Selkirk 21 - 31 Stirling

SELKIRK missed a chance to close the gap on Gala at the bottom of the BT Premiership after being outplayed by a rejuvenated Stirling side at Philiphaugh this afternoon.

Despite leading for most of the first half, the Borders club looked on helplessly as the visitors ran in four tries.

A minute's silence was observed before the match as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in France the day before.

Stirling, who were 15 points and three places ahead of bottom of the table Selkirk before the game, kicked off and were soon ahead.

Johnny Hope's penalty with only five minutes on the clock put the visitors 0-3 ahead.

However, Selkirk, buoyed by their victory over second bottom Gala last weekend – their first of the season - were quick to respond.

When Stirling failed to clear their lines, Scott Hendrie and Josh Welsh showed off footballing skills which wouldn't have looked out of place over the fence at Yarrow Park, to get the ball over the tryline before Hendrie touched down. Rory Banks added the conversion to put Selkirk 7-3 in front.

Banks had an opportunity to put the home side further ahead on the half hour mark with an easier penalty but miscued his kick.

And it was the visitors who finished the first half the strongest with two tries in six minutes.

In the 37th minute, Stirling won a scrum on the half way line before the ball was fed to Dylan Simpson who sprinted half the length of the field - leaving both his own teammates and opponents standing - before diving over under the posts, despite shouts for offside. 

And then, in time added on, Nick Grigg grabbed Stirling's second try after Selkirk were caught on the overlap. Hope converted both to give the visitors a 7-17 lead at the interval.

With Gala trailing Hawick 17-6 down the A7 at Mansfield Park, a win for the Selkirk had the potential to close the gap at the bottom of the table to just two points.

But, before they could find their way back into the match, Stirling extended their lead. Mark Hunter scored the visitors' third try from a driving maul seven minutes into the second half. And Hope added the conversion to make it Selkirk 7, Stirling 24.

Then, just before the hour mark, Matt Lamb secured the bonus point, if not the game, for Stirling with his side's fourth try. Hope added the conversion to give the visitors a 7-31 lead. 

Selkirk were thrown a lifeline in the 66th minute when Stirling were reduced to 14 men after a dangerous tackle by Shaun Treweek resulted in a yellow card.

The home side took advantage of their extra man to pull a score back. Callum McEwan side stepped two opponents before stretching over. 

And then, three minutes later, with Stirling restored to full strength, Callum Marshall added a third try for Selkirk in the 80th minute, both converted  by Banks to make the final score Selkirk 21, Stirling 31.

Selkirk: Josh Welsh, Scott Hendrie, Craig MacDougal, Ross Nixon, Darren Clapperton, Rory Banks, Dashton Wellman; Grant Sheils, Fabien Tetart, Damien Byrne, Peter Forrest, Andrew Renwick, Ewen MacDougall, Max Gordon, Callum Marshall. Replacements: Callum McEwan, Scott Tough, Lwando Mabegme, Callum Johnston, Catta Gruar.

Stirling: Dylan Simpson, Johnny Hope, Nick Grigg, Danny Gilmour, Matt Lamb, Shaun Treweek, Patrick Nicol, Mark Hunter, Reyner Kennedy, Garry Mountford, Ed Howgate, Ruairidh Leishman, Struan Robertson, Shaun McDonald, Vaka Manu. Replacements: Cameron Fenton, Colin Hutton, Mike Dewar, Colin Turnbull, Cameron Hughes.