Selkirk 24

Edinburgh Accies 26

Atholl Innes

at Philiphaugh

IT was never going to be easy for Selkirk as they found out on Saturday at Philiphaugh.

Accies, one of the four previous Premiership sides who did not win a Super 6 franchise, proved just too strong in an epic contest that hinged on the final kick of the game.

Under pressure, Aaron McColm found his penalty fell just short of the distance.

But Selkirk were still left with two points, finishing within seven of the victors and scoring four tries.

Selkirk led 12-7 at the break, but then let the lead slip from their grasp during an exciting second half.

Team manager Tom Ramage said: “We came out in the second half and did not turn up for 10 minutes.

"We gave away tries which put them 12 points ahead, and then we were within kicking distance of winning the match.

“Accies are a good attacking side, but we came out of the game with two points which showed it was close.”

There was relief in the Accies camp who now face a run of home matches.

Coach Iain Berthinussen said: “We were delighted just to get the win.

“We spoke at half-time about us pressuring ourselves, not so much Selkirk doing it, and we showed a bit more variety in the second half.

"I was a bit nervous at the end (with the penalty award), but the win means we have only one game to go on the road and then we get to play our games at home.”

Selkirk dominated the early stages and tries from Ewan Macdougall and Henry Bithray, the first converted by McColm, gave them a 12-0 lead which they held until Sean Crombie went over and Jamie Loomes converted to cut the deficit to 12-7 at the break.

Accies came out strongly after the interval and Jamie Sole, who had been yellow-carded by the Spanish referee early in the game, touched down and again Loomes converted to give the visitors the lead for the first time.

Selkirk were reduced to 14 players after replacement Andrew Renwick was sent to the sinbin, and Matt Campbell found space to add another before a Cole Imrie try added the bonus point.

The hosts started their revival with Luca Berte crossing, followed by Renwick.

But McColm found his last kick just out of reach to clinch all points.

Selkirk: A. McColm; H. Birtday, J. Welsh, L. Berte, R. Cottrell; C. Anderson, L. Morelle; L. Pettie, J. Bett, S. Rankin, P. Forrest, D. Nichol, J. Mackay, S. McClymont, E. Macdougall. Replacements: A. Mackay, B. Riddell, A. Renwick, F. Anderson, L. Martin.