not afraid to take risks and we have a centre who had an outstanding game too in Ben Weatherhead we’re just looking at working on how we play bedding in the youngsters with a view to next year.” Scoring Sequence (Musselburgh first): 3-0; 3-5; 3-7; 3-12; 8-12; 10-12; 10-17′ 10-19 (h-t) 10-24′ 10-26; 15-26; 17-26; 17-31; 22-31; 24-31′ 24-36; 24-38; 29-38; 31-38; 36-38; 38-38; 38-43; 38-45; 38-50; 38-55 Man-of-the-Match: It’s rare that the standout player comes from the losing side but anyone watching this match would be hard pressed to look beyond Musselburgh centre Bruce Weatherhead A nuisance to the Selkirk defensive line all game his light feet and ability to absorb tackles gave the hosts much-needed go-forward A try to his name as part of Musselburgh’s fightback was the icing on the cake Selkirk just had more or everything across the board More discipline inside the last 10 minutes and more stamina to make the most of their chances when Musselburgh started to creek They’ve been a top five side all season and the way they fought to win a tight contest away from home was proof of that 6N England v Scotland reaction: Gregor Townsend upbeat in defeat and Hawks fans were cheering at the end of the 80 minutes as they came out on top of an entertaining tussle to preserve their Premiership status for season 2025-26 there was bits that could have been better and we made things a bit hard for ourselves but we were always in front so it’s probably the right result at the end of the day,” said Hawks head coach Andy Hill having seen his side secure safety in his last match as head coach meaning that Scotland’s biggest city will again have two teams in the top tier next season with GHA having secured the National One title “Myself and [assistant coach] Tam Davidson had spoken at the start of the campaign about how it would take a monumental effort not to drop down into the second tier given where teams had finished previously above us but we’d never really spoken about relegation the focus was on getting this group better Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Marr relegated despite gritty win over Hawick Challenge Cup: Edinburgh see off Lions to progress to quarter-finals Former Melrose, Scotland and Lions hooker Frank Laidlaw dies we’ve played against the teams that finished third and been competitive: against Currie we were one poor decision away from getting the win similarly at Watsons we lost with practically the last play of the game If we can keep 90 percent or so of these players [then] we know we’ve got something to really build on.” Hawks showed ambition and confidence to run from deep when playing into the wind in the first half and a big break through the middle from Murphy Walker led to a penalty and Brent Jackson going over the line when he spotted some sleepy Selkirk defending around the fringes of the ruck Walker and Isaiah Malaulau carried hard through the Selkirk defence in the build-up to Hawks tries two and three Lewis Stewart and a second for Jackson coming either side of a try from Dylan Bronlund The boot of Callum Anderson doesn’t need much assistance but his mixture of lengthy kicks and evasive running was proving Selkirk’s most effective weapon He made the vital contribution to Bronlund’s try was again involved before Jack Welsh squeezed over in the right corner on the cusp of half-time he smashed a penalty from his own 22 to within a metre of the Hawks’ try-line but clever thinking from the half-back pairing of Oliver McClymont and Aaron McColm changed the points of attack allowing space for Jack Fisher to canter over With news coming in that relegation rivals Marr were beating Hawick at half-time while Hawks themselves holding a paper-thin lead and with a bit of assistance from the wind they got it Hawks co-captain Paul Cairncross secured the try bonus point from a short-range rolling maul and a searing run by Finlay Callaghan shortly after the introduction of Scott Steele resulted in a penalty try being awarded so if Callaghan’s on any try-scoring bonus scheme they should really give him the credit Razor-sharp work by McClymont kept Selkirk in the fight the ball was called out from a Hawks scrum which was pushing Selkirk back so the visiting scrum-half charged into Hawks’ territory before kicking ahead but McClymont was able to drag him down in-goal and Corey Tait was soon over after they had completed the scrum so McClymont struck the conversion to reduce the difference to nine points Good work from replacement Yousuf Shaheen saw him rip the ball in Selkirk’s 22 but after a good carry from Max Crumlish took Hawks closer Shaheen spilled the pill as he dived over the line as Hawks won a penalty at the scrum and went to the corner After Seb Hastings – who was excellent in the line-out all day – had managed to haul the ball down Ryan Flett showed good strength to bounce through a tackle attempt and stretch over in the left-hand corner Hastings was then yellow-carded for some overt aggression off the ball Andrew Grant-Suttie scored for Selkirk after the half-back duo had again made the clean breaks and Hawks’ fans started to wonder if they were to be on the end of another heart-breaking defeat as there was still time to play That was until Steele’s sharp inside pass found Flett but we knew this was a massive game for Hawks and fair play to them because they played some good rugby,” offered Selkirk’s Gordon Henderson at the end of a season which defied expectations but that’s gone now and we need to get better for next year and we’ve started planning for that already make it straight into the play-offs next season.” Scoring sequence (Glasgow Hawks first): 5-0; 7-0; 12-0; 12-5; 17-5; 17-10; 17-15 (h-t) 22-15; 24-15; 29-15; 31-15; 31-20; 31-22; 36-22; 36-27; 41-27; 43-27 Player-of-the-Match: Huge shifts across the front-row of Isaiah Malaulau Paul Cairncross and Murphy Walker for Hawks but for his dominance of the sky and in tackling alongside some decent charges with ball in hand Talking Point: It wasn’t in the pre-match programme and he didn’t bring it up in interview but I wish Andy Hill the best of luck as he moves on from Glasgow Hawks and I’m sure I speak for the rest of The Offside Line team in doing so ‘Hilly’ was one of the first coaches I interviewed [Musselburgh versus Hawks Scottish Cup tie in 2019] and over the next five and a half years was always gracious and accommodating even though I seemed to bring the worst of fortune with me I’ve honestly never seen a side lose so agonisingly so often … and I’m Scottish so I’ve seen it a lot Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Marr relegated despite gritty win over Hawick Sounds like Murphy walker has found his level Totally agree with Iain on the approachability and friendliness of Andy Hill There is also a deep competitiveness in him and an even deeper commitment to his players Hawks have actually played some of their best rugby in a long time this season – there has been a real resilience in defence over long periods of games which hasn’t always been there in the past and in the last few weeks some of their attacking play through their back has been exhilerating They should never have been near the relegation zone because their play has been far better than that – as well as the two games they drew the lost another four games by a score of a try or less That’s six games that could easily have had a result in their favour – more than any other team in the league this season – and that would have put a completely different perspective on their league position No doubt a few of these Hawks players will have opportunities in the Academies again next year and another rebuild will be needed but whoever follows Andy Hill has a great foundation and an unenviable task in matching his achievements Gave my grandson his chance (along with the unpronounceable Chaz Hope you are still in the game in some form … cheers THIS hard-fought and well-deserved home win lifted Selkirk into the play-off seedings of the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership with seven games of the regular season left to play and confirmed that Hawick are in a dog-fight against five or six other sides to avoid being one of the three teams relegated out of the top flight of Scottish club rugby next season we did deserve the win,” reflected victorious head coach Gordon Henderson afterwards There were some big hits out there and I thought Hawick played some really good rugby It was tight at half-time and we knew we needed to coming out the traps pretty quickly in the second half and we managed to do that to get over the line The boys put a huge shift in – especially defensively in that last 20 minutes when we were in our half more than I would have liked because we didn’t exit very well I’m really happy with the five points “It is nice to be up in the play-off places and as I’ve said to the guys: we’re there on merit but it is going to take a lot of hard work for us to stay there,” Henderson added we’ve got to go to Heriot’s next week we’ve got to go to Watsonians (on 15th March) and we’ve got togo to Ayr (on 29th March) We’ve also got Currie down here (on 1st March) who we’ve just taken over that fourth spot from but that’s what we play for the game for We won’t be favourites in any of those games but I know we can compete in all those games and if we get to the last 20 minutes and we’re still in the game against any of these team then we’ve got a chance because our fitness is really good.” Pierre Schoeman lands a £125,000 cash prize Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Ayr overpower Marr in feisty Friday night derby clash Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Watsonians see off Currie Chieftains with third-quarter purple-patch Hawick’s build-up to this match was disrupted by a series of injuries to players but head coach Graham Hogg was not looking for excuses when reflecting on the situation his team are now in “I can’t fault the boys for effort especially in the first half when we did a lot of defending and I think that took its toll,” he reflected “We had plenty of opportunities in the second half but just didn’t get into our attacking game That’s probably credit to Selkirk in terms of how they defended for each other and worked hard “We’ve put stuff to the boys over the last two weeks to highlight how important this next month is and especially the next fortnight when we have two home matches against Glasgow Hawks and Melrose which have now turned into must-win games,” he continued “There is stuff form today that we can pick out which was really positive but there is a lot of work to do to make sure that we are not on the end of a result like this again “We’re not a bad team,” he stressed “I’ve not had a week like it in rugby in terms of injuries with five players we’d have hoped would play today being ruled out there is plenty teams have been in this predicament and it is up to the players who are here now to rally round and get the job done so we just need to build the boys’ condfidence back up and fly into these two weeks.” Kirk Ford stroked Hawick into an early