Scott Wight steers Melrose to top of table
By Alasdair Reid
Last Updated: 7:14PM GMT 20/02/2011
Influential fly-half helps his team to summit with impressive 22-point display

Melrose made what could prove to be a decisive move towards regaining the Scottish champion's crown they last wore in 1997 with a comfortable 32-6 victory over Boroughmuir on Saturday.

Fly-half and captain Scott Wight played with an authority that suggested he could slot in comfortably at professional
level and claimed 22 points with a try, a conversion and five penalties.

The other Melrose tries came from full-back Fraser Thomson and a barnstorming effort by prop Nick Beavon, who shook off three defenders and sprinted home from 30 metres out.

The result nudged Melrose into top position in Premier A, one ahead of Glasgow Hawks. However, the Hawks showed that they, too, have designs on recapturing past glories, with a comfortable 32-20 victory over Heriot's at Goldenacre and a performance that recalled their hat-trick of Premiership titles between 2004 and 2006.

The prolific Craig Gossman made his customary contribution to the Hawks' win with one of their four tries, the others coming from Dean Kelbrick and a brace from Grant Strang. Home scrum-half Graham Wilson monopolised the scoring for Heriot's with his try and five penalties.

Ayr's powerful performances in the British and Irish Cup recently suggested that they should have had little trouble disposing of Hawick at Mansfield Park, but the Borderers defended their territory tenaciously.

In the end, Ayr scraped home by the narrowest of margins, 7-6, thanks to a Cammy Ferguson try and Ross Curle conversion to two penalties by former Edinburgh fly-half Rory Hutton.

In the only other Premier A game, reigning champions Currie again showed that they will not be surrendering their title easily, hammering Dundee High 47-3 at Malleny Park.

The game marked the competitive comeback of Glasgow flanker James Eddie after a lengthy absence and the forward had a healthy work-out in Currie colours as his team-mates helped themselves to seven tries.

This article was posted on 20-Feb-2011, 20:57 by Hugh Barrow.