Peebles 2nds 48

Walkerburn 0

Colin McCudden

at The Gytes

THE latest edition of the Tweeddale derby took place under the Friday night lights down at the Gytes as Walkerburn made the short trip up the road to their oldest rivals.

They were buoyed by their strong showing in the corresponding fixture earlier in the season although they knew that they now lacked the element of surprise they had back then.

Both sides had larger squads than usual, maybe an indication of the popularity of the fixture with the players, and a decent crowd turned up with support for both sides.

The mist threatened to envelope the pitch early on but this was soon blown away as the action got underway.

Walkerburn hung on in the early minutes as Peebles 2s opened up with a pace and precision that the Burn had rarely encountered this season.

There was some great defence as big runners kept coming at the Burn who were also starved of possession.

This bore fruit for Peebles with early tries for Hogarth, Clinch and Thrall.

The Burn eventually got up to speed and managed a period in the Peebles half.

Marshalled by Captain Lee Robertson and motivated by Simon Currie in his swansong the pack gave as good as they got, with Conor Weatherly always a willing carrier.

However the backs never managed to recreate the form they have had this season with too many passes going uncharacteristically astray.

A further try from Euan Jackson made the half time score Peebles 26-0 to the good.

The second half saw a lot more parity for the Burn early on.

A raft of changes were made by both sides, notably Colin Stewart adding his bulk and enthusiasm to the Burn 8.

However Peebles continued to have the upper hand, Hogarth scored two tries to complete his hat-trick in a tribute to direct running. The Burn pressed at times with some considerable pressure on the Peebles line but just couldn't come away with the score that they deserved.

Further tries from Laurie and Muir made the final score Peebles 48 Walkerburn 0.

Peebles were deserved winners, however the Burn were not shamed in defeat to a fine side.

This has been a season of rebirth for the Burn with a number of victories and the promise of more to come.

With a mixture of youth and experience there is a bright future for this team and the club is moving in the right direction.

Roll on next season and some new challenges.