lead with a 40-yard penalty from right in front of the posts after Luke Pettie was deemed guilty of languishing on the wrong side of a ruck Selkirk had a chance to even the scores after the visitors were punished for a similar offence a few minutes oater but they kicked to the corner instead of going for the sticks and cashed in when the ball was switched from the line-out to the middle of the park and Ross Nixon bounced Cian Riddell before offloading to Corey Tait who powered over to score the first of his three tries on the day against his hometown club The pendulum swung back the other way again when Andrew Mitchell launched a powerful break from about halfway and when Hugo Alderson got a hand to the Hawick second-row’s offload which seemed harsh given it appeared that a genuine attempt had been made to catch the ball The visitors quickly capitalised by kicking the penalty to the corner and then transferring slickly across the park for Charlie Welsh to scamper over on the left and they hit back whenNixon chipped an excellently weighted diagonal towards the left corner which Ben Pickles gathered on the full without breaking stride That meant the hosts emerged from the 10 minutes they had played with a man less having scored the same number of points as their opponents and then a huge scrum five minutes before the break propelled Hawick off their own ball to earn a penalty on the visiting 10-yard line While Alderson’s long range shot at goal sailed to the right of the sticks another period of Selkirk domination had been initiated which Hawick initially defended well before eventually yielding another penalty (for a ruck offence right in front of the posts this time) and Alderson didn’t need a second invitation to help himself to three more easy points to make it 17-10 at the turnaround Selkirk struck first at the start of the second half with slick hands across the backline releasing Josh Welsh on the left The big winger veered infield then delivered a perfectly timed offload to send Alderson who had run a classic scrum-half support line after several minutes of relentless pressure with Fraser Renwick grounding the ball over the line at the end of a line-out maul which had been created by a not-rolling-away penalty The key in tight matches is to fortify any points you get and make absolutely sure that you don”t hand your opponents a quick way back into the game so Hawick will be kicking themselves that they once again lost a try straight after scoring by conceding another ruck penalty which allowed Selkirk to go to the corner It was Tait who bustled over for his second try of the match securing the four-try bonus-point in the process Hawick tried to rally but they couldn’t seem to catch a break A huge tackle by Pickles on Mitchell turned the ball over Charlie Welsh fluffed a scoring chance on the right when he seemed to dive for the line early then the same player thought he had made up for his earlier error with an acrobatic finish in the corner only to discover that referee Michael Todd had spotted a forward-pass during the lead-up Selkirk lost captain Andrew McColm to the sin-bin and the game loosened up with the home side kicking long and seeming to back themselves to absorb Hawick’s attempts to punch their way back into it Despite the stress this caused their coach it proved to be a fairly effective strategy Tait drove the final nail into Hawick’s coffin on the stroke of full-time when Selkirk pressed their opponents right back onto their own line the ball squirted out the side of the ruck and the recent Scotland Under-20s star – who inexplicably seems to have been catapulted from the Scottish Rigby pathway – looked as fresh as he had in the first minute when picking up the loose ball and charging over for his hat-trick try Selkirk: C Anderson; J Welsh (F Douglas 77) B Pickles (B Cullen 71); Aaron McColm (E Wilson 68) Scoring sequence (Selkirk first): 0-3; 5-3; 7-3; 7-8- 7-10; 12-10; 14-10; 17-10 (h-t) 22-10; 22-5; 27-15; 29-15; 34-15 Player-of-the-Match: There was big performance across the park for Selkirk with Andrew Grant-Suttie a wrecking ball in defence Ross Nixon a shrewd operator at inside-centre and Kieran Westlake a steady-hand at No 8 – but hat-trick hero Corey Tait who started at blindside flanker then moved to his usual position of hooker has to get the nod for yet another all-action display which further underlines the sense of confusion that he is no longer part of the Scottish Rugby academy programme After being the dominant club in the Premiership for the last two seasons with what felt like a clean bill of health every week Hawick’s already depleted squad after retirements and sabbaticals has now been decimated by injuries to the point where getting a competitive team out week on week is proving a struggle But there are still class acts and experienced performers littered across the squad and with the exception of Ayr’s visit to Mansfield on 15th March they can rightly look at all their remaining matches as winnable … if they can build up a decent head of steam It is going to be a battle every step of the way Pierre Schoeman lands a £125,000 cash prize A tough encounter from start to finish with Selkirk the stronger team deserving of their win and place in the play-off positions Nothing can beat a Border derby for excitement and commitment with both sides going all out yesterday Interestingly on 3rd February 2024 at Philiphaugh Hawick won 59 – 3 so a lot has changed these last 12 months Selkirk’s first training session before the start of the season had 15 players and no coach A remarkable turnaround to get to this point Young Teris in team not quite up to speed yet .but will get there Why is Tait not in pro set up ? it’s all down to cash at the end of the day Anderson and Renwick on dosh at the Sourthern Knights and then they come back to Mansfield Park along with Mitchell and Redpath Hawick simply couldn’t afford to pay Corey Tait Free NewsletterUK Join the newsletter that everyone in finance secretly reads turned down Selkirk's acquisition offer for its Myprotein brand emphasizing its commitment to core business amidst increasing market pressure with THG's share price rising by 3.3% For markets: A strong defense for future growth The bigger picture: E-commerce firms hone strategies THG's move is part of a larger trend of e-commerce giants refining their business models under financial pressure This decision highlights a shift towards sustainable and profitable segments a strategy increasingly adopted by industry players facing similar economic challenges focusing on profitable ventures could redefine industry norms Theodora Lee Joseph, CFA The Great Wealth Transfer Is Coming – Here’s How To Profit From It Stéphane Renevier, CFA Markets Could Pick A Direction This Week – Here's Why Jonathan Hobbs, CFA 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So Here’s How To Invest In Cybersecurity.Theodora Lee Joseph, CFA Apple And Amazon’s Results Were Sturdy, But Their Future Looks A Little Less So Theodora Lee Joseph, CFA Disclaimer: These articles are provided for information purposes only an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience your financial situation or your investment objectives You may not get back all the money that you invest The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment advisor This article may contain AI-edited content While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy AI may not capture the nuances of the subject matter resulting in errors or inconsistencies THIS was an entertaining contest with two teams playing far more rugby than the cold The sides could not be separated in the first half but Selkirk flexed their muscles after the break scoring four additional tries to go with the two they claimed in the first 40 to take full points away from home “They are a dangerous side,” said Selkirk coach Gordon Henderson after the match “We made some changes at half-time because we were hindered by a few small errors in the first half “At the break we just asked the boys to concentrate on three things: keep the width in attack concentrate on getting the contacts right and keep supporting the ball because we felt that we could get around their defense and so it proved Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Honours even after Melrose vs Glasgow Hawks thriller Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Ayr take route 66 to storm past Kelso Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Heriot’s pack power prevails over Watsonians “I thought we deserved that win if only because we brought a lot more energy than them to that second-half performance.” There was not a huge amount between these two teams but an accumulation of small things added up to a lop-sided score at the end of 80 minutes Accies’ discipline let them down as time and again Selkirk were handed easy metres simply by waiting for Accies to cough up a needless penalty which was never far away Handling was tricky in the conditions but that didn’t stop both sides from moving the ball at every opportunity Although there were plenty of errors from both sides Accies seemed to be pushing their luck a little harder than was strictly necessary Perhaps Selkirk’s biggest strength was making yards after the initial contact All too often the first Accies tackle would be a little half-hearted and no one benefited more than Selkirk winger Ben Pickles who seemed almost impossible to stop once he got up to speed but all the visitors made more yards than they should have with the ball in hand And when Accies were struggling for possession Twice in the opening 40 the home side made a brave turnover only to lose the ball at the very next breakdown through a lack of support or accuracy in the contact zone Selkirk dominated the first 40 in terms of possession and territory but they had little enough to show for all their efforts meant that the two teams were level pegging 14-14 at the break Accies opened the scoring after just eight minutes when they turned over a Selkirk lineout where Robbie Kent drew the last defender expertly to send full-back Max Wallace over the line Vincent Hart dissected the uprights with his inch-perfect conversion although they were unable to match the slick handling of the home team left and right again before skipper Andrew McColm crashed over near the posts following an excellent half-break by centre Brodie Allan again following a long build-up that started with Accies kicking long and failing to put an effective chase together Selkirk executed the best move of the match starting inside their own 22 and not giving up possession until Allan had Selkirk’s second try It looked as if the visitors might run riot but to their credit the home side upped their game and dominated the last ten minutes of the first half after turning over a dangerous Selkirk lineout drive five metres from their own try line Accies went the length and would surely have scored but for a foot in touch from winger Gavin Welsh they used the high field position to exert some pressure on the visitors opted for a scrum when awarded an