Melrose 30
Hawick 20
MELROSE’S Joe Helps aided his side to victory with a near-perfect kicking display in their Border Regional Cup opener.
The Greens did put in a huge effort in the second half after going in at the break 17-3 down, but the damage had already been done.
Fraser Thomson drew first blood, collecting a well-placed pass from Blair Hutchison to open the scoring.
Helps added the conversion and a penalty, and also converted Damien Hoyland’s try.
Hawick managed to close out the half on top and some sustained pressure yielded a Neil Renwick penalty following several off-the-ball incidents.
At the start of the second period, Hawick upped their game considerably.
Nick Mactaggart began the fightback by going over in the corner. Renwick added the extras.
Helps added another three-pointer, before Ruaridh Knotts ran in Melrose’s third try on his debut.
Hawick’s Kieran Willison crashed over in the corner after some strong play and the Teries created a thrilling end to the match as Willison crossed for his second try following a line-out.
But they had left it too late and the final whistle sounded to the relief of the home support.