First national league win for Jed-Forest for 21 months but Gala and Peebles lose out


That win at Jedburgh’s Riverside Park was their first at national level since they beat Glasgow Hutchesons’ Aloysians by 41-13 at home in January 2023 in what was then the Tennent’s Premiership prior to their relegation from Scottish club rugby’s top flight earlier this year.
Jed have notched up one win and also a 19-19 draw in the interim, however, both en route to a second-from-bottom finish in last season’s Border League – by 32-15 at home to Peebles in March and with Melrose in April respectively.
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Hide AdHead coach Stuart Johnson’s hosts were 19-10 down at half-time and later 26-10 behind but fought back to turn that 16-point deficit into an eight-point winning margin and register their first victory of the new Arnold Clark Scottish National League Division 1 season.


That result leaves them fifth in the table after two fixtures, with seven points, just three shy of the four teams above them.
Their try-scorers against their Edinburgh opponents, assisted by a penalty try, were Owen Cranston at the double and Gregor and Garry Young, with Aaron Weatherhead adding a conversion and penalty and Ross Nichol also converting three and kicking a penalty.
Johnson was delighted to see his new team bounce back after throwing away a 28-7 lead to lose 32-28 away to Biggar seven days prior, telling Borders Rugby TV afterwards: “It was a really good result at home against a strong Boroughmuir side. To get five points is brilliant. It was the polar opposite of last week.
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Hide Ad“We were 26-10 down just after half-time and then we came back and our fitness showed in the last half an hour and we scored some really good tries.


“It’s our first win of the season, and five points, so we’ve got seven points from two games.
“Looking at the fixture list at the start of the season, it was always going to be tough, away to Biggar and then at home to a Boroughmuir side with Super6 boys in, so I’ll take seven points from the first two weeks.
“That’s a great result against that Boroughmuir side. I’m really happy, the boys are happy and we’ll now move on to next week.”
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Hide AdJed were the only one of the region’s three representatives in the division to win at the weekend, with Peebles losing 35-29 at home to Glasgow Academicals and Gala being given a 52-3 hiding at GHA.


Those defeats leave Gala sixth on five points and the Pees seventh on two.
This coming Saturday will see the division’s first Borders derby of the new season, with Gala hosting Jed, plus a trip to Biggar for Peebles, with both those games kicking off at 3pm.
Gala A and Peebles Reds were also in action in the reserves’ Border junior league the night before, with the latter winning by 26-25 away.
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Hide AdMelrose Storm also notched up an away victory, by 31-26 against Kelso Sharks, but Hawick Force’s scheduled home game against Selkirk A was postponed.
Reds host Force tonight, with Gala at Melrose and Jed at Selkirk tomorrow.