attacking penalty and number ten Hart skipped down the blind side to score from the scrum before converting expertly from the same place as the first try Selkirk were happy to kick the ball off the field and get into the dressing room at the break and they came out much the more purposeful of the two teams Having weathered a mini-Accies storm at the start of the second half the visitors bossed the remainder of this match with the difference being that this time they made it count on the scoreboard a hooker by trade but playing with a six on his back Selkirk were aided by an Accies team that were visibly tiring and also by a yellow card flashed at flanker Guy Napier after a dangerous tackle around the 66-minute mark “We lacked accuracy and execution,” said a somewhat despondent Accies coach Iain Berthinussen after the game “We looked good in parts when we played to the space that was on the field but we kicked poorly and their four tries in the second half all came from turnover ball.” “It’s all part of the same thing,” replied Berthinussen “If we don’t know we are going to kick the ball we probably won’t have much of a chase organised!” Selkirk scrummy Hugo Anderson rounded off the scoring with 11 points to his name after four conversions and one lone penalty midway through the second half Scoring sequence (Edinburgh Accies first): 0-0; 5-0; 7-0; 7-5; 7-7; 7-12; 7-14; 12-14; 14-14 (h-t) 14-19; 14-21; 14-26; 14-29; 14-34;14-36; 14-41 Man of the match: Vincent Hart kicked pretty well for the home side Flanker Rory Purvis also caught the eye making his return from injury and only 18 years old However the real contenders were sporting dark blue Full-back Callum Anderson was never less than competent but both wingers Moment of the match: Accies scored late in the first half and were squeezing Selkirk immediately before the break Another try to take a lead into the break would have made this game a lot closer As it was Selkirk won a turnover and then a penalty and were able to hoof the ball off the field to end the first half Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Hawick bounce back with big win over Musselburgh WATSONIANS ran in seven first-half tries to blow Selkirk away and set up a comfortable bonus-point victory which clinched their top-four play-off spot Ten tries in total here mean that Watsonians who have now won 14 of their 20 completed regular-season games have scored 23 tries in their last two matches Winger Lomond Macpherson has scored six of them after backing up his hat-trick in the 85-17 rout versus Musselburgh with another trio here With this contest being third versus fifth in the standings at kick-off but a mixture of some good attacking play by the Edinburgh men in the opening period and a passive Selkirk defensive showing meant that the result was never in doubt from as early as the 21st minute 6N: France v Scotland live blog: Ireland squeak past Italy U20s 6N: France v Scotland: close but no cigar for visitors in Parisian thriller By then Watsonians were 31-0 up on home turf in glorious sunshine and that lead had stretched to 41-5 by half-time Selkirk ‘won’ the second half 21-19 as they earned themselves a four-try bonus point coupled with fourth-placed Currie Chieftains’ last-gasp bonus-point win over Glasgow Hawks the Philiphaugh men’s play-off hopes are now hanging by a thread “It was the proverbial game of two halves,” Watsonians head coach Davey Wilson said “We got off to a good start and then scored a couple of quick-fire interception tries and that took the wind out of Selkirk’s sails We were then able to pick them off a few more times in the first half and the guys played some good rugby “The game was effectively won by half-time but I said to the guys in the huddle after the game that we needed to be more ruthless in the second half and put them to the sword rather than conceding 21 points ourselves but we had a number of guys back in the fold in this game for the first time in a while And the squad is building quite nicely towards the important games that we have coming up.” Watsonians knew at kick-off that a bonus point win would see them join Ayr and Heriot’s in sealing a play-off place – and that bonus point was in the bag after 18 minutes fresh from playing off the bench for Edinburgh Rugby on Friday night versus Saracens put back-row Stuart Allison in for try No 1 after nine minutes Two minutes later a looping pass in midfield from Selkirk was gobbled up by centre Dom Coetzer And when Owsley bagged an interception score of his own Selkirk had looked ‘off it’ from the get-go and worse was to come for them when back-row Josh Minty’s converted try made it 24-0 The rest of the half was the Lomond Macpherson show the winger scoring a chip and chase effort in the 21st minute followed by two more tries in between Macpherson’s second and third tries got Selkirk on the board with a five-pointer After 46 points in total the first half it took until 17 minutes into the second period for the scoreboard to be troubled again A strong run by Watsonians’ replacement prop Craig Davidson saw him set up Minty for his second try of the day and Baggott’s conversion made it 48-5 Selkirk scored next on the hour mark through No 8 Kieran Westlake before sub Cal Davies scored the home side’s ninth try tries in the 70th and 75th minutes from centre Andrew Grant-Suttie and replacement Blake Cullen got them their bonus point from a day they will want to forget fast Watsonians had the last word when replacement Chris Bell scored their 10th try at the death who had seen his charges win the Border League title eight days before this game said: “If you let teams win the gain-line battle easily in this league then they will hurt you and Watsonians certainly hurt us in the first half “They are a good side and there were a couple of interceptions but we let them get onto the front foot too easily and our first-up tackling just wasn’t good enough That 40 minutes wasn’t a true reflection of us as a side and that’s disappointing “I said to the guys at the break to go out and be ambitious in the second half and show a bit of fight and we did that We have to regroup now ahead of Musselburgh which is up next.” Scoring sequence (Watsonians first): 5-0; 10-0; 15-0; 17-0; 22-0; 24-0; 29-0; 31-0; 36-0; 36-5; 41-5 (h-t) 46-5; 48-5; 48-10; 48-12; 53-12; 55-12; 55-17; 55-19; 55-24; 55-26; 60-26 Player-of-the-Match: Josh Minty carried well for Watsonians from the back- row and centre Dom Coetzer glided through proceedings but the award goes to winger Lomond Macpherson who is playing with real confidence just now and a hat-trick here sees him now sitting on 13 tries for this league campaign Talking point: Just how off the boil Selkirk were in the first half but the Borderers were coming into this game off the back of a Border League triumph and with play-off hopes well and truly still on the go as their passive defending allowed the home side to breeze through at times 6N: France v Scotland live blog: Ireland squeak past Italy AS an aperitif for the Six Nations Championship in two weeks’ time club rugby at Philiphaugh between old rivals Selkirk and Melrose produced a suitably compelling contest that says much about the traditional strengths of the game in the Borders This was a match of oscillating fortunes in which the lead changed several times and in which the skills of both attack and defence were served out in large dollops But in the end it was defence that won the contest for a Selkirk side that showed intensity of purpose in the closing stages of the match “At the end we showed immense character because we were under the cosh,” suggested Gordon Henderson It was a real back and forward match with us going ahead and then Melrose taking the lead It was a good game to watch – although nervous for the coaches Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Ayr power past Glasgow Hawks Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Heriot’s squeeze out bonus-point win over Currie Chieftains Challenge Cup: Edinburgh v Black Lion: Lewis Wells handed debut “I was especially pleased with our effort in the last five minutes after we had regained the lead Melrose threw everything at us but we managed to hold them out It was about character,” Henderson emphasised it was a disappointing result but sadly one side had to lose “That’s rugby for you,” stated Scott Wight the Melrose coach adding: “I thought we created enough opportunities in the second half to win it But we got turned over after three very good line-breaks and credit to Selkirk who scrambled really well to catch us on the try-line Selkirk quickly fulfilled the promise of a match that would deliver fast open rugby by utilising their first period of possession with a flowing back move that sent winger Ben Pickles sprinting down the left touchline before providing the scoring pass to flanker Dylan Bronlund for the opening try after soaking up Melrose pressure close to their try line Selkirk staged a break-out with a scorching carry by Andrew Grant-Suttie that ended with a penalty award to the home team Selkirk worked a move round the tail to set up a try for Corey Tait But from the restart Selkirk gave away a penalty that allowed Melrose to reply in kind with a driving maul and a try for Logan Kirk converted from wide out by Struan Hutchison A rampaging run by Elliot Ruthven was stopped by a copy book tackle from Aaron McColm a final overhead pass created room for the hard-working Melrose No 8 Hutchison adding the extras to level the scores The crowd at Philiphaugh did not have long to wait for further action who capitalised on a penalty award close to the Melrose try-line with a short range try by second-row Jack Fisher for Selkirk’s third touchdown followed by Alderson’s third success off the tee The entertainment continued with a third score from Melrose from clever transference of the ball that gave wing Corey Goldsbrough a tilt at the line The defence coped with that threat but when flanker Ruthven provided support Hutchison matching Alderson with a perfect three from three conversions to once more level the scores the 21-21 parity remaining until half time The dynamic start to the second half by Melrose deserved a score and it came from a surge by Alan Ferrie that resulted in a second try for the visitors’ hooker earning the bonus point for the Greenyards side as they took the lead for the first time in the match But after a trio of conversions in the first half Hutchison sent the ball just wide of the far upright to leave the gap at five points this time with a series of forward drives before the ball was shipped to the right the move converted into a score by the swift thinking and running of Pickles whose sheer pace created the bonus-point try in the corner for his fellow wing Josh Welsh Alderson slotted his fourth conversion to restore the lead for the home side The ebb and flow of the game continued with the Melrose backs showing real quality in their attacking endeavour only to be met by Selkirk defence that somehow managed to scramble into position when a score seemed certain when they gave away a penalty