Watsonians 36

Selkirk 14

THE turning point in Saturday’s BT Cup second round tie at Myreside between Watsonians and Selkirk came at the start of the second half, when the home side scored three unanswered tries to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb.

“During the third quarter of the game we just couldn’t get the ball,” Selkirk head coach Graham Marshall told the selkirkrfc.com web site, “and Watsonians took full advantage of all this possession to put points on the board. Although our boys came back strongly in the final stages, by then the gap was too wide to close.”

Trailing 15-7 at the interval, the Souters went toe-to-toe with their Premiership opponents in the first half. Full-back Darren Clapperton scored his 14th try of the season following a smart break and off-load by Ciaran Whyte. Josh Welsh added the conversion.

Sonians’ try scorers in the first half were Andrew Chalmers and Ewan Scott, with Chalmers kicking both conversions as well as a penalty.

Following Clapperton’s substitution at halftime,

Whyte switched to full-back and gave a good account of himself, despite the home side turning up the heat. Gavin Craig continued his successful comeback from injury by taking over the No. 10 jersey, making a series of trademark breaks and dovetailing well with new half-back partner Jackson Wallace.

Meanwhile Craig’s fellow backs replacement, Frazer Anderson, showed bags of commitment in the closing stages of the contest, capitalising on a blindside break by skipper Ross Nixon to score the visitors’ second try, converted by Whyte.

Michael Waldron was another Selkirk player to make a favourable impression. The talented young prop showed plenty of staying power and focus during his 80 minutes on the pitch, while hooker replacement Ross Purves gave a spirited display in the final moments of the match.

Watsonians’ second half try scorers were Darren Miller, Craig Borthwick and ex-Selkirk wing-forward Angus Duckett, who has proved to be one of the Myreside club’s most consistent performers this season.

Watsonians: A. Chalmers; K. Young, S. McLeod, D. Innes, S. McKean; E. Scott, R. Cullen; N. Borel, D. Miller, C. Eastwood, F. Morrison, C. Borthwick, K. Beattie, A. Duckett, E. Dods. Replacements: L. Di Rollo, D.Keenan, A. Middleton, E. McKirdy, A. Harris.

Selkirk: D. Clapperton, S. Hendrie, R. Nixon, C. MacDougall, J. Welsh, C. Whyte, J. Wallace, K. Cooney, P. Forrest, M. Waldron, J. McGowan, S. McDonald, E. MacDougall, S. Nixon, A. Renwick. Replacements: R. Purves, C. Graur, M. Robertson, F. Anderson, G. Craig.