Currie 24-0 Melrose: Currie sweep into contention
“We had 30-odd guys down for about three hours clearing the pitch,” said Currie coach Ben Cairns. “I made the point to the boys before the game that these guys had come down and put in three hours hard graft and it was now down to them to do the same.”
And his players responded with a win that was brimming with character and arguably should have been by an even greater margin.
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Hide AdDespite having most of the possession and a substantial territorial advantage, the hosts failed to breach the Melrose defence until the 33rd minute. Both sides were operating a man short after Currie skipper Ross Weston and Melrose No8 Graham Dodds were sent to the sin bin after trading punches.
A renewed bout of pressure created the platform for the ball to be shipped out to Ruaridh Smith, whose neatly angled run took him between two defenders for a try which Joe Reynolds converted to complete the first-half scoring.
The pattern of the second period was similar, Curie battering away at the Melrose defence and eventually finding a way through when Mike Vernal forced his way over after a close-range lineout. Reynolds again converted then hit a well-struck penalty. Currie’s supremacy was underlined when Fidias Efthymiou sliced through for try No.3 with the final play. Reynolds converted.