Kelso stay top as Melrose lose ground in challenge for rugby's Tennent’s National League Division 1 title

That 29-19 victory keeps the Poynder Park outfit in pole position in Tennent’s National League Division 1, on 58 points from 13 games, but Ayr remain almost neck and neck with them after edging out Melrose 31-30 at the Greenyards at the weekend, though they’ve played one game more.

Kelso’s players are aware they’ve got an opportunity to pull off the club’s biggest success since the 1980s within their grasp but, with nine matches still to go and Ayr only below them on points difference, they won’t be getting ahead of themselves, according to coach Kevin Utterson.

“The players are starting to believe in themselves and they know they’ve got the chance of a lifetime because there’s not a lot happened for years at Kelso,” he told Borders Rugby TV.

“These players have got something in front of them to go for that would get them remembered for a long, long time, but we’re not looking ahead and that’s always been our motto.”

Looking back over his side’s second win of the season against Biggar, having beaten them 31-13 in the reverse fixture in South Lanarkshire in September, the 46-year-old added: “Rustiness maybe let us down a bit but, all in all, I’m delighted with our performance.

“It was always going to be a tough game because Biggar are a very hard side and I think they’ll go on and cause a few upsets this season.

“We’re glad that first one of the year’s out of the way and it was a bonus-point win.”

Kelso’s try-scorers at the weekend were Bruce McNeil at the double, Andy Tait and Nick Stingl, with Dwain Patterson adding three conversions and a penalty.

Rowan Stewart scored two tries for Biggar, with David Reive also touching down and Aird Jardine adding two conversions.

Next up for Kelso is a top-versus-bottom meeting with Stewart’s Melville, currently propping up the table on nine points from 13 games, this coming Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm, and they’ll be looking to do the double against the Edinburgh outfit, having beaten them 35-12 in the capital at the start of October.

Hosting Ayr on Saturday had offered Melrose a chance to leapfrog Ayr into second place but throwing away a 30-17 lead to suffer their third loss of the season, following on from a two-point sanction for breaching player selection rules, instead leaves them third, nine points behind their visitors, on 49, though with a game in hand.

On the scoresheet for head coach Bert Grigg’s side were James Brown, Luke Townsend and Elliot Ruthven with tries and David Colvine with three conversions and three penalties.

Struan Collier, Ciaran Wood, Robbie McLaren and Peter McCallum scored tries for Ayr, with Jamie Bova converting all four and kicking a penalty.

Next for Melrose is a trip up to second-bottom Aberdeen Grammar on Saturday, with kick-off at 2pm.

Looking ahead to that match, Townsend said: “It’ll be tough, and it’s a long bus journey up.

“We’ve just got to get our momentum back now as, in the last couple of weeks, we’ve lost twice, so we’ve got to go up there and put a big performance in and prove we’re still in the title race.”