Gala and Jed-Forest edge closer to safety in rugby’s Arnold Clark National League Division 1 after picking up points v Biggar and Accies

Head coach Ewen Robbie’s Maroons remain second from bottom but have doubled the gap between themselves and basement side Gordonians to six points after claiming their third victory of the season by edging out Biggar 7-5 on the road, pulling off a winning double after getting the better of the South Lanarkshire side at home too, by 29-21 in October.

Opposite number Michael Harshaw’s Jed are also static in the table, staying third from bottom, but secured two bonus points from their 33-26 defeat hosting second-placed Edinburgh Academical, taking them eight points clear of the relegation spot occupied by the Aberdeen outfit, beaten 19-12 at home by Boroughmuir at the weekend.

Four rounds away from the end of the season, Jed are on 21 points and Gala on 19, with Gordonians on 13, all having played 14 games.

Jed are away to table-toppers Stirling County this coming Saturday and Gala host sixth-placed Boroughmuir at Netherdale, with kick-offs at 2pm and 3pm respectively.

October’s reverse fixtures both went against the Borderers, Stirling winning by 104-24 at Jedburgh’s Riverside Park and Boroughmuir by 14-12 at their Meggetland home ground.

Gala’s sole try at Hartree Mill on Saturday was touched down by left-winger Ritchie Mitchell and converted by fly-half Hamish Seggie, with Andy Jardine replying for their hosts.

Replacement Paulo Ferreira at the double, lock Clark Skeldon and blindside flanker Jamie Hynd scored Jed’s tries, with openside flanker Finn Scott adding two conversions.

Gala lock and captain Craig Keddie was relieved to see his side put a bit more distance between themselves and the bottom of the table, telling Borders Rugby TV: “The result’s the most important thing.

“It’s a huge result. There’ve been a lot of tight ones for months now, There’ve been some heartbreaking losses in the last minute a couple of times – but today it went our way.

“The boys managed the game tremendously. What an attitude from the boys – they really fronted up and managed the game well.

“The boys stuck to task and you could see by their reaction at the end how much it means. Quite rightly, the boys are absolutely buzzing.

“We’ve still got a good few games left to play now, so let’s hopefully build up some momentum and take that through the rest of this season.

“I’m delighted with the boys’ effort. To a man, they were absolutely brilliant.”

Jed No 8 and captain Garry Young was also glad to pick up points even if his team weren’t able to fully make amends for an 89-5 thumping by Accies in October’s reverse fixture in the capital, saying: “I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.

“Accies are a top team. They’re not sitting up there unbeaten at the top of the league for no reason. They’re full of quality players.

“The boys knuckled down, and to come away from a game like that with two points is massive.

“Accies are full of quality but so are our Jed team. We’ve got a lot of guys in there that really stand out.

“We’ve got to back ourselves regardless of who we’re playing against. I know we’re sitting down at the bottom end of the table but Stirling and Accies are one loss away from their season being derailed so the pressure’s on them. We’ve got to go up there and make sure we come away with something and let’s not be afraid to challenge them.”