and this time Hutchison made no mistake with his goal kick to put the visitors back into the lead at 29-28 a dramatic ending as Selkirk attacked after a succession of penalty awards that concluded with a sustained siege on the Melrose line and then release of the ball to the backs that drew the visitors’ defence in one direction But a clever switch of direction allowed Callum Anderson to race into an unguarded gap and score in the corner Alderson securing the extra two points with a difficult conversion kick from wide out for good measure Melrose tried tenaciously to hit back but Selkirk showing both alertness and solidity in defence held out to secure victory that secured a satisfying five championship points haul to leave the two Border sides level in the Arnold Clark Premiership in 5th/6th place (although Selkirk have a game in hand) at the end of a truly epic contest Scoring Sequence (Selkirk first): 5-0; 7-0; 12-0; 14-0; 14-5; 14-7; 14-12; 14-14; 19-14; 21-14; 21-19; 21-21 (h-t) 21-26; 26-26; 28-26; 28-29; 33-29; 35-29 There were many really good performances from both sides but ultimately what won the game for Selkirk was their strength in defence and in that context the player who kept chopping down opponents at crucial times was centre Andrew Grant-Suttie something of an unsung hero but a hero nevertheless And a game that highlighted a number of young players coming through principally the Selkirk’s Hugo Alderson who produced yet again another top class place kicking performance with five from five off the tee Alderson is technically very good which makes one wonder why the Selkirk he is only on stand-by for Scotland under-20s squad this season Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Ayr power past Glasgow Hawks Given the numerous references to the Waterboys 1985 hit “The Whole of the Moon” worth pointing out that the one who saw the whole of the moon from his bedroom was off his face on acid and shrooms and so whilst leading to creative “insight” might not have been the best pitch side reporter There were free really tasty pies under the stand too 2 OAP’s £12 car £2 I shall get round to it For that standard of entertainment the price really should be higher A disorganised Melrose side dismantled and humbled by the pure class of Selkirk Top side in the borders this year and deservedly so Who allowed you out of the Bannockburn cesspit Thing is neither you nor your mate DSC need an extra effort to make yourselves look foolish Einy I would put money on DSC and Ein Stein being one and the same Same style of writing (not that there is much style about it) Maybe time for the administrator to check IP addresses the profundity of your shallowness is your distinguishing feature What do you think DSC (or is it Einy today?) The following is a quote from an Ayr member last weekend: “It suited Selkirk to not play today it meant they could postpone a game they were unlikely to win and have all their best players available for Melrose at home next week – a game they can win I’d have done exactly the same thing.” Suggests that Ayr were hoping to injure a few of the Selkirk players by making them play on an unsuitable pitch I am afraid you only saw the crescent there Young Man the Selkirk Captain decided otherwise – I hesitate to suggest you were capable of over-thinking that one You really are embarrassing yourself now but I hesitate You realise the one who saw “the whole of the moon” from his bedroom was off his tits on acid and shrooms I think your comment sums up your lack of knowledge and understanding of rugby Selkirk’s first game in five weeks(?) A good Hawks team next week followed by in-form Kelso away A relegation battle might be on the horizon One of the worst officiating performances I have seen at Premiership level Referee Gillespie and AR Niven did their best to help Selkirk win that game Melrose did not help themselves with ill-discipline and struggled at the breakdown however Questions must be asked why Melrose decided to take off their only line-out thrower 10 minutes before full time meaning their number 8 was throwing in on an attacking line out which subsequently wasn’t straight They also took of their two experienced props for the last scrum which gave a Selkirk penalty which won them the game More than a hint of sour grapes in any suggestion the officiating played a part in the result A seesaw game that neither really deserves to lose both have dangerous runners in their back three I would have to agree Melrose did not get the ‘rub of the green’ from the officials today The Selkirk prop taking out the Melrose Full Back in the air in the opening minutes and not being carded and then the tip tackle (straight red) on the same player not even resulting in a penalty Would like to see a replay of the final try as well Niven is totally incompetent as an AR and always has been A selective summary of the official’s performance All you cann ask for is consistency and the ref decided to keep 15 players on the pitch at all times when both sides could have seen yellow Great game to watch from a neutral perspective Selkirk Group PLC, a shell company founded by two early backers of Hut Group owner THG and with funds from Kelso Group Holdings PLC (LSE:KLSO) is looking to raise £7.5 million in an AIM float in order to target the acquisition of a single company valued between £30 million and £1 billion The company is led by executive chairman Iain McDonald, the former chair of THG and an early investor in ASOS PLC (LSE:ASC), Anatwine and Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLC (AIM:EYE), who also sits on the board of Boohoo Group PLC (AIM:BOO) who this year stepped down from THG after 14 years wants to buy "an undervalued company or business in the UK" in the consumer Selkirk will cast its net among private and listed companies as well as subsidiaries of listed companies "which management believes are undervalued and have considerable value upside" Assuming a £7.5 million raise, McDonald's Belerion Capital vehicle is committing to providing 18% of the funds, while Selkirk has also agreed to £1.5 million of the funds being provided by a subsidiary of Kelso Group, an activist investor that had targeted the removal of THG's chair earlier this year and criticised his "lack of action and clarity" "At the time of its first acquisition Selkirk will work with industry specialists to add value to the acquisition and maximise returns for shareholders," the company said in a statement along with proposed independent non-execs Angus Monro (ex of THG Marks & Spencer and Arcadia) and Alan Bannatyne (former Robert Walters CFO) intend to raise equity and/or debt finance to fund the acquisition once a suitable target is found and will "focus on enhancing shareholder value over the long term" "The directors believe that Selkirk is positioned to deliver private equity style returns on the public market utilising AIM's flexible framework to capitalise on growth opportunities." Kelso said the investment in Selkirk will be the first under its new strategy of providing seed investment in "listed single company acquisition vehicles which target listed unlisted and divisions of undervalued UK businesses where we believe there is considerable upside" Kelso chair Sir Nigel Knowles said: "We are pleased to have created Selkirk and that it has partnered with Belerion Capital to create value within its defined sectors "We are pleased to support AIM with Selkirk's IPO which we believe despite a large reduction in companies listed in recent years is one of the best growth exchange platforms in the world." A PERFECT set of goal kicks by stand-off Alex Harley gave Currie Chieftains a narrow win over Selkirk at Philiphaugh in a match that ended with both sides scoring four tries apiece separated in the final scoreline by three conversions Arguably this was Selkirk’s finest performance of the season such was the sheer grit they showed to stay in the game when Currie’s bigger forwards and massively strong bench seemed to be dictating matters on the field Selkirk were weakened by the loss of Callum Anderson in the first quarter adding to a string of injury woes affecting the club Currie’s depth of reserves certainly showed when after losing Scott Robeson to a broken nose in the first half the visitors were able to bring on the skilful DJ Innes at inside-centre the Caledonia rep player confirmed his pedigree by scoring two of his sides tries It was an illustration of the strength of the Currie replacements a factor in they overall control of the game against which Selkirk had to constantly dig deep Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: pack power key to Heriot’s win at Glasgow Hawks Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Melrose pile misery onto Marr Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Watsonians hit top gear to seal Musselburgh’s fate “We used the bench really well,” acknowledged Mark Cairns We’re pleased with the strength we’ve got in depth but even so there are still a few guys to return from injury Cairns suggested that it was the middle part of the game that made the difference “We built up a bit of momentum in that third part of the game but it was always going to be one score that would turn the match Fortunately we managed to cope when we got a yellow card,” concluded Cairns Selkirk coach Gordon Henderson admitted that matching Currie on tries was satisfying There were a couple of periods when we were inaccurate and gave ball away And a quality side like Currie will hurt you if you give them the ball But the guys stuck to the task for the full 80 minutes and I’m proud of them When we connected we scored some very good tries,” suggested Henderson Currie certainly looked menacing in the opening exchanges and it took just five minutes for the visitors to register their first points the score coming from a break by Charlie Brett support from Gregor Christie and Ryan Southern and then a chase for the ball that ended with scrum half Christie winning the race for the touchdown Alex Harley converting to maximise the visitor’s early advantage a cross-kick from Aaron McColm was fielded by Dylan Bronlund and the ball then transferred to Ben Pickles who had the pace and the strength to cross for his side’s first score Hugo Alderson was just wide with his conversion attempt Selkirk were unfortunate to lose Anderson to injury but fortunate to extricate themselves from a tricky situation when Currie’s big forwards drove hard at the home side’s line But it was only a temporary reprieve as Currie launched another wave of attacks that ended with Brett making space for replacement Innes to dash over for the Chieftains’ second try Harley’s second conversion giving the visitors a 14-5 lead Buoyed by the success of their handling game and enjoying a huge advantage in terms of possession Currie poured on the pressure in attempt to score a third try before half time only to be met by resistant defence from a Selkirk side perhaps relieved to go into the interval break just nine points in arrears however grew at the beginning of the second half as Currie gelled