2006-2007 News

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28th May                                                                  Hendy is player of the year

The players had a prize giving get together last Saturday and it was James Henderson who was given the player of the year trophy. He has played on both sides of the scrum during games this season which is testament to his commitment to the team and he thoroughly deserves his award.

Robert Hogg was named young player of the year which will come as no surprise to anyone. Robert has made a massive impact in his 2nd season, he was top try scorer with 13 tries and was very influential in the winning Jed 7s team.

Gary Hill was top points scorer with 78 points and Ryan miller was named as trainer of the year.

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14th May                                                                     Brilliant End To Season

Riverside park was the place to be on Saturday when our 7s squad surprised everyone when winning our own tournament for the first time since 2001. The draw had not been kind to us but perhaps this ultimately helped to spur the boys on as a 19 - 0 victory over a very strong Heriots side in the first round gave us the platform to go and win the tournament from. We dominated possession for the whole tie and the moment of concern was soon snuffed when Gary Elder came from the other side of the pitch to catch the Heriots winger a few feet short of the try line.

Our defence was definitely the key to success on Saturday and proved to be crucial in our next two games. We beat an improved Melrose 17 - 5 in the second round before the tie of the day in our epic battle against perennial Jed finalists Watsonians in the semi final. We were tied 12 - 12 with 3 minutes of regular time left when Ross Goodfellow was sin binned for 2 minutes after throwing a stray elbow. Our 6 men held on to send the tie into sudden death extra time. It looked like Gary Hill was going to make it in at the top corner but a great cover tackle gave Watsonians a lineout 5 yards from their own line. A disastrous long throw mix up left the ball free for Michael Weekley to pounce on and gift Jed a place in the final.

The final was another epic struggle against Selkirk who had just guaranteed themselves the Kings of Sevens title by reaching the final. With both teams being so tight in defense and Jed losing play maker Clark Laidlaw (who's groin injury eventually popped) early in the game it was never going to be a high scoring final and that was the case. Deep into the 2nd half the teams were locked 12 - 12 when Robert Hogg squeezed in at the top corner. This left Greig Laidlaw, (who had been drafted into the squad on Thursday night when it was clear that Jamie McCraw and Roy McFarlane could not recover from injury) to slot over the very difficult kick from out wide. We had 2 minutes to hold on and play down the clock and when Greig hoofed the ball out of play to allow referee Changleng to confirm time was up the celebrations could begin and the whole Jed bench sprinted on to the pitch to join the players who were hugging and jumping about like they'd just won something special or something. 

Scott Laidlaw was named player of the tournament to round of a great day for Jed. It's days like this that keeps us all going and gives you enthusiasm for next year. Well done lads.

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30th Apr                                                                       No Border League Final

As some of you probably know Jed missed out on a place in the Border League final when Hawick beat Berwick 83-0 on Thursday night. Hawick have a superior points difference and meet Selkirk in the final.

Another farce was the draw at Langholm last weekend. We were beat by Newcastle in the 1st round but how come Jed (last years kings of the 7s) and Newcastle (blatantly the best team)  and we met in last years final, meet in the final is beyond me.

The 2nds were beaten by Duns in the 2nd round of the S D U 7s.

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22nd Apr                                                                       Better results, bad injury news

The 1sts 7s squad did a lot better this weekend when they made the semi finals at both Hawick and Peebles. Hosts Hawick proved to be far to strong and they beat us 41 - 10 after we had beaten Melrose and Edinburgh Accies in the earlier rounds. There was an excuse for this trouncing as we had some bad injuries throughout the tournament, James Henderson took a really nasty head knock on the rock hard pitch, Clark Laidlaw hurt his shoulder and Scott Laidlaw twisted his knee.

All 3 missed the Peebles tournament as did James Hogg so in came Robert Ferguson from the 2nds as did John Field, Greg Turnbull & Ian Chisholm for the Thistle. They squad did a great job and all the late call ups got plenty of game time and acquitted themselves brilliantly. We beat Gala and Melrose before going out 33 - 12 to beaten finalists Heriots.

The 2nds reached the second round of Selkirk Junior 7s after beating Hawick but were beaten by the current Scottish U18 champions Howe of Fife who reached the final.

