In pictures: Selkirk top first Kings of 7s leaderboard for two years despite defeat in final

A youthful Souters side threw away a 7-0 lead against invitational charity outfit Hearts and Balls at Peebles Sevens on Saturday, part of a three-day festival of rugby at the Gytes.

The Philiphaugh squad emerged from their pool on top after seeing off Edinburgh sides Watsonians and Currie 31-5 and 12-7 respectively and went on to claim a 10-0 semi-final victory over Biggar to book their place in the final.

A converted Aaron McColm try put Selkirk in front against the charity side, but a Mark Leckie try got their opponents back in the game and only trailing 7-5 at half-time.

They then spurned chances to add to that lead in the second half, leaving themselves vulnerable to a counter-attack such as that launched right at the death by Hearts and Balls resulting in a try by Kyle Adam, followed by a James Ferguson conversion, to give them a 12-7 win.

Taking their eye off the ball in the final meant Selkirk had to content themselves with three wins out of a possible four, but that still leaves them on top after the first round of the Borders’ Kings of the 7s contest since summer 2019 with seven points.

Gala are in second place with five after making it to the other semi-final, losing to Hearts and Balls 28-22. Hawick, Jed-Forest, Melrose and Watsonians are in joint third place with three.

Hawick’s Mansfield Park ground hosts round two of the competition this coming Saturday, August 14, again part of a three-day festival of rugby.

For details, go to https://hawickrfc.co.uk/

Callum Anderson, Ben Pickles, Henry Clarkson, Clark Young and Andrew McColm were Selkirk’s try-scorers against Watsonians, with conversions being added by Anderson and Aaron McColm twice.

Andrew McColm and Andrew Grant-Suttie were their scorers against Currie, with Aaron McColm converting.

Pickles and Anderson also scored unconverted tries against their South Lanarkshire semi-final opponents.

Selkirk head coach Scott Wight, though disappointed to see his side fall short at the final hurdle, was impresssed by the effort they put in throughout the day, telling the club’s website: “Two missed lineouts and not passing the ball and getting isolated – these are the type of things that essentially resulted in us getting beaten.

“Having said that, the effort put in by the boys today has been through the roof, and I couldn’t fault any of the players from one to 12. Obviously some have played bigger parts than others, but, as a squad, across the board, I take my hat off to all of them.

“Looking at the bigger picture, it’s seven points for us in the Kings of the 7s, which means after one tournament, we’re top of the table. We now go to Hawick next week and can hopefully do as well.”