Accies survive scare from visitors High

Things are tight at the top of BT National 1 with Edinburgh Accies desperate for a Marr slip in order that their challenge for the top spot and promotion can prevail but it looked at one point on Saturday as though they were the ones who would blink first.

Dundee High Rugby had them on the ropes with a 20-15 half-time lead at Raeburn Place and looked like they were going to spring the shock of the day before the capital side rallied.

Tries from Blair Cochrane and Fraser McKay, with Ewan Fox converting both and slotting a couple of penalties, saw High turn ahead but into the second half Accies added to first half tries from Callum Black and Matt Couper with bonus-clinching scores from Couper again and Jamie Sole with Ben Appleson adding 10 points with the boot from two conversions and two penalties to stay in the title hunt with a 30-27 win.

There was nothing as close for Howe of Fife at Duffus Park as they saw Selkirk take a 21-0 half-time lead then more than double that to run out confortable 45-19 winners.

Howe didn’t roll over despite that hefty half-time deficit and a brace of tries from Duncan McIntyre and James Acheson, with McIntyre converting, at least got them on the board.

Only a massive and unlikely turnaround involving Aberdeen Grammar and Hamilton taking nothing from their remaining games and Howe taking maximum points, when they have garnered only four try bonuses from 19 games, could save them from relegation.

Kirkcaldy trailed GHK 12-0 at the break but the hosts secured a 36-14 win with second half scores for Kirkcaldy coming from two tries by Liam McKenzie and David Mitchell converted by Craig Letham.

In order to retain any realistic chance of BT National 3 survival, Perthshire had to take the points at Cleland and with a 21-12 lead over Dalziel at halftime, it looked as though they were going to do just that.

The home side upped their game after the break and ran in 17 points to Shire’s solitary penalty by Duncan Clow to add to his conversion of all three of David Miller’s tries to almost certainly condemn the North Inch men to one of the three relegation spots.