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18th Apr                                                                          News Update

Fifteens Update

The 1st xv season may have come to an end. We traveled to Berwick last month in the belief that we needed to beat Berwick by a try scoring bonus point to guarantee a place in the Border league final but it turns out that this is not the case. After scoring our 4th try of the game we made several changes as we were winning 28 - 0 and we thought our job had been done and this allowed Berwick to close the gap and we only won 28 - 14. After the game though some discussion arose that we might not be in the final yet as Hawick still had to play Berwick and the league depended on points difference not on results against our nearest rivals Hawick. This now means that Hawick must beat Berwick by 53 or more points to beat us to the final which will probably be against Selkirk. We are all really upset at this oversight and can only apologise to our members and players. You can check all the league standings on the league page.

Sevens Update

The sevens season is well underway and it has been a disappointing campaign so far for the 1st squad. We beat Langholm in the 1st round of Gala 7s but went out to Melrose in the 2nd round in a game we could and probably should have won. At least that gave us 3 points in the Kings of the Sevens but that is all we have gained. We went out of the Melrose tournament in the 1st round to league leaders Selkirk and once again we only played 1 game at Berwick where we were well beaten by Edinburgh Accies. Lets hope for better at Hawick and Peebles this weekend but the draw looks tough at both tournaments. Check them out on the 7s page.

The 2nd squad also started poorly, going out of the Langholm and John Laing tournaments in the 1st round but at last the club had some success when they won Dumfries 7s on Saturday. It wasn't the strongest tournament as even the hosts had a XVs game and we played their colts in the semi final but we beat a decent Hawick YM side in the final. Further silverware came our way as Simon Lightbody was named as player of the tournament.

Dumfries winning  squad

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26th Mar                                                                        Jed finish fourth

Jed finished their league campaign in 4th place with a 16 - 11 defeat against Kelso on Saturday. Kelso were much hungrier than Jed as they absolutely had to win or they faced the real possibility of relegation. As usual we fell behind early but a great try by Roy McFarlane who skinned his opposite number gave us an 11 - 10 half time lead.

Kelso had a plan to press our dangerous back line and it worked a treat as we never really threatened again. 2 more Kevin Utterson penalties were enough to give Kelso victory and ensure that we will be meeting them again next season.

The seconds had a good end to their league when they beat Gala 31 - 15 at Netherdale to guarantee third place. Jed had 2 Thistle boys in the team and 2 more on the bench with John Field in particular taking the eye. David Gobby (2), Frazer Mortimer, Scott MacDonald and David MacLeod scored tries and Tom Elliot converted 3.

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19th Mar                                                                      Jed out of the Cup

Jed were knocked out of the cup on Saturday by Cartha Queens Park who now face the long Journey up to Aberdeen in the next round.

Maybe this was playing on the players minds as they took to the pitch at Riverside as they looked far from focused. In fact after probably our worst 20 minutes of the season we were shockingly 18 -0 down. The restarts were particularly bad, our forwards just weren't competing at all. A great offload by Clark Laidlaw allowed Gary Hill to score under the posts and we went in at half time 18 - 7 down.

Another early Cartha try put us 18 points behind but a quick tap penalty try by Ross Goodfellow and a Gary Hill penalty gave us hope with 15 minutes to go. We did get a bit closer when Michael Weekley scored on the 80th minute but it was just a consolation and we are out for another season.

On a brighter note, last weeks results in the Border League have given us a great chance of reaching the final again. Hawick failed to gain a bonus point in a narrow victory over Gala which means that we need to beat Berwick and get a bonus point to go through. The league standings are on the league page.

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14th Jan                                                                        Agony at Hughenden

Jed were made to travel up to Glasgow with the game in real doubt on Saturday, but luckily the rain held of just long enough to allow the completion of the fixture. As things turned out it's a pity that it did as we suffered the agony of a 10 - 8 defeat to a penalty deep into injury time.

Playing against the wind we fell 7 - 0 behind to an early try and that's how it stayed till the break. We were hoping for the wind advantage in the second half but along with the break came the rain. A Gary Hill penalty got us within a single score and we tried to play the game in their half. It looked like our hard work might pay off when Neil Cook was driven over from a lineout drive near the Hills line to give us a 1 point lead but the ref seemed to let the game go on for ever. Hillhead/Jordanhill were awarded a penalty 7 minutes into extra time which they duly converted to sneak a vital victory and give themselves a glimmer of hope of avoiding relegation.

