MELROSE 38 EDINBURGH ACCIES 5

Championship leaders Melrose returned their fourth bonus-point win in four rounds of the Tennent’s Premiership with a substantial win over Edinburgh Accies, writes Alan Lorimer.

But while victory was always a necessity for the Greenyards men there was more than a hint of preparations for next weekend’s titanic clash with Ayr.

That was evident by the repeated use of the driving maul in attack and their hugely successful two-onone tackling in defence that simply suffocated Accies’ attempts to play expansively.

The only snag with using a live match to practice specific aspects is that players can become a bit bored. And that, very much, seemed to be what happened to Melrose for a large part of the second half after they had built up a 33-0 lead. Melrose coach Rob Chrystie dismissed this interpretation of his side’s drop-off in tempo, saying: “Maybe a couple of connections didn’t quite click. Just little mistakes.”

Fit-again hooker Russell Anderson marked his return to the Melrose side with a brace of tries from the driving maul, while Bruce Colvine, Ian Moody, Struan Hutchison and Gavin Wood also touched down.

Accies scored a late Robbie Davis try but coach Derek O’riordan is looking long-term. “We want to build a club that’s going to be the best amateur club in Scotland in the Super Six era. You’re going to hit a few bumps along the way,” he said. “It’s not going to happen overnight for us.”