together in attack from set-piece play ending with James McCaig racing in for the Chieftains’ third try Harley once more providing the extra points Selkirk were in no mood to throw in the towel and after a period of pressure in their opponents’ 22 there was a minor reward in the yellow-carding of the Currie centre Ryan Southern Selkirk then used their numerical advantage and skill with ball in hand to engineer a try wide out for Bronlund The influential Bronlund then supplied vital line-out ball for Selkirk to work a move down the touchline with Corey Tait and Alderson interchanging passes for the latter to dot down in the corner but again the scrum-half was unable to add the conversion points Selkirk pressed the attack button and came to close to scoring from a handling move and a break by Andrew Grant-Suttie and again it was their midfield backs who did the damage creating space for Innes to side-step his way over for the Chieftains’ bonus point try the trusty boot of Harley accounting for Currie’s fourth successful conversion It was a punishing score for Selkirk but it was not a knock-out blow the home side showing their real character with a superb closing score from a run by Pickles and an interchange of passes with replacement scrum half Oliver McClymont for the quick footed Pickles to score his second try and the bonus point for his team the touchline conversion by Aaron McColm earning a further bonus point for the home side at the end of an enthralling match Scoring Sequence (Selkirk first): 0-5; 0-7; 5-7; 5-12; 5-14 (h-t) 5-19; 5-21; 10-21; 15-21; 15-26; 15-28; 20-28; 22-28 Man-of-the-Match: DJ Innes came off the bench to score two of the Currie tries but there was also a double try contribution from the Selkirk wing Ben Pickles who showed real strength and pace in scoring his brace and for this performance he deservedly wins the MOTM accolade Talking point: Were it not for the presence of three powerful former Super Series sides Currie Chieftains would have been eyeing up a successful defence of their Premiership title they look as though they will finish in the top four but will then face a daunting play-off semi-final a place in the play-offs might not be desirable given their thin resources and a current injury list that will put extra pressure on their fit and healthy Selkirk should feel reasonably satisfied at holding the Premiership defending champions to a try draw Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: pack power key to Heriot’s win at Glasgow Hawks Failing to mention a young guy who stands out week in and week AGAIN Ed Hasdell is key puzzle piece in Curries success and does not get the recognition he deserves I prefer a balanced competitive league but that is unlikely to happen Sounds more like someone making a common sense comment to me THE cold snap has seen four of Saturday’s five scheduled Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership games postponed already but Ayr are confident that a change of venue from their Millbrae base to the 3G pitch at nearby Queen Margaret Academy will ensure that clash against Selkirk will go ahead as planned with a 3pm kick-off If the round 14 match does go ahead then Ayr will be looking for a 13th win out of 14 while Selkirk will be out to cause an upset with a seventh victory out of 13 which would leapfrog them into fifth spot above Border rivals Melrose in the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership table When these two sides met at Philiphaugh back in September Selkirk actually led 7-5 at the break before Ayr scored 28 points after the interval hooker James Malcolm leading the way with two tries on a day when Glasgow Warriors senior academy winger Amena Caqusau was player of the match Challenge Cup: Vannes v Edinburgh: Sean Everitt freshens up his midfield Former Scotland cap and Grand National winning owner John Douglas dies, aged 90 Champions Cup: Glasgow v Racing: five changes to Warriors line-up for EPCR pool clash Key clash: Blair Macpherson versus Kieran Westlake Ayr: From the team that secured a 50-19 bonus point win last time out at Musselburgh on December 14th second-row Rory Jackson and back-row Ryan Sweeney all come in to start Selkirk: Brodie Allan starts at inside-centre after some strong performances from the bench before Christmas while Hugo Alderson is available for this game and starts at scrum-half after being on Scotland under-20s duty when Selkir played Kelso “After a good break over the holiday period The effort and intent from the boys has been excellent We are looking forward to welcoming Selkirk and getting back out on the pitch We are keen to build on the performances from earlier in the season and continue developing our brand of rugby …” – Grant Anderson (Ayr) “After our last game against Kelso in mid-December the squad have not stopped training and put in a lot of hard work over the festive period The squad are buzzing to get back playing and to face the challenge that Ayr will give us in our first game of this year If we are to get points out of this game we will need to take our game to another level and be focused to apply pressure on the Ayr defence …” – Gordon Henderson (Selkirk) Verdict: Both teams won their last matches against Musselburgh and Kelso respectively Selkirk have shown that they can compete with most teams in this league and a win would certainly boost both their confidence and their top four play-off hopes Ayr have been the standard bearers all season to date and with the players they have returning and the game being on a fast 3G surface they should be too strong Challenge Cup: Vannes v Edinburgh: Sean Everitt freshens up his midfield Listen we all love a bevy bus trip but this is utter woke nonsense This is what happens when u ket pans players in your team xx We all love a bevy bus trip but this is utter woke nonsense too many panners kicking about the league xx Result from the Arnold Clark Inter City Reserve League Stage 2(Men’s) – Ayr 2nd XV – 26 Heriots Rugby 2XV – 5 Ayr RFC 2nd XV played host to Heriots 2nd XV on a similar 3G pitch i think given the forecast it was nonsense to ask Selkirk to even travel at best this fixture was always on a wing and a prayer This is where the SRU need to be stronger on this I am sure given that Selkirk had already made the journey there must have been issues with the pitch despite the protestations of Ayr Aur should be penalised for stupidity in the circumstances The referee must also have agreed the pitch was a concern Hannah67 – Fine conditions today when i went to spectate I respect player welfare but a grazed knee on 4G is nothing to be concerned about Referee seemed to think the game was okay to go ahead too The only individuals that didn’t want to play today seemed to come from the Selkirk side why would you post such an ipsevident assertion Can I ask what you feel the punishment should be The complaint wasn’t about the weather or the ground being too hard/frozen Selkirk captain deemed the pitch to not be the correct standard for rugby It is SRU approved and installed by South Ayrshire council Many senior games have been played on this pitch with no issues or complaints from players or referees Ayr 2s V Heriots 2s played on a similar pitch down the road today also installed by South Ayrshire Council and SRU approved Just for balance may I put forward that It seems unlikely that an entire club side would drive from Selkirk to Ayr – a minimum FIVE hour round trip – to call off on a whim Chat is our captain called it because he took one look at his opposite number Ed Bloodworth and shat it the boys at Ayr aren’t getting paid enough to risk life and limb Utter woke nonsense from Selkirk calling off during the warm up Game cancelled last minute by Selkirk captain due to personal safety Shares in the acquisition vehicle Selkirk Group PLC got off to a strong start on their first day of dealing Valued at 2.4p each they quickly raced to a 34% premium to trade at 3.225p each It raised £7.5 million at an initial valuation of £10 million who is expected to hold a 10% stake post-IPO Iain McDonald, founder of Belerion Capital and former chair of THG PLC (LSE:THG), serves as Selkirk's executive chairman. The board also includes Angus Monro, former Marks & Spencer executive, and Alan Bannatyne, former CEO of Robert Walters PLC (LSE:RWA) Selkirk has set its sights on acquiring undervalued companies particularly those operating as subsidiaries within larger businesses aiming to reveal their hidden potential through independent stock market listings THE final attempt to get an Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership match played over the weekend came to nothing when Selkirk took one look at Ayr’s alternative pitch and refused to play With one side so adamant the ground was unplayable the officials and host club had no choice but to concede the point and accept the postponement Ayr had moved the match from their home ground at Millbrae where ironically they are close to completing work on their own all-weather pitch to the 3G pitch at Queen Margaret’s Academy in the town the pitch had been marked out and all the other necessary work completed before Selkirk arrived insisted the visitors had been desperate to play and had been training throughout the festive period specifically for this match but felt it was too dangerous Challenge Cup: Vannes v Edinburgh: bonus point win puts capital side on cusp of last 16 Champions Cup: Glasgow v Racing: Warriors book last 16 place with slick first half performance Celtic Challenge: Mairi McDonald takes over Glasgow Warriors captaincy for Gwalia Lightning visit “We’re bitterly disappointed the game’s off We trained exceptionally hard during the festive period because we knew this game was coming up,” he said Children from the school have been using it; the grass is flat and it doesn’t take a stud at all for the front-rows “For anyone tackled and hitting their head on that ground it would be just like hitting a frosty grass pitch after considering the safety concerns with the players and myself the decision was that we could not play on it “I don’t know if there was anything they could have done to bring it to life a little bit Nobody wanted to come all the way from the Borders to make a decision like this They felt they had done all they could to get the game played on a 3G pitch certified for rugby use and were comfortable about using the surface there was nothing they could do to change Selkirk’s minds Ayr’s 2nd XV match against Heriot’s did go ahead on the 3G surface at Riverside Arena just over two miles away but that pitch wasn’t available to book at 3pm when the 1st XV game was due to kick-off BT Premiership: Top of the table clash postponed after late call by Ayr It looked like the pitch was taking a stud when a Selkirk forward passed me I was at the game on Saturday and it looked like the pitch was taking a stud I think it just goes to show that you can’t be too careful surprised the game wasn’t moved back to Millbrae The fact that South Ayrshire Council had already cancelled the let due to it being unplayable for a kids football