We travel up to Edinburgh to take on Forrester in the cup next week and I go on holiday for 2 weeks. So please check the forum for all the latest news as it's the easiest place for Beige to keep folks up to date in my absence.

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7th Jan                                                                           Brilliant Match to Watch

Jed won an absolute thriller against Edinburgh Accies when they held on to record a 26 - 19 victory over promotion chasing Accies. Despite trailing 14 - 3 midway through the 1st half a brilliant solo try from Robert Hogg brought us in at half time 14 - 10 down.

After a sticky opening 15 minutes of the second half we hit the lead from a couple of Donald Grieve penalties and another cracking finish by Robert Hogg but we were never safe. Accies forwards were really dominating the rolling maul and we really struggled to cope with them but some great defending and couple of really important steals from Scott Laidlaw helped us to hold on.

Not much to be negative on after a really exciting game played in front of a great enthusiastic crowd. The continued remarkable improvement of Robert Hogg really is exiting to witness, his two tries were brilliant. 

However their is a real sting in the tail as there were 2 nasty looking injuries yesterday. There is no definite news on Michael Weekley yet who looks to have a nasty knee injury. The news is bad for Donald Grieve though. He is out for the rest of the season with a broken fibula which will see him in plaster for 8 weeks.

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27th Dec                                                                        Jed Retain the Skelly Cup

Jed will be able to hold on to the Skelly cup for another year after beating Hawick 10 - 8 at Riverside yesterday thanks to a last gasp penalty from Donald Grieve.

After a tense first 15 minutes where neither team seriously threatened to score, Jed were awarded a penalty right in front of the Hawick posts. Instead of going for the obvious 3 points Ross Goodfellow took a quick tap and wriggled near the line, he was joined by a couple of forwards who helped to drive him over, Donald kicked the easy conversion. We never really threatened again in the first half and Hawick closed the gap to 7 - 5 with a typical forward rumble.

The second half saw Hawick continue to use the forwards but it was Jed that looked far more dangerous and exciting, Clark Laidlaw and Robert Hogg in particular had some searing runs but could not cross the Hawick line and we wondered if they might wear us down. They actually went in front from a Zander Bruce penalty with 15 minutes to go and with 5 minutes left they actually took a penalty chance from the half way line which fortunately fell well short.

 Donald Grieve had missed a penalty chance to restore our lead in the second half and it was up to him to snatch a last gasp victory after we were awarded a penalty near the posts, for a nasty spear tackle on Clark Laidlaw. There was a delay as Clark was treated for a nasty eye injury after he reacted to the tackle but he unfortunately came of second best again. The ref also sin binned the Hawick tackler which added to the tension but no need to worry as Donald kicked a beautiful penalty to give Jed a deserved win.

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13th Dec                                                                           Jed to play Forrester FP

The draw has been made for the fourth round of the National Cup and Jed have been drawn to play Forrester FP in Edinburgh on the 20th of January. Forrester are currently in fourth place in National league Div 3 (Dumfries are unbeaten and leading, Hawick YM are 3rd) and they will be looking for an upset but after last years horrors at Livingston I'm sure everybody will be up for it.

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13th Dec                                                                       Win a 6 Nations Party For Jed

RBS is giving rugby fans the chance to win an amazing RBS 6 Nations Party for up to 250 people at a local rugby club of their choice on 17 March 2007 – the last day of the RBS 6 Nations. A party is up for grabs for one rugby union club in each of the four Home Nations - Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.

Runners-up will win flat screen TVs.

To enter, fans must nominate a rugby club of their choice (explaining in 25 words or less what this rugby club adds to the local community) for the main prize via the website - www.rbs6nations.com/party

The RBS 6 Nations Party will be based around a giant, outdoor TV screen, which will show all three RBS 6 Nations matches on that day, as televised live by the BBC, plus food, drinks and RBS 6 Nations goody bag for everyone. It doesn’t end there, as RBS will also leave behind a 42” flat screen TV for the clubhouse and a financial donation for the club.

Six nominated rugby clubs in each of the four countries will be short listed for the main prize by a judging panel, comprising representatives from RBS, BBC and ex-rugby legends from the four Home Nations. They will then select the winning club from each country.

