Biggar 17
Kelso 38
RBS NATIONAL LEAGUE
NORMAN ANDERSON reports from Hartreemill
WHATEVER else Kelso learned from their hiding at home by Watsonians last week, it was the fact that tries may be created by playing the ball at pace and that good movement and support play is vital.
That is why they were able to record a fine win away from home. From the start, they were dominant in the scrums and managed to pirate the occasional line-out. Biggar conceded a number of penalties and Murray Hastie, in a fairly rich vein of form with the boot, helped to keep the score ticking over.
Kelso had a great start when they stole a line-out near the Biggar line and Richard Minto knifed through to score and give Hastie an easy conversion.
Hastie then hit a brace of penalties before, inevitably, Kelso felt the pressure of the home team as they had their period of possession and dominance, resulting in a Craig Parker penalty.
Biggar won another penalty, only for it to be reversed for a defender doubting the referee’s knowledge of the laws and Hastie added the points. Dom Buckley charged over near the posts for a great team try on 38 minutes. Hastie added the conversion and slotted a penalty just on half-time to stretch the lead to 26-3 in Kelso’s favour.
The south Lanarkshire men started off the second half in a determined mood and won a succession of penalties near the Kelso line. Darren Gillespie obviously upset the referee for his involvement in these misdemeanours and was yellow-carded. Normally, the sin period is one of containment and damage limitation and so it appeared, until a ball squirted out of the side of a ruck on the Kelso line. Richard Minto was first to react and off he went. A lung-bursting 80m later he fed the ball in to the supporting Buckley, who surged through for his second try. Hastie converted.
The Borderers then conceded tries from Andrew Peacock and Gary Lowrie, converted by Parker.
But Kelso strove for the bonus point try and it was Dom Buckley who once more raced through.
Kelso: Andrew Haig; Dom Buckley, Richard Minto, Adam Alexander, Gregg Minto; Murray Hastie, Andy Tait; Kieran Cooney, Chris Riddell, Stuart Lowrie, Ian Wallace, Donald Seed, Michael Robertson, Ewan Ford, Darren Gillespie. Subs: Paul Grahamslaw, Andrew Wolf, Frankie Robson, Scott MacColl, Gregor Millar.