Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Kelso triumph over Melrose in ding-dong Borders derby

Yesterday at 02:40 PM

Kelso 30

Melrose 19

DAVID FERGUSON @ Poynder Park

KELSO gained revenge for their narrow loss away to Melrose earlier in the season and gave themselves a major shot in the arm in their bid to avoid relegation.

Melrose started both halves the stronger, their skipper Angus Runciman and flanker Allan Ferrie providing a tremendous lead, but the hosts worked their way into the game with a crowd of close to a thousand – bolstered by a sold-out Farmers' Lunch and big visiting support – roaring them on, to claim a deserved victory with the teams sharing six tries.

Kelso co-coach Nikki Walker said: "There was a good crowd here today and a good atmosphere so it was good to put on a good show. I'm happy with the overall performance and there's just a twinge of disappointment that we didn't get the five points, but if you've given me that win before we started I'd have taken that quite happily.

Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Heriot's blow Musselburgh away

Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Glasgow Hawks pick-up important home win over Edinburgh Accies

Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Selkirk get the better of Hawick to climb into the play-off seedings

"The boys didn't realise the score when they were on the pitch because the scoreboard wasn't working, which is why they went for the posts to make the win certain, and Dwain [Patterson] was kicking brilliant all day, so while it was the wrong decision we still had chances to get the fourth try after that.

"We're four wins in the last six games now and we've turned a corner, getting more consistency in the 15 that are playing, and getting across my principles having come in just last year. There are some very good teams in this league and we maybe aren't quite at the level of some in terms of our resources, but what we do have is an amazing rugby club with boys who are willing to fight for that jersey. And we've put ourselves in a good position now to get ourselves out of the relegation area."

Disappointment was etched on the face of Melrose co-coach Scott Wight, who admitted: "Kelso played a really sensible game of rugby in the conditions and you could see how desperate they were today for that win with the position they're in.

"We didn't manage the territory well – we probably spent more than half an hour in our 22 – and didn't have enough ball, and when we made errors we compounded them with others.

"We know that we haven't performed at the level we expect yet in 2025, and so there's a frustration there, but we don't want boys going into their shell. We know we can play better and we will, and we'll analyse this and pick ourselves up for next week against Ayr."

As disappointed as Melrose were at the finish, in truth, in a ding-dong first half this was anyone's game. 'Rose opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Allan Ferrie twisted through two tackles to crash over, finishing a concerted period of pressure in the home half, in which former Kelso lock Angus Common and prop Jack Dobie were prominent figures.

As rain started to sweep into Poynder Park, Kelso came back strongly with half-backs Andy Tait and Liam Herdman pinning Melrose back in their half with adroit kicking. Still, for all their territory, Kelso struggled to pierce the solid Melrose resistance until the 15^th minute when that man Bruce McNeil took possession and, as he often does, found a way through bodies to the line.

And back came Melrose, Allan Ferrie making a remarkable 30-metre run from halfway, deep into Kelso territory, and a few phases later, left wing Corey Goldsbrough dived over among a melee of bodies.

With home props Dan Gamble and Grant Shiells enjoying a great battle with Dobie and Zen Swarzagak in the scrum, both line-outs being feverishly contested but largely going with the throw, and the back-rows all having their moments, the passions in this Border derby never relented.

The rain eased and conditions improved, but Melrose wasted a let-off when miscommunication at a line-out five metres from their line denied the Kelso pack a maul, which was a big weapon for Kelso in this match, but Ferrie tackled Hamish Tweedie unnecessarily after a knock-on by the Kelso winger, leading to a penalty against the flanker, handling Kelso another attacking platform.

Although the visitors resisted the first onslaught, they had no answer to the brilliance of Kelso full-back Archie Barbour when he fielded a clearance on halfway, took on and beat the first three defenders, accelerated into space, weaved back to the left touchline, and sprinted to the corner. He might have scored himself but a well-timed pass inside to Murray Woodcock sent the young flanker diving over with 30 minutes played to ensure the score and make the conversion easier. And the kicks proved the difference as Dwain Patterson converted both tries, and then added two penalties – the second from more than 40 metres – to hand the home side a 20-12 half-time lead.