It’s not just the clubs that win, those nominating the 24 short listed clubs will each receive a 32” flat screen TV.

Howard Moody, Director of Group Communications RBS said:
“As sponsors of the RBS 6 Nations we wanted to be able to reach out and give something back to rugby fans at club level. Rugby supporters never need much excuse for a party and we hope the RBS 6 Nations Party will create a day to remember in each country and a legacy in the community.”

David Sole, former Scottish captain and Team RBS member said:
“The final Super Saturday is the perfect excuse for the RBS 6 Nations Party and it promises to be a great time both on the day and, with the leave behind kits and TVs, in the long term. My children started playing at Edinburgh Academicals RFC and for a club at the grassroots of rugby like this, the chance to win both the day and the legacy would have a huge impact on both the club and the local community.”

The closing date for entries is 12th February 2007.

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11th Dec                                                                               Draw is right result

Jed could only manage a 15 all draw with struggling Biggar on Saturday but it was probably justice as their bigger forwards had dominated ours all day. Jed lead 15 - 10 at half time with tries from Tattie Elder and Neil Smail, Gary McGarva kicked a conversion and a penalty.

Biggar squared the game up in the second half but never really looked like scoring a winner and it was McGarva who had the chance to steal the win but he couldn't steer two long range penalty attempts between the posts.

The 2nd XV had a more successful day when they returned to the top of the league by beating Peebles 2nds 29 - 10 at Woodend. Jed scored 5 tries through Gary Hill, Gary Pringle, John Scott, Jamie McCraw and Nick Burt  to secure a valuable bonus point. Ryan Miller kicked two conversions.

Play of the day came from Murray Brown though. There had been a brief injury stoppage and the front rows were getting set for a scrum when Murray suddenly stood up and announced that he needed to be subbed. Without doubt there was something wrong and he started to gallop towards the touch line. He didn't stop there though and went straight past our coaches and headed toward the Legion Football pavilion in desperate need of a number 2. At least he'd seen sense to suss out the nearest loo.

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4th Dec                                                                                    Disastrous Weekend

A weekend to forget will be the thoughts of many Jed supporters and players after Saturdays games. Both teams failed to win and it leaves both teams struggling to reach their respective goals.

The 1sts went down 10 - 8 at Gala despite holding an 8 - 3 half time lead. Ali Hall had scored our try with Gary McGarva kicking a penalty. The game was actually stopped for a good spell in the first half when an Ambulance was called for Paul Pringle who suffered a double break to his lower leg. Paul went through an operation on Sunday to insert a plate into his leg to stabilize the injury and he'll miss the rest of the season. We also lost Hendy midway through the second half with a head injury but we are hopeful that he will be fit for this weekend.

The 2nds drew 13 - 13 with Berwick at Scremerside and now lie second in the league to Hawick, check the league page for all the latest standings. Jamie McCraw and Scott (Eithie) Martin scored Jed's tries. Ryan Miller kicked a penalty but had an easy conversion from under the posts charged down. Amo also missed the conversion of Jamie's last minute try.

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19th Nov                                                                                   A Day to Celebrate

Jed held it's very first ex players day yesterday where 100 ex players spanning 8 decades came together to renew friendships. Guests were asked to be there at 11.30am for 12, I arrived at 11.45 and was astonished to see and hear the exited buzz in the clubrooms. Judging by the smiles on folks faces when they were moving on some 8 hours later a great day was had by all.

The current players also gave great cause for celebration when  a last gasp penalty from Donald Grieve gave us a 19-16 victory against Hamilton. A full report is on the match report page.

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14th Nov                                                                                Too Sleepy Jed Suffer

Jed slipped to 6th in the league after a silly 22 - 15 defeat at home against Stew Mel on Saturday. The silly part was falling behind 19 - 0 in the first 20 minutes. Tries from Michael Graham and Robert Hogg (from his own 22) with a conversion and penalty from Donald Grieve were not enough to claw Stew Mel back.

The 2nds also tasted defeat in Friday nights friendly against Hawick, they went down 46 - 24. Jed's points came from tries by David Gobby, Robin Laing, Paul Cranston and Paul Thomson. Ryan Miler and Gary McGarva each kicked a conversion.