game before allowing Ayr to have it says a lot… Can you provide evidence of the cancellation When a club is being asked to travel 2/3 hours in pretty poor conditions there should be absolutely no doubt that the pitch is playable Anyone with half an ounce of common sense would have known any game muted as going ahead on Saturday would have been on a wing and a prayer who were essentially at full strength have travelled to Ayr if they had not fully expected to play As has been discussed in posts earlier in the season some clubs do not have player / spectator safety at the heart of their decision making The common sense decision given the national weather on Friday night / Saturday would have been to postpone this game Asking a team to travel in temperatures down to -10 does not have player or spectator safety at heart Also 3G pitches that are not well looked after are a hazard in their own right The 3G pitches attached to schools do not receive tbe correct level of care to maintain them as options for rugby games The day to day policing of these pitches is often not stringent enough to maintain the performance of these surfaces and peddling them out as a once in a blue moon for option for a high intensity Premiership rugby games is a poor and dangerous strategy and again does not consider player safety if anything require more care than grass pitches detailed and regular maintenance programme and i guarantee you this will not be provided for a school pitch which are generally viewed as multi purpose surfaces Some of the comments from Ayr supporters etc on this forum really beggar belief Selkirk should not have been asked to travel The fact that Ayr 2’s played another game on another 3G pitch is not some type of justification that a game was playable simply highlights that stupidity is endemic at Ayr RFC Some of the decision makers need to have more consideration for player safety and these decisions should ideally be taken out of the clubs hands as too many are influenced by peripheral activities being run by the club In conditions like those that have been experience over the last week – if there is any doubt at all that a game is playable then clubs should not be asked to travel This comes back to the “could you” or “should you “ play question that manifests quite often during the rugby season The balance needs to shift more towards “should you” to reflect player and spectator safety Selkirk reused to play Peebles on 3G the other week Hope the grounds in April/May will be soft enough during a dry spell to allow Selkirk to play 7’s rugby Will we have to wait until then for you to post something sensible Another empty barb from the usual vacuous troll Better covering of grass and you don’t have tons of pressure going through the studs of the front row in a 3 man scrum Why was Scotstoun and the Hive made available for Prem 1 games back to back We all knew the forecast and it could have been a real feast of rugby in the west and east In fact why not plan for this next year anyway and make it something to Look forward to and promote the game Ayr RFC are a fantastic club currently developing their own synthetic pitch at great expense as the existing pitches in the town are not fit for purpose Grant Anderson has ambitions of being a pantomime villain The 3G pitch under construction at Millbrae is to return as many of their 19 teams to Millbrae for training and playing Some of the comments are truly embarrassing and derogatory towards those that are interested in rugby “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt” Another indication of the lack of knowledge by those in the game now both sets of players (bar the Selkirk captain) were keen to play Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly wasn’t there You carried out a survey of all the players then did you Just common sense but I understand why you didn’t see that I would like to apologise for being a complete helmet I was just so disappointed that my afternoon routine was changed and this completely negates the health and safety of players from either team I now realise that rugby due to its very nature is a dangerous sport and that if there is even a slight worry that a pitch could upscale this danger even more then a game should not go ahead This game will have to played and when it is rescheduled and Selkirk have to travel up again to complete this fixture I will dutifully appologies to the Selkirk contingent for my idiotic comments I seem to have upset someone enough that they were sad enough to do this Makes more sense to remove you and leave the fake Doogie This is a fake Douglas Struthlo masquerading as me I wanted to clarify this person is soiling my good name and that of the Struthlo family The views previously expressed by this con-artist are not my view or that of any sensible person not involved in either squad The way this article is written is disgusting simply put the SRU backing ayr as their pride and joy as usual and not caring for concerns of player welfare which I thought was ment to be a the forefront of the game in recent times It’s down to the captains and referees to decide this and it was 2 vs 1 in favour of the game being postponed So for some of these comments on here to be inflammatory put yourself in a players shoes or even a parent of a players shoes why would these guys take the unnecessary extra risk to their own health for an amateur game of rugby Step back and think about the bigger picture before commenting stupid unnecessary comments Some spelling and grammatical correction required here 7.9 Where prior to kick-off there is doubt as to the fitness of the ground or the conditions for play the Match referee and the team captains shall inspect the pitch If any one of these three persons deems the pitch or conditions to be unplayable then the Match shall be postponed This decision shall lie solely with the team captains and the Match referee The captains shall notify their own Club of the decision Totally agree and from experience when a team (almost always the away team!) says the pitch is unplayable then the pitch is unplayable If there was any risk to players safety then it should not be going ahead Had the same situation down in Cardiff many years ago when with Cardiff’s ground half full I had as captain to make the decision the pitch was not playable I was not popular as a lot of money involved but I knew there was danger to player safety I often disagree with IM but he’s 100 per cent correct here Not one person here trying to criticise Selkirk who were incidentally backed up by the ref would actually be prepared to put themselves or a family member at risk by playing contact rugby on that pitch A sport which is struggling to attract young players needs to avoid obvious health risks to it’s participants otherwise parents will shun it completely That Ayr had no regard for the safety of both sets of players is frankly a disgrace 3 or 4g pitches are not all weather pitches especially if they are passed their replacement date Airdrie had a match v Falkirk postponed for the same reason which cost them thousands in lost revenue in more clement weather but everyone then accepted players safety was paramount Aye obviously couldn’t care less about such issues The Pitch in question is not past its replacement date Please show where the evidence is that Ayr have no regard for player safety Just because 1 team captain deems it safe whilst the other disagrees does not automatically make one a saint and the other a sadist And because the referee agrees with one and not the other again does not make one clever and the other a fool If anyone was injured as a result of the condition of the pitch then the ref would be castigated so it is an easy decision for him to side with the player who says no In the interest of the expense incurred by travelling support and teams the decision should be more scientific It should not be too difficult to introduce a spring / hydraulic peg where if it can’t penetrate a certain depth then the pitch is deemed unplayable and should be made no later than 9am on the day No rule infringement but hopefully the safety rails will keep them tucked up safely in bed this evening What a stupid inflammatory comment from someone who no doubt thinks they know rugby but obviously is clueless I could maybe understand your sentiment if this was an important game for Selkirk in terms of winning the league or relegation and they had a weakened team As it was they were nearly at full strength and in reality a free hit for Selkirk if the pitch was safe Selkirk ( or any other team ) would have played the game and hopefully your nurse will do the same to you Competition rule 7.8 goes further and states that if there is doubt about the fitness of the pitch an assessment should be undertaken not less than 60 minutes prior to the visiting team departing This assessment can be made by a person who must be independent from the home club All of section 7.8 makes for fascinating reading I’m sure all those who have called for sanctions against Selkirk will be able to provide the evidence that the rules have been complied with has been used regularly without incident or complaint Officials had no concerns because there were no safety issues SRU need to crack down on this type of gamesmanship and sanction Selkirk you go and play front row on that pitch with 700kg scrum behind you and tell me if it’s safe or not When was the last time a player was injured in the front row due a game played on a ‘slightly frosty pitch’ BR is was trampled down and completely flat therefor rock solid Players studs were not even penetrating the surface I suppose you’d you’d like to play on surfaces like this until a serious injury does occur then shun the pitch The SRU need to crack down on people following their own regulations The arrogant attitude of Ayr Rfc is one to be noted by the rest of the premiership The expectation that any club would be ready to accept a rock solid pitch that is unsafe to play is unacceptable Selkirk RFC were fully within their rights to call off the game and captain Andrew McColm was unhappy with the playing conditions Don’t be fooled by the fake comments from others who weren’t there to know the full facts He was within his rights but says a lot about the character of the team when Ayr and the Referee are willing to proceed with the game That law should be changed to 2/3 parties wanting to continue It doesn’t say as much as your comments say about you Doogie Ayr have done the exact same thing in the past on an away trip to Melrose on a pitch that had had frost covers on On the same day the 2s teams played 200m away from the pitch A player was injured recently in the front row on a ‘soft’ pitch Clearly don’t follow rugby as much as you want to portray Unless you were there and heard the discussions and saw Selkirk actually do their warm up whilst most of the Ayr lads went back into the changing rooms and ones on the pitch sit down and do stretches Don’t remember all the soft comments when Ayr done this to Melrose a few years ago? Though is there really an all weather pitch I