Rugby’s ​inter-district championship title in South of Scotland’s sights after back-to-back wins

​Head coach Matty Douglas’s side go into this coming Saturday’s finale away to Caledonia Reds in Inverness with the only 100% record in the competition still intact, though only by the skin of their teeth, having followed an away win against Edinburgh by a three-point margin seven days prior with an even narrower victory, by 27-25, at Poynder Park at the weekend.

It was the South’s game against Reds last May that decided 2023’s title and the same could go for their meeting this weekend if the Borderers can rack up a hat-trick of victories and second-placed Edinburgh aren’t able to pull off a bonus-point win.

A haul of eight points from their two fixtures so far puts the red-and-white-hooped district outfit in pole position to clinch their 18th title, and first since 2002, but even a win at Highland’s Canal Park home ground might not be enough as the capital side’s three bonus points keep them within a whisker of top spot, on seven points from two fixtures.

Third-placed Glasgow aren’t out of the running either as they’re only one point behind Edinburgh, on six.

Reds’ defence of a title they claimed with a 32-30 play-off final victory against the South in Glasgow 11 months ago is over, however, as they’ve been left propping up the four-team table on three points by back-to-back away losses, by 34-33 to Edinburgh at the weekend and 26-22 to Glasgow seven days earlier.

Tries by Hawick team-mates Calum Renwick, Dalton Redpath and Jae Linton, with fellow Green Kirk Ford converting all three and also kicking two penalties, kept up the South’s winning ways on Saturday, but they had to come from behind to do so after conceding half a dozen penalties put between the posts by Marr stand-off Colin Sturgeon.

Sturgeon added a further two points to his total by converting the visitors’ only try, touched down by his Troon team-mate Grant Baird.

Saturday’s win also saw Kelso’s Bruce McNeil maintain his status as an ever-present for the South since their revival in 2009, coming on as a replacement for Hawick flanker Connor Sutherland just ahead of the hour mark.

The 40-year-old was one of eight Kelso players in Douglas’s match-day squad of 23, outnumbered only by a nine-strong Hawick contingent.

South try-scorer Redpath was glad to see his side come from behind to secure victory with a last-gasp Ford penalty, telling Borders Rugby TV: “I felt that we probably could have won it a bit earlier but we ground it out to the last minute and Kirk stepped up at the end and slotted the goal so happy days.”

Looking ahead to this weekend, the 27-year-old added: “We’ve got plenty of depth in our squad so hopefully we can put a good team out again next week and take home the championship title.”

Kick-off at Canal Park is at 3pm, and outgoing Hawick head coach Douglas, 28, is expected to name his third and final match-day squad of this year’s championship on Thursday.