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6th Nov                                                                                Scrappy win against Kelso

Jed moved back up to 5th in the league with a scrappy 25 - 14 win at Poynder park on Saturday. Although we scored 3 good flashy tries through our wingers Roy McFarlane & Robert Hogg (2), who looks to be getting better every game. We really should have had a bonus point. 

The sad fact that we have not had a try scoring bonus point this season means that we are only 5th in the league and not 3rd like our win record maybe deserves. I hope it won't haunt us at the end of the season.

Donald Grieve kicked 2 penalties and 2 conversions to complete Jed's scoring.

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3rd Nov                                                                                    2nds Demolish Kelso

The 2nds retained top spot in the Roadhead Farm Feeds Border Championship with a convincing 65 - 12 victory against Kelso 2nds tonight. After an outstanding opening 20 minutes which saw the forwards in great form, Kelso were blown away. Jed ran in 11 tries (1 of them was a penalty try) to gain a valuable bonus point and just as importantly there were no injuries. Jed scores were David Gobby 3, Graeme Renwick 2, Ryan Miller 2, Michael Elder, Euan Kelly and Paul Cranston. Gary McGarva kicked 4 conversions and Ryan Miller got one too.

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30th Oct                                                                                       Two great results

Jed had two reasons to celebrate on Saturday night with both the 1st xv and the 2nds recording excellent wins. The 1st's twice had to come from behind to sneak a 14 - 13 victory up at Cartha Queens Park. This is our second 1 point victory from two games up in Glasgow this season and it moves us up to 5th in the league. Donald Grieve kicked 3 penalties and Robert Hogg scored our try.

The 2nds held on to top spot in their league with a convincing 20 - 3 win against Gala 2nds at Riverside on Saturday. Tries from David Gobby, Greg Nagle & Martie Hastie, a penalty from Tom Elliot and Robin Laing conversion made up Jed points.

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23rd Oct                                                                                      Stirling too strong

Jed slipped to 7th in the League on Saturday when Stirling County came down and scraped an 11  3 victory. Donald  Grieve kicked Jed's points. A small report is on the match report page.

The 2nds had a very good win on Friday night when they beat the previously unbeaten Hawick 12 - 8. James Hogg, who played at scrum half for the first 40 minutes to give him some match practice for when Ross Goody goes away scored Jed's first try, Gary Hill converted. 

Jed made 4 changes at half time as Gary Hill, James Hogg, Paul Thomson and Neil Cook were involved with the 1sts on Saturday. Sub John Scott was Jed's other try scorer. This result keeps Jed 4 points clear at the top of the league.

As mentioned below a few of the injured guys played over the weekend and all came through well. Scott Laidlaw had to leave the pitch on Saturday with a neck injury but it's nothing serious.

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20th Oct                                                                                           Injury Update

Clark Laidlaw injured his medial ligament in the Edinburgh Accies game 3 weeks ago. Although it’s not too serious, he could still be out for another month.

Gary McGarva injured his ankle v GHA a fortnight ago, he has been undergoing physio and shown no improvement. It is now thought that he may have a stress fracture of his fibia. He is due to have x-rays today.

Neil Cook broke his hand in the Biggar match on the 12^thof September, he is back this weekend.

Neil Tunnah has a recurring back problem, which can flare up at any time. He is going to see a specialist so no one is sure of his rugby future.

David Grieve had a nasty bout of glandular fever about 6 weeks ago. The coaches are hoping to give him 20 minutes tonight, to ease him back in.

Not injury news but David MacLeod has gone back to Canada for a couple of weeks holiday and Ross Goodfellow will be missing for most of November and early December. He will be available for the Kelso game but then goes to New Zealand to visit Jason Gill for a month.

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17th Oct                                                                           Jed boys up against it at Riverside

JEDBURGH GS take on Galashiels Academy in the second round of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Cup at Riverside Park tomorrow afternoon (2pm) and it could be their only outing in the school colours this season.

Because there are very few of the older boys playing rugby, the XV, captained by Greg Turnbull, are made up mainly of fourth-year pupils, with the majority turning out on Saturdays for the semi-junior club Jed Thistle.

"We focus mainly on the first, second and third year teams," admitted P/E teacher Fraser Forrest, in his first full season in charge of the school rugby. "I get a lot of help from Roy and Clark Laidlaw (Jed's Youth Development Officer), who are still very much involved with Jed-Forest. The Gala side are likely to be much older than us, but I'm sure our boys will give of their best."

