Selkirk and Hawick end XVs rugby season with defeats on road

Head coach Gordon Henderson’s Souters were beaten 43-27 by Glasgow Hawks and opposite number Graham Hogg’s Greens went down 24-19 at Marr.

Those results in their 22nd and final premiership fixtures of the season mean Selkirk finish as the Borders’ top dogs in the 12-team table in fifth place on 61 points, with Hawick seventh on 53.

Melrose are sixth on 56 and Kelso ninth on 46, just above the three-deep relegation zone occupied by Marr, Edinburgh Academical and Musselburgh ahead of dropping down a division next season, joining Gala and Jed-Forest.

Glasgow Hutchesons’ Aloysians are the side going up from Arnold Clark National League Division 1 as the premiership reverts back to a ten-team format next time round.

Selkirk’s tries at Glasgow’s Balgray Stadium were scored by blindside flanker Dylan Brodlund, right-winger Josh Welsh, lock Jack Fisher, hooker Corey Tait and outside-centre Andrew Grant-Suttie, with scrum-half Oliver McClymont adding a conversion.

Touching down for outgoing head coach Andy Hill’s hosts with tries, accompanied by a penalty try, securing their side’s top-flight survival, were Brent Jackson and Ryan Flett at the double, Lewis Stewart and Paul Cairncross, with Liam Brims kicking three conversions.

Hawick’s try-scorers at Troon’s Fullarton Park were left-winger Charlie Welsh, right-winger Finlay Douglas and blindside flanker Russell Anderson, with full-back Kirk Ford converting twice.

Going over with tries for head coach Kenny Diffenthal’s South Ayrshire side, two of them converted by Colin Sturgeon, were Craig Miller, Blair Jardine, Euan McAra and Alex Apthorpe.

Henderson is happy enough to have seen his team finish fifth in this season’s new-look premiership but is already targeting going at least one better next time round, telling the Offside Line rugby news website: “Obviously we wanted to win, but we knew this was a massive game for Hawks. They needed the points to stay up, and fair play to them because they played some good rugby.

“Over the piece, I’m pretty proud of our squad and where we’ve finished, but that’s gone now and we need to get better for next year, and we’ve started planning for that already.

“We’ve got a special group of boys here and the majority are staying, so we want to improve and strengthen that and, hopefully, make it straight into the play-offs next season.”

Hogg added: “We had bits of attack and stuff that were really, really good and bits of play that, as coaches, had us pulling our hair out. If we’re honest, in terms of the profile of the squad, that’s where we are – we need to accept that.

“We knew it was going to be an interesting journey this year, and I think that last 80 minutes there showed exactly where we are.

“The club have got a fair few decisions to make over the summer in regards to where we go, but not right now.”