Nine games into the new season, that was the Greens’ fourth win and their injury-ravaged visitors’ eighth loss, lifting the former up from ninth to sixth, on 24 points, and leaving the latter second from bottom, on ten.
Melrose, up from eighth to fifth, are on 26 points and Selkirk, down from sixth to eighth, are on 23.
The hosts’ tries were touched down by openside flanker Fraser Renwick, scrum-half Logan Henry at the double, right-winger Matt Reid, No 8 Jae Linton, blindside flanker Hughie Donaldson, full-back Kirk Ford and inside-centre Andrew Mitchell, with Ford adding four conversions and fly-half Kyle Brunton two.
Fly-haf Liam Herdman and replacement lock Euan Thompson scored Kelso’s tries at Mansfield Park, with outside-centre and captain Dwain Patterson converting one of them.
Hawick and Kelso go up against the table’s top two next time out, on Saturday, November 9.
Head coach Graham Hogg’s Greens are away to league leaders Ayr, with their hosts looking to keep up their 100% record of nine bonus-point wins from as many fixtures following a 36-12 victory away to Edinburgh Academical on Saturday, and co-gaffers Nikki Walker and Bruce McNeil’s Kelso are at home at Poynder Park to Edinburgh’s Heriot’s, 37-22 winners hosting Glasgow Hawks that same day. Both those games are 3pm kick-offs.
Try-scorer Renwick was heartened by the way his side bounced back from their 32-20 defeat away to Hawks seven days prior, telling Borders Rugby TV afterwards: “We were really pleased with that.
“Last week was a disappointing one for us but we bounced back. We came in with a postive attitude and put that Glasgow Hawks game to bed and then we moved on and got prepared for the Kelso game.
“We knew it was going to be a fierece Border derby. They’re probably in a similar position to us – they’ve been struggling a wee bit of late – but that’s when teams are at their most dangerous.
“We put a real emphasis this week on our defence and the first and second phases of set-pieces and whatnot to stop them getting gain-line and then taking it from there.
“The workrate from the boys to put them under real pressure showed what this team is really about.”
Visiting skipper Patterson was satisfied with the commitment to the Kelso cause shown by his team but accepted that it wasn’t enough to keep them in the game, saying: “You couldn’t fault our effort but when you come to Mansfield, effort’s not enough sometimes and inaccuracies kill you, and that was it.
“We were looking at the scoreboard and it was 19-7 at one point and then, in the blink of an eye, it was 33-7 and we were going in for half-time.
“It’s crucial moments like that that are killing us and inaccuracies.
“There were good parts to our game. It was just maybe a miss left in a lineout, a knock-on, a pass when we shouldn’t have passed that let us down.
“This league is a ruthless league. You can make an error one minute in their 22 and the next minute you’re under your own posts looking at giving away seven points.”

1. Steve Cox : Hawick v Kelso
Andrew Mitchell on the ball for Hawick during their 52-12 win at home to Kelso at Mansfield Park on Saturday in rugby’s Arnold Clark Premiership (Photo: Steve Cox) Photo: Steve Cox

2. Hawick v Kelso
Logan Henry on the attack for Hawick during their 52-12 win at home to Kelso at Mansfield Park on Saturday in rugby’s Arnold Clark Premiership (Photo: Steve Cox) Photo: Steve Cox

3. Hawick v Kelso
Logan Henry in possession for Hawick during their 52-12 win at home to Kelso at Mansfield Park on Saturday in rugby’s Arnold Clark Premiership (Photo: Steve Cox) Photo: Steve Cox

4. Hawick v Kelso
Kirk Ford on the ball for Hawick during their 52-12 win at home to Kelso at Mansfield Park on Saturday in rugby’s Arnold Clark Premiership (Photo: Steve Cox) Photo: Steve Cox