Quite a few of the Jedburgh team were in the XV who won the Under-15 Bowl last season, including stand-off Euan Scott, who was man of the match, and back-five forward Scott Raeburn, whose father Jimmy hooked for Jed-Forest for a number of seasons.

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15th Oct                                                                                         Last gasp kick gives Selkirk draw

Jed had to settle for a draw at Selkirk on Saturday when we gave away a last minute long range penalty. This gave us 2 league points and is probably a fair result considering our injury situation at stand off with Clark Laidlaw out for 6 weeks with a knee injury and Gary McGarva getting a leg knock last week and the way we started the game. We were 12 - 0 down after 10 minutes but we got back into it through a Donald Grieve penalty and a Scott Laidlaw try to trail 15 - 8 at half time.

 Another Grieve penalty and a converted Ross Goodfellow try gave Jed the lead with 5 minutes to go but some silly infringement 45 meters out gave Selkirk the chance they need to snatch a last kick of the game draw. A full report is on the match report page.

The 2nds recorded a convincing 36 -10 over Haddington 2nds at Riverside in a sub standard game, their full back was particularly weak in the tackle. This allowed David Gobby to waltz in twice in the first half, Andy Morrison also scored in the first half and we lead 19 - 5 at half time. Murray Brown started the scoring in the second half from a nicely worked line out move. Tattie Elder blitzed through and around the full back before Andy Morrison rounded off the scoring and his Jed career in style. Ryan Miller kicked 3 conversions.

Andy Morrison moves back home on Thursday, taking in 8 days in LA and 8 days in Melbourne including the Melbourne cup. He has been a great asset to our club and has made a massive impact in the 2nds over the last year. Good luck Andy, everyone at Jed thanks you and wishes you well.

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9th Oct                                                                                                A win is a win

Jed moved back into fourth equal in the league after a scrappy 10 - 0 victory against  Hillhead/Jordanhill on Saturday and as the headline says "a win is a win" but it was really ugly to watch. Jed's points all came in the first half, Robert Hogg scored a try with McGarva converting and adding a penalty.

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5th Oct                                                                                           Sept 200 Club Result

1st    -    £100    J. Laidlaw

2nd    -    £50    W. Grieve

3rd    -    £25    Mrs M. Forsythe

As most of you will know, we have run a successful 200 club for several years and the money raised has been a great benefit to our club.

The nature of this form of fund raising means that as time passes, it becomes more difficult to increase the revenue collected and it is often the case that 200 clubs go into decline as existing members leave and become more difficult to replace.

With this in mind, we have decided to convert the existing 200 club to a monthly letter lottery draw to start from the last week in October 2006. Our idea is to ask the existing members to continue with their standing order payments and to supplement these with monthly letter lottery ticket sales to the general public. This should enable us to pay out far larger prizes and proportionately raise the amount collected for the club.

I am currently contacting the existing members to explain the changes. So if I have not spoken to you, I will shortly.

New subscribers to the standing order arrangements are still very welcome and for those who wish to buy tickets for the letter lottery, these will be available from Saturday onwards.

David Hynd

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1st Oct                                                                                             Double Defeats

Jed fell back to earth with a huge bump this weekend when both teams fell to away defeats. The 1sts were beaten 23 - 10 at Edinburgh Accies on Saturday and the 2nds tasted defeat for the first time this season, going down 12 - 5 at Selkirk on Friday night.

Both teams traveled full of confidence and the 1st half in Edinburgh was very promising. Jed were sticking to the multi phase game plan and running the huge Accies pack all over the pitch. We scored a very good try through Roy McFarlane but went into half time 8 - 5 down.

The Accies coaching staff seemed to wise up at half time and instead of spinning line out ball out wide they started to drive everything through their big forwards. This really tired us and then Clark Laidlaw was forced off with a knee injury. Accies scored another 3 tries to secure a bonus point although 1 of them looked as if a foot had been in touch. Paul Pringle did score a late try and we looked to try and get a losing bonus point but but Accies were just too strong on the day.

The 2nds had plenty of chances against Selkirk on Friday but several missed penalties and handling errors let Selkirk off the hook. Jed's try was scored by the ever keen Michael (Tattie) Elder. Jed's only injury worry was a back strain for Chris Swaw.

