Selkirk Rugby Club: Head coach Gordon Henderson keen to bounce back in Kelso derby after 'disappointing' home loss to Musselburgh

Callum Turnbull scored Selkirk's second try against Musselburgh (Pics by Grant Kinghorn)

Selkirk went 7-0 up in the first half when a Zen Szwagrzak try was converted by Aaron McColm.

But the game was soon turned on its head when Musselburgh bundled over for their first try by hooker Bob Stott which was unconverted, before the visitors repeated the move with a second maul try, again by Stott, and this time converted by scrum-half Fionn Call.

A topsy-turvy contest then swung the way of the Borders outfit when second row Callum Turnbull went over the whitewash and McColm was again deadly with his boot to put the home team 14-12 to the good at half-time.

Selkirk's third try is scored by Aaron McColm

With the rain now on in the second half, McColm hacked the ball forward and scored under the posts, before converting his own try for 21-12.

But Musselburgh then ran a penalty that ended with replacement Darren Miller forcing his way over from close range, fellow benchman Paul Cunningham adding the extras to narrow Selkirk’s lead to just two points.

Cunningham missed a potentially winning penalty kick but Musselburgh won it late on when nimble wing Sandy Watt picked up from the back of the maul and dived over.

Selkirk head coach Gordon Henderson told the Southern Reporter: “It was a sore one to lose and our players are all disappointed

Josh Beveridge on the attack for Selkirk

"We were in control but I think our errors and ill discipline let them back into the game, their confidence grew and they got that winning score.

"It’s one that got away from us. Their coach is probably thinking: ‘How did we win that?’”

Henderson said that improving his players’ performance in the breakdown and contact would be a key focus in training this week, ahead of this Saturday’s league derby at Kelso, kick-off at 3pm.

"Kelso is a difficult away game,” he added. “It is a derby game so it will have added spice. We will regroup, train hard and make sure there’s a bit of edge to us.

"We will need that. Everybody is fully fit again so hopefully we’ll go out there, play some good rugby and there’s no reason why we can’t go there and win.”