Marr 32

Selkirk 19

THE spate of injuries plaguing Selkirk in recent weeks shows no sign of abating.

In Saturday’s bruising BT National League 1 match against Marr at Fullarton Estate, the Philiphaugh side once again suffered a high casualty rate.

In the first half winger Josh Welsh was forced to the sidelines after taking a heavy knock, to be followed in the second half by scrum-half Mikey Davies (fractured cheekbone), prop Lwando Mabenge (shoulder injury) and lock Max Gordon (ruptured knee tendon).

“We’re definitely struggling a bit with injuries at the moment,” Selkirk vice-captain Ewan MacDougall told the selkirkrfc.com web site after the game, “but that’s the way it goes sometimes, and you’ve just got to get on with it.

“More concerning is the fact we’ve not been able to start games strongly in recent weeks, and that was again the case today. Marr scored a couple of tries early on, which meant we were on the back foot and had to battle to get back into the match.

“I thought we managed to turn things around in the second half though, and finished the game strongly, with our defence looking solid despite the number of changes in personnel the coaches were forced to make.

“Morale in the team is still high, with everyone working hard for each other. Each player knows the areas that need improving, and we’ll be working extra hard at training this week to address these issues.”

A plus-mark for Selkirk was the reappearance, in the second half, of number eight Andrew Renwick and second row forward Jordan McGowan, both of whom have been out of action in recent weeks, while Kiwi newcomer Jackson Wallace showed up well in the No. 9 jersey following the loss of Mikey Davies.

Selkirk full-back Darren Clapperton was again in fine form, scoring a brace of tries in the match to take his season’s tally to 13.

His second half touchdown came after a dazzling break by Mikey Davies

Rory Banks also got on the score sheet with a try after coming off the bench.

Josh Welsh added the conversion to Clapperton’s first try, with Scott Hendrie kicking the extra points following the full-back’s second effort.

Marr’s try scorers were Scott Bickenstaff, Ben Johnson (2) and Mackenzie Pearce, with Colin Sturgeon adding three conversions and two penalties.

Selkirk - D. Clapperton, J. Wallace, S. Hendrie, R. Nixon, J. Welsh, C. Whyte, M. Davies, K. Cooney, R. Wilson, L. Mabenge, P. Forrest, M. Gordon, E. MacDougall, M. Robertson, S. Nixon. Replacements: J. McGowan, M. Waldron, A. Renwick, S. McDonald, R. Banks.