Peeblesshire News | Sport | Kelso set down marker in opening sevens

Thursday, 20th November, 2008

Published: Friday, 22nd August, 2008 12:30

Kelso set down marker in opening sevens

By Atholl Innes

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SELKIRK will always know that they will be in a real battle when they face Kelso on the sevens circuit.

And after their defeat by the Tweedsiders at Berwick in April, Selkirk came up agaist their old rivals at the opening salvo on Saturday.

And while it may too early to suggest that a new Kelso is emerging as a major threat on the Borders sevens circuit after their win on Saturday in their own Wolseley UK Build Center tournament.

However, coached by former sevens supremo, Adam Roxburgh, alongside Graeme Cowe, Kelso played with all the attributes of a side capable of dethroning Selkirk, Kings of the Sevens for the past two seasons.

After defeating Selkirk 21-15 in a physically demanding and strength-sapping final on rare Borders summer afternoon, Roxburgh believed that the success had been build on the foundations of a successful end to last season, in which they had come from behind to pip Selkirk in the final of the Berwick Sevens in April.

By co-incidence, the sides meet in the first round of the Selkirk tournament this Sunday, but Roxburgh raised his arms in delight as his team won their own event for the eighteenth time overall and the first time since 2001.

“We had the nucleus of the side from last year and I think we had a lot of confidence from playing so well last year,” he said.

“Selkirk has been an awesome sevens’ outfit in the past two years, but our training has been intense over the past five or six weeks. We did a lot of running and it paid for us at the end, getting back and tackling.

“We only concentrated on the sevens in the past week, but all the fitness work in the gym and the running over the summer has been second to none and it paid off. This is the fittest I have seen the players at the start of a season.”

Roxburgh also believed that the win would help Kelso as they begin their 15-a-side campaign in just over a week’s time.

Kelso had earlier defeated the Kings of the Sevens runners-up last season, Watsonians in the semi-final while Selkirk were comfortable against Haddington, Melrose and Hawick.

However, Kelso had the staying the power, teamwork, awareness, toughness, running power and hunger in the final, which ended with both sets of players out on their feet after 20 minutes of non-stop intensity.

It would be unfair to single out individual players, but Greg Minto was immense and Sean Common proved that kicking goal kicks is as crucial as in the 15-a-side game.

Kelso’s fitness levels were epitomised when, with two players on the ground injured, they still conjured up a try in the final while they also had to come from behind after tries by Neil Darling and Fraser Harkness gave Selkirk an early lead.

Common’s try and conversion cut the deficit by the interval before Darren Gillespie scored and Common added the goal points.

Darling’s second try saw the lead change before Mikel Eel Hartley’s score and Common’s third conversion completed the scoring.

The season moves on to Selkirk this weekend when Newcastle Falcons will start as favourites while Kelso or Selkirk will be out after just 14 minutes.

First round

Gala 7, Watsonians 46; Jed-Forest 24, Langholm 14; Edinburgh Accies 0, Stewart’s Melville FP 30; Kelso 29, Hawick YM 0; Haddington 0, Selkirk 43; Melrose 38, Berwick 5; President’s Seven 31, Peebles 14; Hawick 62, Earlston 0.

Second round

Watsonians 40, Jed-Forest 5; Stewart’s Melville 5, Kelso 36; Selkirk 22, Melrose 5; President’s Seven 7, Hawick 36.

Semi-finals

Watsonians 17, Kelso 26; Selkirk 26, Hawick 14.

Final

Kelso 21, Selkirk 15.

Kelso: I. Moodie, E. Ford, D. Gillespie, Gary Mulroy, S. Common, Mikel Eel Hartley. G. Minto, M. Tait, N. Trotter, G. Shiells.

Selkirk: N. Darling, R. Crockatt, E. Gauche, F. Harkness, G. Craig. S. Hendrie, L. Jones, R. Aglen, R, Nixon, M. McVie.

end

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