Melrose came out after the break in determined mood and the ding-dong style of game continued with one team then the other enjoying a concerted period on the front foot. Home hooker Euan Knox denied Goldsbrough a certain try with a last-ditch tackle and 'Rose supporters were cursing when a line-out five metres from the home line was lost and then a dangerous attack cut short by a forward pass.

Kelso soaked up the pressure and then seized their chance on the hour-mark. It stemmed from a line-out on the far side of the pitch, with Shiells, Knox and McNeil making the hard yards into the Melrose 22 before scrum-half Tait popped up to dart in behind a ruck to score. It was the game's crucial moment as it sucked the confidence from the visitors after their good third quarter, and Patterson's conversion opened up a 15-point lead.

Surprisingly, Kelso opted to kick a penalty on the Melrose 22 minutes later – the players revealing afterwards that they were not sure of the score as the home scoreboard wasn't working – and they would rue that as they finished the game without a fourth try and bonus point.

Melrose earned reward for their efforts when Allan Ferrie finished the game as he'd started it with a well-taken try, after Kelso gave up a series of penalties defending their own line, and Tait was yellow-carded by referee David Young for cynically going offside.

Woodcock almost added a fourth for the hosts when Runciman lost the restart and the Kelso back-row latched onto the loose ball, but it wouldn't sit up for him as he chased it to the line and the chance was lost. There were more opportunities but Melrose pride was too great to allow an easy score and a crossing in midfield ruined Kelso's final chance.

The Tweedsiders now head to Edinburgh Accies for what is now a crucial clash in the relegation battle, while Melrose may be clear of the bottom three worries, but now face a trip to Ayr with play-off hopes dented.

Walker added: "The big thing for us now is to take that spirit to Edinburgh next week. It was great to win at home in front of that brilliant crowd; now we have to do it on the road if we're to keep up this momentum and get ourselves out of the relegation places."

Teams –

Kelso: A Barbour; D Patterson (co-c), A Hall, F Robson, H Tweedie; L Herdman, A Tait; G Shiells, E Knox, D Gamble, C Thompson, K Melbourne (co-c), J Utterson, M Woodcock, B McNeil. Subs: N Barnes, R Tweedie, W Tweedie.

Melrose: H Weir; B Colvine, E Ruthven, R Brett, C Goldsbrough; L Townsend, D Crawford; J Dobie, L Kirk, Z Swarzagak, A Common, A Runciman (c), W Ferrie, A Ferrie, C Fairbairn. Subs: A Ceballos, M Rutherford, J Wilks, S Hutchinson, D Mulcahy, M Gabe.

Scorers –

Kelso: Tries: McNeil, Woodcock, Tait; Cons: Patterson 3; Pens: Patterson 3.

Melrose: Tries: A Ferrie 2, Goldsbrough; Cons: Townsend, Hutchison.

Scoring sequence (Kelso first): 0-5; 0-7; 5-7; 7-7; 7-12; 12-12; 14-12; 17-12; 20-12 (h-t) 25-12; 27-12; 30-12; 30-17; 30-19.

Yellow card – 

Kelso: Tait (70 mins)

Player-of-the-Match: There were various contenders on both sides this week with Allan Ferrie a stand-out for Melrose, and Jack Dobie not far behind, while Andy Tait, Bruce McNeil and props Grant Shiells and Dan Gamble were key to Kelso's victory. But the player who impressed on both sides of the ball and came up with a crucial try was flanker Murray Woodcock, so he just edges the award.

Talking point: The clash between Al Ferrie and Bruce McNeil was worthy of WWE at its best, and gave the crowd great moments. The two were outstanding figures in the game, and the fact both hail from close to each other in the south-west of the country adds an intriguing twist.