note with interest that Glasgow covered Scotstoun “It was not about defrosting the pitch It was about keeping the frost out from the start before the real cold weather came in“ from the preview report earlier this week For me that is the real issue with 3G pitches so many are now becoming flat and more like astroturf hockey pitches than grass They seem to require regular attention like the ones at Scotstoun and the Hive Who knows if Selkirk would rather play them on a soft grass pitch to slow them down a bit either way it is a huge task and is a long trip to have to make twice “there was nothing they could do to change Selkirk’s minds” – Selkirk deemed the pitch unsafe so what exactly did Ayr do to make the pitch safe to play on Will Ayr be liable for reimbursing Selkirks travel expenses ‘The officials and host club had no choice but to concede…’ so the officials had no concerns about the pitch I’m sure the officials see more pitches than most of us and would raise concerns if there were any Ayr senior teams have played games on that pitch this season with no complaints from opposition teams or concerns from officials National Competition Rule 7.9: “Where prior to kick-off there is doubt as to the fitness of the ground or the conditions for play If any one of these three persons deems the pitch or conditions to be unplayable then the Match shall be postponed.” Do you think that all games the Ayr senior teams have played on the pitch were played in the same conditions Honestly – Selkirk should be deducted points and given a warning The ‘Selkirk Softies’ – desperate to not be humiliated Should Ayr be deducted points for doing the exact same thing only a few weeks earlier at Melrose Seems like it’s one rule for one team but doesn’t work the other way according to Douglas The pitch clearly wasn’t acceptable to play on according to the SRU’s own regulations Do you only post to show your own stupidity Doogie Yeah that would be why the only warm up that Ayr lads done was stretches?!? The pitch was too hard for contact and player safety needs to be taken into consideration Also why was the 2A game which was meant to be played on that pitch called off?? The referee also stated it was hard and he had concerns about as well A lot of comments from people that weren’t even there to witness the time it took to make the decision Convenient excuse to the contrary of the proclaimed “desperate to play” I imagine This strikes me like a team that simply didn’t want to play the fixture The pitch in question is an SRU certified playing surface and has been used on many occasion over the last months for senior and U18 matches Watched a 2XV match just a few weeks ago on it and it there were no issues with taking a stud and scrummaging I hope the SRU take note of this and seriously consider the ramifications of a team going through the motions and pretending they want to play it’s hosted many games in the past and it wasn’t impacted by weather It shouldn’t be since it is 6m too narrow according to World Rugby laws Why would a team travel 3 hours to get there and call it off? I take it you were there and saw the condition of the “Sru certified playing surface” Maybe you could step onto that park with a 700kg pack behind you and try and hold a scrum up without serious injury Ayr was ready to put a ‘700kg’ pack out AM If you were there you’d see they had no intention of playing Some players didn’t even have their kit on 40 minutes before the kickoff you want the SRU to take notice of a team following its own regulations A pitch of 62m wide with a 6m dead ball area The flsjs could not be inserted into the ground When World Rugby regulations state pitches need to be 68-70m wide The pitch was flattened by school kids running on it with trainers and could not take a rugby stud in any rugby stud There was now way players could land on that pitch with safety in mind Grant Anderson said Ayr RFC had trained on the pitch playing full contact games on Thursday night but Selkirk were later informed that Ayr hadn’t been on that pitch since 2019 when Ayrshire Bulls trained with Scotland U20s on the surface when it would be in a far better condition than it would be today Referee Sam O’Neill agreed that the pitch was unfit to play on plus the Bulls didn’t train with the Scotland u’20’s they played them Title should read: Soft Border Boys make any excuse not to be bent over by Ayr They had one look at the Ayrshire men and shat themselves It’s a pity Douglas Struthlo (aka Richard Head) couldn’t have directed his usual abundance of hot air towards the pitch game may have gone ahead 🤷🏻‍♂️ #yinceanumpty #fuohotayr And its a joke that the Selkirk Captain can decide on his own to play or not That rule mentioned in the comments above should be a 2/3 majority to stop this happening in the future If the Ref says play on then let’s have a game The Selkirk Softies wasted everyone’s time Dear SRU I Douglas Struthlo would like the rules of rugby to be changed should a similar situation happen in future at the expense of player safety Please toddle on and make this happen coz Ayr are the people and deserve to get things their own way Thank you very much for your understanding in this matter Cheers Wee Dougie Completely agree with you Doogie lad except the ref agreed with Selkirk so it was a 2 v 1 decision What ref is going to force a game to go ahead and leave themselves llegally liable for injury to a player Its hard enough getting refs in the first place without putting them in that position The ref was with Selkirk please stop lying you merit every negative comment coming your way Maybe The Offside Line should consider removing your ability to post on any article on the site given your history of ‘trolling’ You can then concentrate on posting on ‘X’ where I’m sure your type of ‘free speech’ is appreciated amongst those with a similar outlook to you How about “Doogie boy makes an arse of himself yet again” and to laugh at Doogie boy like the rest of us A PENALTY GOAL by scrum-half Hugo Alderson in the final seconds of the game gave Selkirk a narrow win over Marr to end the Philiphaugh side’s run of four defeats while simultaneously extending the Troon team’s losing streak to six in the Arnold Clark Premiership This was a win built on what Selkirk’s coach referred to as “a dogged work-ethic off the ball” that was enough to stop a Marr side that looked ambitious in the first half but which was very much cut down to size after the break What made Selkirk’s win all the more sweet was that they had to play 45 minutes of the game without their wing Ryan Cottrell red-carded for what was deemed to be a head-on-head tackle and moreover a ten minute period in the second half while prop Luke Pettie kept the naughty seat warm Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Currie Chieftains upset the applecart with victory over Ayr Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Heriot’s hit top gear to blow Melrose away URC: Glasgow squeeze past Scarlets after being pushed all the way was less happy that that his side had not capitalised late in the second half “I was a bit disappointed that we had two 22 entries in the second half but came away with nothing We could have finished that game off there and then we made our tackles and made it difficult for Marr There’s lots to work on but if we can bring that desire into our play we can get another win before Christmas,” declared Henderson pleased with the performances of his younger players played really well when he came off the bench We have to give young players a chance: it’s the only way they’ll improve.” this was a hard result to take and especially so with the numerical advantage in personnel that they had for more than half the game The visitors looked positive in the first half but seemed to go off the boil just at the time when they had greatest advantage was candid about his team’s inability to seize their chance “Just no ball in the second half,” he reflected “We had way more ball in the first half … we just struggled to get into it And at this level you can’t afford to be making errors We had a high tackle then compounded it with a penalty in front of the sticks and from that they won the game” Yet Marr looked the part in the first half when they were dangerous in the wide channels especially when winger Aidan Cross was in possession But too often they played much too laterally making it easier for the Selkirk defence to snuff out any attacks After 20 minutes of slick continuity play and alert defence from both sides amounting to a 0-0 opening quarter the scoreboard was finally able to record the game’s first points a penalty goal from Marr’s seasoned stand-off Colin Sturgeon Selkirk came close to replying when Ben Pickles intercepted in Marr’s 22 but the visitors’ defence moved in quickly to prevent any exploitation of what was a rather rash pass bring Selkirk territory and after a number of phases close to the Marr line Callum Anderson poked the ball through a gap with a grubber kick to give Andrew Grant-Suttie a try under the posts Selkirk’s lead was soon erased after Marr’s wing Jake Jacobsen was given room to squeeze over in the corner following a penalty and line-out for the visitors as the result of a late and dangerous head-high tackle by Cottrell on Sturgeon which caused more damage to the perpetrator than to the victim mainly in the form of a red-card that left Selkirk one man and one point down at the break If that were bad enough for Selkirk then matters soon became worse for the home side when prop Luke Pettie was yellow-carded just minutes into the second half Selkirk were the first to put points on the board in the second half the Philiphaugh side moving into a 10-8 lead with a penalty goal by Alderson Arguably the second half presence of Ollie-Blyth Lafferty made up for the absence of Pettie and Cottrell – well certainly in the forward battle where the big man helped to engineer two scrum penalties and two attacking line-outs deep in the Marr 22 The game then descended into a fractious affair played in the middle third of the Philiphaugh pitch with neither side able to puncture each other’s defence Sturgeon kept his nerve steady to put the ball between the posts giving the visitors a 11-10 lead Then with the match racing towards full-time Selkirk made their ability to retain possession count the home side earning a penalty in the final minute It was then up to Alderson to kick the goal and again the scrum-half was unfailing to give Selkirk victory Selkirk: Tries: Grant-Suttie; Cons: Alderson; Pens: Alderson 2 Scoring sequence (Selkirk first): 0-3; 5-3; 7-3; 7-8 (h-t) 10-8; 10-11; 13-11 Man-of-the-Match: A number of Selkirk players qualified for the MOTM accolade leadership and range of skills makes the former Hawick man a valuable asset But today it was about converting chances into points and Hugo Alderson was able to that his last gasp penalty-goal providing the winning points for Selkirk Talking point: Red or yellow cards usually have a negative effect on a side but to collect both usually proves fatal So for Selkirk to come away with a win overturning