Gala Wanderers players celebrating beating Tynedale Colts 79-15 at home at Netherdale on Saturday to secure this season’s Borders semi-junior rugby league title (Photo: Tom Fell)Gala Wanderers players celebrating beating Tynedale Colts 79-15 at home at Netherdale on Saturday to secure this season’s Borders semi-junior rugby league title (Photo: Tom Fell)
Gala Wanderers players celebrating beating Tynedale Colts 79-15 at home at Netherdale on Saturday to secure this season’s Borders semi-junior rugby league title (Photo: Tom Fell)

Gala Wanderers celebrating after winning first semi-junior rugby league title for nearly 20 years

​Gala Wanderers secured their first Borders semi-junior rugby league title for almost 20 years with a 79-15 win against Northumberland’s Tynedale Colts on Netherdale’s main pitch on Saturday.

​That tenth win in 11 matches for the under-18 Maroons saw them go undefeated thus far this campaign, their odd game out having been a draw.

Head coach Bruce Chalmers’ side are now on 21 points from 11 fixtures, five clear of second-placed Hawick Youth and seven clear of third-placed Kelso Harlequins and out of reach of both despite them having a game in hand on the table-toppers.

Wanderers’ try-scorers at the weekend, putting them 38-5 up at half-time against their visitors from Corbridge and more than doubling their tally come the final whistle, were hooker Ainsley Graham, blindside flanker Sam Scott, No 8 and captain Rowan Chalmers, fly-half Callum Corry, left-winger Kerr McConnell, inside-centre Angus Robertson, outside-centre Oisin Beard with four, right-winger Rowan Tuft and full-back Hamish Seggie.

Seven of those tries were converted by Seggie and he also kicked a penalty, a further conversion being added by Chalmers.

Making up the rest of the hosts’ starting XV were loosehead prop Archie McIntyre, tighthead prop Lewis Oliver, locks Callum Purves and Gregor Paton, openside flanker Harris McDonald and scrum-half Gregor Balmer, with Lewis Campbell, Robert Smith, Jakub Szott, Max Murray, Fraser Hume, Joe Wallace and Finlay Hughes as replacements.

Wanderers are due to return to action away to Kelso Harlequins tonight, February 5, in the semi-juniors’ league cup, with kick-off at 7.30pm.

Saturday’s other semi-junior results were wins by 39-19 for Jed Thistle at home to Carlisle Colts and by 52-7 for Peebles Colts hosting Selkirk Youth Club, as well as a 19-8 defeat for Alnwick Colts at home to Morpeth Colts south of the border.

They followed an 18-15 victory for Hawick Youth at home to Kelso on Friday.

This coming Saturday’s fixture card will see Wanderers hosting further Northumbrian opposition in the form of Alnwick, Selkirk doing likewise to Tynedale, Hawick at home to Melrose Wasps, Kelso away to Carlisle and Jed at Morpeth.

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