WITH buckets of water shipped out from the Philiphaugh clubrooms and the tide-marks of another flood painted over, Selkirk launch their return to Division One of Scottish rugby with their own sevens tournament tomorrow afternoon.
The efforts at coping with over £500,000 of rebuilding in the past five years is an indication of the community ethos within the club, which stems from the core of young players which have brought on-field success and the pride taken from many off it
who have waited more than a decade to see the Borders side back among the elite of club rugby.
The size of the task they face, however, was perhaps rammed home last week when they lost to hosts Kelso in the opening tournament of the 2008-9 Kings of the Sevens series. Kelso remain in the second division, hoping to follow Selkirk back to the top, but expectations are now higher for tomorrow’s hosts, who also claimed the sevens crown last term along with promotion.
As one of the four seeds, Selkirk are bidding to step-up preparations for the XVs season with a reminder of what success tastes like. But to do so they must claim revenge in the very first tie of the day, against Kelso, which promises to provide an explosive opening to the tournament.
Watsonians are sending a strong team and they join Hawick and Newcastle Falcons as the other seeded sides with the SRU sending a young Scottish Academy team, who face Haddington in the first round.
2008 Halbro Selkirk Sevens (tomorrow, first tie 1.30pm): Selkirk v Kelso, Biggar v Edinburgh Accies, Perthshire v Peebles, Hawick v Jed-Forest, Scottish Academy v Haddington, Newcastle Falcons v Gala, Langholm v Melrose, Watsonians v Berwick.
The full article contains 300 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
