Currie Chieftains 34

Selkirk 17

SELKIRK’S three-match unbeaten run was ended by a powerful Currie Chieftains side at Malleny Park on Saturday, with the home team’s tight game control and clinical finishing ultimately proving decisive.

Early in the match things had looked promising for Selkirk when fly-half Callum Anderson and hooker James Bett again combined cleverly, resulting in the latter scoring his second try of the campaign with less than five minutes on the clock.

Aaron McColm’s conversion put the visitors 7-0 ahead.

However, with the penalty count against the Philiphaugh men beginning to rise at an alarming rate, Currie took advantage to gain large chunks of territory - taking the lead through an opportunist try from scrum-half Gregor Christie, converted by Gregor Hunter, who’d earlier kicked a penalty.

The visitors’ cause wasn’t helped when flanker Rob Cook was yellow-carded for deliberately slowing down play, and a try by Fergus Scott gave Currie a 17-7 interval lead.

Injuries to Luca Berte (cut lip) and Scott McClymont (hamstring) didn’t help Selkirk's cause, and any hopes of a revival by the Philiphaugh side were dashed when Currie crossed for three tries in the space of seven minutes – Wallace Nelson, Hunter and Steven Hamilton getting the touchdowns.

To their credit, Ewan MacDougall’s men battled to the end, tries from Frazer Anderson and Bruce Riddell putting a better complexion on the final scoreline.

Once again ex-skipper Ross Nixon proved a tower of strength for Selkirk in midfield, while James Bett, Peter Forrest and Jack Houston all put in hard shifts in defence and attack.

After the game, Selkirk head coach Scott Wight was typically forthright in his assessment of the contest.

He said: “Currie played at a good tempo, they took their chances and at the end of the day they deserved the win.

“The important thing for us is how we regroup through the week.

"We’ve had a great pre-season, and the positivity doesn’t stop now just because we’ve suffered our first defeat.

“This game is past, so we’ll start working hard again and concentrate on putting together a game plan for the Aberdeen Grammar match on Saturday.”

Selkirk. Aaron McColm, L. Berte, J. Welsh, R. Nixon, F. Anderson, C. Anderson, L. Merolle, L. Pettie, J. Bett, B. Riddell, J. Houston, P. Forrest, R. Cook, S. McClymont, E. MacDougall. Replacements – J. Henry, R. Cottrell, Andrew McColm, A. Mackay, G. Forrest.