THERE was no way back for Selkirk this time as they lost only their second league match of the season against a determined Heriot's side, who grabbed five tries to start winning again after two successive defeats.
Selkirk's trademark tactics of allowing opponents to go into the lead before clawing back the initiative failed them on this outing. They battled for a full 80 minutes but never really looked like overhauling a home side, who sealed the deal with som
e solid defensive tackling but admitted they were flattered by the 10-point margin of victory.
The outcome of the match turned on a sustained spell of pressure just before half-time when Selkirk looked almost certain to score as Heriot's were stretched paper thin along their own try-line. A score then would have brought the scores level at 12-12 or even put the visitors ahead. Instead, a wild pass from the back of a ruck went astray and fell to Heriot's winger Stuart Bell, who fly-hacked once, twice, and then a third time to cover 95 metres before falling on the ball for the try.
Within minutes, Selkirk had worked their way back to the Heriot's line, but again the final pass was loose. Bell intercepted it with the full length of the pitch in front of him. This time he was hunted down by Scott Hendrie before he could reach the other end, but the balance had tilted against the Borderers, never to be regained.
Fraser Harkness did slice through for Selkirk at the start of the second half only for it to be ruled invalid by a forward pass.
Then Heriot's were awarded a highly debatable try when, after a long discussion between referee and touch judge, right winger Michael Short's lunge for the corner was deemed to have come down on the correct side of the flag. Selkirk might have been within a single score, instead they were 19 points adrift.
Selkirk had another two well-worked tries in them, and Heriot's a fifth from another Bell hack and chase, but the game was settled by that dubious bonus-point try.
Selkirk coach Kevin Barrie said: "It wasn't as if our defence was poor. Heriot's got three of their tries off our mistakes. We need learn as a team to be a wee bit more accurate in our calls, and show a bit more composure and patience when we have the ball."
The result means Heriot's climb two places to sit in the fifth spot in a more comfortable position in the top half of the table just a point behind Selkirk.
Coach Bob McKillop said: "I think we tried to play too much rugby when we were ahead. The game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. We need to show a bit more patience and a bit more experience when we get in front. We probably gave Selkirk a sniff towards the end which we shouldn't have done. We could have closed the game out a bit more effectively.
"But our target today was to get a win because we knew that Selkirk have been going well in the league and you could see why they have been winning their games. I thought they played some lovely rugby and out of all of the teams we have played they seemed to have the most appetite for playing rugby and the most willingness to have a go."
Scorers: Heriot's: Tries: C Goudie, G Rutherford, S Bell 2, M Short. Cons: G Wilson 3. Selkirk: Tries: N Darling, F Harkness, M McVie. Cons: Cassidy 3.
Heriot's: C Goudie; M Short, G Thomson, S Anderson, S Bell; G Rutherford, G Wilson; A Dymock, S Burnett, I Brown, P Eccles, I Nimmo, T McVie, S Dewar, J Parker. Subs used: F Gillies, W Blacklock, J Syme, M Reid, S Wilson.
Selkirk: F Harkness; S Hendrie, D Cassidy, R Armstrong, L Jones; G Craig, M McVie; G Patterson, I Walling, M Murray, R Aglen, S Willett, N Darling, C Johnston, S Tomlinson. Subs used: A Dunbar, A Lyall, R Taylor, A Renwick, S Forrest.
Attendance: 900.
Referee: N Paterson.
The full article contains 705 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
