The capital outfit arrived at the ground at 1pm last Saturday after hours of hard work to make the pitch playable, but decided the surface was too hard for the match to go ahead, despite both Melrose and referee David Changleng keen to play. And the visitors were also not willing to delay kick-off half an hour to 3pm, with Watsonians coach and former Gala player Bruce Aitchison fearing that playing would have resulted in a serious injury.

Melrose captain John Dalziel added: "We were a bit hacked off. Because the weather was so clear we could have pushed back the kick-off to 3pm. It was a bit of a hasty decision, but I think they had a couple of injuries as well. It was frustrating to have another weekend without rugby."

Melrose director of rugby Mike Dalgetty added: "There is no doubt the pitch was hard, but there were no ruts or bad bits on it and we trained afterwards, albeit touch rugby.

"We felt we could have played, but you need both captains to agree – the referee cannot make the teams play.

"There was no real controversy, just real disappointment."

The late postponement leaves Melrose without a home game – and vital match income – for 11 weeks, from their 14-all draw with Selkirk on December 19 until March 6 against Edinburgh Accies.

They are gameless again this weekend after their Premier Cup clash at Peebles was postponed due to five Melrose players being named in the Scotland club international team to take on France tomorrow night.

"Every club is in the same boat at the moment and it is a real problem to keep going," added Dalgetty.

Elsewhere, Selkirk hope to avoid a Premier Cup round one shock when they host Premier Two side GHA on Saturday. The Souters will be without Rory Aglen and Lee Jones, while Fraser Harkness and Michael Rutherford are unlikely to feature.

Jed-Forest get a welcome break from their relegation worries to take on Premier One side West of Scotland in the same competition, while Kelso travel to Premier Three high-flyers Howe of Fife.