FEW rugby followers gave Selkirk a top rating as a club capable of surviving in the top flight of Scottish rugby this season. However, after seven games and five wins, the Philiphaugh club sit in the top five and only six points behind leaders Ayr.
The Millbrae side arrived in the Borders on Saturday as club of the month for September. Selkirk, however, have little respect for reputations and, in the words of president George Thomson, are "proving a breath of fresh air in the top league".
On Saturday, an unbeaten home record that has stood since 1 September, 2007, remained intact in an absorbing match which, if not a classic, proved that Selkirk's policy of growing a side, the seeds of which were first sown at the high school and rose through the Youth Club XV, is proving highly successful.
Man for man, they matched the bigger and stronger Ayr forwards with Rory Aglen and Neil Darling outstanding while, behind the scrum, man of the match Fraser Harkness, Lee Jones and Gavin Craig were a constant threat.
This, however, was a huge team effort to prove that Selkirk are no whipping boys in Premiership 1.
"We play with confidence, a belief and passion," said coach Kevin Barrie. "It was a great for me to see the boys perform – and they had to perform. We knew Ayr were a big physical team, but we just concentrated on ourselves and played our normal game, putting the ball through our hands.
"We cut out the basic errors of the previous week and we did create chances against a team with the best defensive record in the league. Ayr got the kicks, but they did not score any tries."
Selkirk's confidence was epitomised by Harkness who, with the score at 16-15, gathered the ball behind his own goalline and, with Ayr expecting the full-back to touch down, set off on a strong run which was halted only on halfway.
It was Harkness who set up the only try with a chip and chase and ended in Lee Jones scoring in the left-hand corner.
"It is all about bouncing back in this game and we have shown that teams who come here have to play well to beat us," said Harkness.
There was fulsome praise for Selkirk from Ayr coach Kenny Murray. "We did not perform as we can and the better team won, no doubt about that," he said. "We did not get any control of the game and we now will see how we bounce back from that."
They would do well to follow Selkirk's example, which followed defeats at Hawick and Heriot's with wins over Watsonians and Ayr.
Of some consolation for Ayr was the defeat suffered by title challengers Boroughmuir.
David Cassidy gave Selkirk a 6-0 lead with two penalties, but three strikes by Ayr's New Zealand stand-off Frazier Climo, the third with the last kick of the first half, saw Ayr turn round 9-6 ahead.
The same players exchanged penalties in the second half and it was Cassidy's conversion that counted at the end of the day.
Referee Andrew Healey handed out three yellow cards, to Andy Dunlop and Paul Burke of Ayr and Selkirk's Scott Tomlinson, but neither side could take advantage of the extra man. Selkirk will now target another win on the road to add to their victory at Glasgow Hawks.
"We have West of Scotland and Stirling County away from home and we will have to show a lot of character to come through those," said Barrie.
Scorers. Selkirk: Try: Jones. Con: Cassidy. Pens: Cassidy 3. Ayr: Pens: Climo 5.
Selkirk: F Harkness; S Hendrie, D Cassidy, R Armstrong, L Jones; G Craig, M McVie; G Patterson, S Forrest, M Murray, R Aglen, E Gauche, N Darling, C Johnston, S Tomlinson. Subs used: R Taylor, A McDowall, S Willett, R Crockatt, A Dunbar.
Ayr: R McCallum; A Wilson, J Montoro, S Forrest, F Marin; F Climo, AJ McFarlane; G Reid, P McArthur, S Fenwick, G Tippet, S Sutherland, J Wilson, A Dunlop, C Forrester. Subs used: P Burke, D Kelly, G Sykes, G Anderson, R Holland.
Referee: A Healey.
The full article contains 713 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
