Smiles all round as Selkirk A hang on for win

Selkirk A 22

DOWN to 13 men for the final four minutes of Saturday’s BT Reserve League National 2 match at Pinkie, and with Musselburgh hammering away at their try line, it looked as though Selkirk ‘A’s heroic efforts in clinging to a narrow four-point lead might ultimately count for nothing.

It took an inspired piece of rugby by Selkirk’s Lewis MacLennan to save the day.

The talented centre somehow managed to secure a turnover as the home forwards bore down on the visitors’ line, allowing Ross Purves to boot the ball into touch and the referee to finally blow for no-side.

“It was a fantastic performance by the whole team,” Selkirk ‘A’ forwards coach Neil Darling said after the game, “and I couldn’t be happier for the boys. The players have had to endure some heavy defeats this season, but they’ve never once lost their self-belief.

“The character shown by these players today, against a very good Musselburgh side, was outstanding, and the fact so many of them were making their comebacks after serious injuries underlines that achievement.”

To mark his final appearance in a Selkirk jersey, prop Lwando Mabenge took over as the visitors’ captain, and soon set the benchmark for his team-mates with a couple of thundering runs. However, it was the home side who made the more enterprising start, racing to an 8-0 lead through a try by Ross Young and penalty from the boot of Liam Fraser.

Selkirk hit back when wing Kerr Gerrard burst clear to score a try in the left-hand corner, and just before halftime Callum McColm – making his first appearance since fracturing his jaw against the same opponents on September 3 – dummied his way over for another score, adding the conversion to give Selkirk a 12-8 interval lead.

Early in the second half Musselburgh snatched the lead back through a try from wing Cammy McMillan. At this point Selkirk stepped up a gear, with Kieran Cooney’s experience, Donald Nichol’s dynamism and Jack Houston’s sterling line-out work keeping the home forwards’ hands full.

Behind the scrum Callum McEwan was having a fine game in the No. 9 jersey, showing no ill-effects from his hand injury and spearheading many of the visitors’ best attacks with breaks round the fringes.

Great lead-up work by MacLennan and McColm then allowed Selkirk ‘man of the match’ Nichol to burst over for the Souters’ third try, with Rory Hamilton’s conversion and a successful penalty kick putting the Philiphaugh men 22-13 ahead.

Musselburgh now threw everything bar the kitchen sink at Selkirk. The home team’s chances were boosted when Gerrard and Hamilton both received yellow cards in the game’s dying stages, and a Fraser try put Musselburgh right back in the frame.

In the final frantic minutes of the contest, Selkirk’s players somehow managed to keep their nerve and composure, giving a much-needed boost to the Souters’ efforts to escape the National 2 relegation zone.

SELKIRK ‘A’ – G. Ross, L. Martin, L. MacLennan, D. Allan, K. Gerrard, C. McColm, C. McEwan, R. Reilly, R. Wilson, L. Mabenge, J. Houston, K. Cooney, R. Cook, R. Purves, D. Nichol. Replacements: A. Lyall, R. Hamilton, J. Stephen, W. McClymont.