the result of round one in the Premiership was a considerable feat and perhaps points to a gritty spirit and determination at Philiphaugh that could bode well for the future Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Heriot’s hit top gear to blow Melrose away Still along way to go in the season but Marr really need to get something out of their two games before Christmas NOT so much a game of two halves as a contest of three thirds with Heriot’s racing into a commanding lead inside the opening half hour then falling off the pace and behind in the scoreboard against a spirited Selkirk outfit during the 10 minutes before and 20 minutes after the break before superior squad depth and firepower allowed the visitors to stretch back into an unassailable lead during the final quarter they kept plugging away until the very end scoring a late try which didn’t count for anything in terms of league points but showed a perseverance of spirit which head coach Gordon Henderson believes can make his side a handful against any team they come up against in this league “We had a bad kick-off at the start to give them possession and we just didn’t get out of the starting blocks,” he reflected afterwards “So we found ourselves a couple of scores down but then came back into it and we were pretty honest at half-time: we said if we stick to the game-plan then things will start to go our way – and it did Franco Smith opens up on Sione Tuipulotu transfer links and admits Glasgow players are in demand Glasgow Warriors ‘A’ v Edinburgh ‘A’: capital success in closed-door match at Scotstoun Pete Horne appointed head coach for Scotland ‘A’ versus Chile match “Eventually we got ourselves into the lead but there was little moments where we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be and a good side like Heriot’s will damage you if you do that We scored six tries and we got one league point … we deserve more for what we put in If we had executed our game-plan better over the whole 80 minutes we’d have got more standing in as head coach for the holidaying Bob McKillop “In the first 15-20 minutes we were almost spotless,” he said “We executed everything we talked about doing but we didn’t sustain it during that middle third and fair play to Selkirk because they were bloody good on the ground and disrupted us a lot “We’re really pleased to come back from being three points down a bit of class and scored some good tries.” Heriot’s wasted no time in getting into their stride winning back possession from the kick-off and bullying their way into Selkirk’s 22 before Dan King provided the finishing flourish and the visitors soon doubled their account when a neat move from a line-out 15 yards from the try-line gave hooker Michael Liness a chance to thunder up the tramlines for the score with Ross Jones slotting both tricky conversion and when they did get hold of it they were put under serious pressure by Heriots’ aggressive and well-marshalled defence but the Borderers did manage to strike back with their first meaningful foray into their opponents’ territory with Blake Cullen winning the footrace to touch the ball down following a kick ahead for Callum Anderson Heriot’s bounced right back with Sam Wallace grabbing try number three under the posts following some powerful driving play by the visiting forwards but the contest was no longer as one-sided as it had been during the opening quarter and Selkirk struck again after Cullen played a lead role in harrying Heriot’s into conceding a penalty on the deck which was kicked to the corner for a line-out maul from which Corey Tait broke and bulldozed over Hugo Alderson had missed his first conversion attempt but nailed this one Heriot’s had the final say of the first half when Jones switched the direction of play on halfway and Charlie Jupp strode through a gap before offloading to Rory Kirkpatrick who ran it home for the bonus-point score Selkirk got the second half off to a far more encouraging start than they had the first failing to make much headway through the line-out maul after kicking another penalty to the corner but then patiently grinding through several phases before Jack Fisher finally powered over There was a hold-up while Jupp was treated on the pitch after a blow to the head as he tackled Fisher in a purely rugby incident the No 8 was eventually helped to his feet looking groggy but able to make his way from the field on his own two feet Selkirk didn’t let that hold-up diminish the head of steam they had built up and struck again when Callum Anderson nipped over following another forceful passage of play and they then snatched the lead just before the hour mark when Aaron McColm looped round and over the line in a set-move off a scrum in front of the posts That seemed to be the spur which roused Heriot’s from their third-quarter slumber and – aided by a Selkirk overplaying in their own 22 and conceding a knock-on scrum – the visitors reclaimed the scoreboard advantage through a second Wallace try Then some more hard-running a crisp-hands saw Kind claim his second try of the contest The killer blow was struck by winger Zac Ross who finished in the corner but the try was created by a devastating midfield burst and lovely one-handed offload from hooker Liness Still Selkirk would not throw in the towel even though the losing bonus-point was now out of reach and they finished they had the last say of the match when Bruce Riddell powered over F Gibson (S Broad 54); C Keen ( A Munro 41) Scoring sequence (Selkirk first): 0-5; 0-7; 0-12; 0-14; 5-14; 5-19; 5-21; 10-21; 12-21; 12-26; 12-28 (h-t) 17-28; 19-28; 24-28; 29-28; 31-28 31-33; 31-35; 31-40; 31-45; 31-47; 36-47; 38-47 Player-of-the-Match: What Rory Kirkpatrick and Sam Wallace lack in bulk on the flanks of Heriots’ scrum they more than make-up for through work-rate competitiveness in contact and rugby intelligence with Wallace getting the nod for his carrying and link play during that impressive opening quarter for the visitors Talking point: Selkirk’s never-say-die attitude and attacking threat when they are on song means that they can cause problems to any team in this league but they will feel that they have let both Hawick and then Heriot’s off the hook in the last fortnight Can they hold it together for longer to deliver a bloody-nose to champions Currie Chieftains next weekend Glasgow Warriors ‘A’ v Edinburgh ‘A’: capital success in closed-door match at Scotstoun Firstly what a great game to watch in Spring like conditions at one of Scotland’s best rugby facilities with the result in the balance right up till the last 10 minutes SemiSouter is largely right in what he says but Selkirk like Hawick will need to attract players in Selkirk’s population of 4540 (2020 census) is not enough and with Gala 5 miles away having a pop of 12600 it becomes an ideal place to recruit from for anyone wanting to play in the Premiership Indeed if Selkirk can hold onto their current squad things should improve for them next season Hawick with a population of 10728 are a bit further south with really only Jedburgh and Langholm to recruit from locally so it’s tough all round Compare this to Heriots in the capital city with a 2024 population of 559,000 plus college students one can only hope that the Border clubs will survive to compete Perhaps the ex super six players will wash through the system in a season or so and reality will return to the leagues although it’s sad in a way the SRU didn’t try to control where the unattached semi pro players went dates and much else so a little foresight on their part could have produced a less top heavy league For instance the quality of the Heriots bench were it shared with say Musselburgh / Selkirk / Gala could work for the betterment of Scottish club rugby Heriot’s got off to a flyer but Selkirk kept plugging away as they always do I’ve watched them a couple of times this season and they have a great team spirit Really impressed with Anderson at 15 and Tait at 2 They’ll stay in the Premiership this season 👍 Selkirk may have a strong enough starting team to survive this year but given how many imports they have this does not mean it will be sustainable The key for survival in this League is strength in depth and none of the Borders clubs have this The Border Junior league is a non event with games regularly cancelled due to the lack of players and the quality of the games highlight there is a significant lack of depth in the Borders clubs Hawick have managed to put out a 2xv on only one occasion this year … this is a very worrying position for Hawick because whereas previously they may have been able to suggest that they have Junior clubs in the town as well the players at these clubs are no longer of the standard to step into a Prem squad Scratch the surface and look more closely at the player pool the Borders clubs are all going to struggle to maintain their places in the Prem They won’t have sufficient funds to pay players in the long term and eventually they will have to rely on the depth of their player pool minus paid imports If Selkirk avoid injuries this season they will stay in the Prem but it’s only delaying the inevitable There are already muttering of discontent in Selkirk about the number of imports within the Selkirk 1xv and the continuation of this just risks the alienation of the club support within the town Semi it’s not recruitment that’s key it’s retention Which is more and more difficult with the lack of employment and educational opportunities in the Borders Club members don’t want to see teams full of imported or recruited players Money is going to define the top clubs for the next few years and teams will find their levels but with 7 teams over the top 2 division the Borders are punching well above it’s population base Nat 1 could be a mini Border League next year Win Happy PremiumSearch It's unclear how many vehicles were involved but a white Ford Fiesta ended up off the road in some bushes the vehicle's airbags could be seen deployed while extensive damage was visible on the driver's side The road was closed between Oregon Timber Frame's new Borders headquarters in Selkirk and the large layby before the turn-off for Lindean after the alarm was raised around 7pm this evening (Tuesday); with traffic being diverted along Bridgelands Road READ MORE: Police helicopter and sniffer dogs join search for man reported missing following crash on A7 near Selkirk A recovery vehicle arrived shortly before 9pm It comes just days after a fatal crash further down the A7 which claimed the life of a 75-year-old man and left a 52-year-old woman in hospital with serious injuries A black Suzuki Ignis and a red Vauxhall Grandland were involved in a collision just north of Hawick around 4.35pm on Sunday READ MORE: Man appears in court charged with robbery following 'raid' on filling station in Galashiels a spokesperson for Borders Buses said: "Due to an accident between Galashiels and Selkirk "We will still serve Selkirk but limited stop "We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause." 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