Selkirk 47

Musselburgh 10

SELKIRK'S intentions of returning to the top flight were clearly made on Saturday with an impressive victory over Musselburgh.

It was the visitors who had edged the opening exchanges with Craig Owenson going over for a try on 17 minutes.

But the Souters quickly found their rhythm with a string of surging runs and passes.

Josh Welsh was first to in for a try on 23 minutes following some fine handling.

Just four minutes later Darren Clapperton burst through a gap to cross the whitewash. Welsh's conversion gave the home team a 14-7 lead.

Selkirk's dominance continued and sustained pressure on the Musselburgh line led to Lewis MacLennan barging over near the corner.

The bonus point try came just before the interval with Ciaran Whyte touching down.

Ross Nixon's conversion gave Selkirk a 26-7 lead at half time.

Clapperton added to the tally five minutes into the second half with a powerful run for the line.

Hendrie slotted the extras for a 33-10 scoreline.

Selkirk continued to show the appetite which will impress the new coaching team.

Ciaran Whyte kept the scoreboard ticking with another try just after the hour.

And from deep in their own half they concluded the scoring late on through Hendrie's chip and chase.

Selkirk D. Clapperton, S. Hendrie, L. MacLennan, R. Nixon, J. Welsh, C. Whyte, S. Tough, K. Cooney, R. Wilson, L. Mabenge, J. McGowan, M. Gordon, E. MacDougall, M. Robertson, A. Renwick. Replacements: P. Forrest, C. Graur, S. Nixon, A. McColm, C. McEwan.