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25th Sept                                                                                 Jed move to 3rd in the League

Jed had a double reason to celebrate on Saturday when both teams won for the 4th weekend on the trot. Jed moved up to 3rd in the league with a 21 - 19 win against league leaders GHA. Jed scored 2 first half tries from Clark Laidlaw & Ross Goody to lead 14 - 0. Paul Pringle made it 21 - 0  but GHA forced a very nervous last 20 minutes by scoring 3 unanswered tries. Thankfully they missed one of the conversions and we steadied the ship to hang on for a great win.

 The 2nds also defeated the previously unbeaten Melrose 2nds 22 - 12 and they are now leading the league by 4 points. 2 tries from Tattie Elder, 3 Tom Elliot penalties and a Marti Hastie drop goal sealed a great win.

There are more detailed reports on the match report page. A league table for the 2nds is on the League page.

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18th Sept                                                                            Biggar not always better

Jed continued their good start to the season with a really gutsy 19 - 12 victory at Biggar on Saturday. Jed were playing really well and went in 9 - 0 up at half time thanks to 2 McGarva penalties and a Clark Laidlaw drop goal. This was despite losing Neil Cook after 10 minutes with a suspected broken hand. The 2nd row jinx had struck again.

With Cookie off it let Biggar peg us back to 9 - 9. Gary McGarva got us back on track with a monster penalty but the best was still to come.

Hendy turned a ball over on the half way line and Ross Goodfellow broke down the blind. He fed James Hogg who beat his winger and drew the full back brilliantly and fed the ball back inside to Goody who raced under the posts and sent the Jed coaches into the air, McGarva converted.

A great result for us but with Gary Elder and Neil Cook out with broken hands, Ross McDonald fighting to get Diabetes under control and Ali Hall going on Holiday soon we are in real trouble in the 2nds row. Hopefully our fighting spirit will carry us through.

The seconds also continued their fine start to the season with a convincing 24 - 0 win at Peebles on Friday night. Jed scored 4 tries from Robert Hogg (2), Frazer Mortimer and Andy Morrison to secure a bonus point. Ryan Miller and Tom Elliot kicked a conversion each. There is a more detailed report on the match report page.

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12th Sept                                                                             Double Derby Delight

Jed celebrated double victories over Border rivals at the weekend with the 1sts and 2nd seconds completing fairly comfortable wins.

The 1sts beat Gala 27 - 12 on Saturday with a classy second half performance at a sunny Riverside. Trailing 9 -3 after an instantly forgettable 1st half, Jed got the second half off to a great start when James Henderson burst though the Gala defence after an inside pass to stroll under the posts, McGarva converted.

Jed thought they'd scored another brilliant try from Paul Pringle but play was brought waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back to the half way line where Neil Tunnah was adjudged to have committed a yellow card offence and he was duly sin binned. Gala kicked the penalty to go back in front. 

Jed then took the lead when Roy McFarlane completely outstripped his winger and cut back inside the full back to score a great try, McGarva converted and added another penalty. James Henderson was also sent to the bin for supposed rucking, meaning we had to play 20 minutes of the second half with 14 men and when he was restored we saved the best for last. A fairly standard backs move saw James Hogg cornered on the touch line and in a move that Jason (Billy Whizz) Robinson would have been proud of he side stepped 3 defenders to waltz in behind the posts, McGarva again converted to make the final score 27 -12.

The 2nds defeated Berwick 2nds 17 - 7 on Friday night. Jed could and should have been out of sight in the 1st half because we completely dominated, but it was Berwick who actually took the lead from an interception try in their own half. Jed did go in at half time in front thanks to 2 David Gobby tries, Ryan Miller converted 1 of them.

The second half was a closer affair and only a burst through a great pace from Frazer (Vinnie) Mortimer from the half way line bothered the score board.

A good overall weekend but the 2nds should have had a bonus point win.

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3rd Sept                                                                                 Jed Squeeze Victory

Jed secured their 1st league victory of the season with a nail biting 11 - 10 win up at Hamilton, in a dour encounter, due to the conditions. 

Hamilton kicked an early penalty but Jed took the lead when Scott Laidlaw touched down from a lineout drive. Jed lost Clark Laidlaw after half an hour with a side injury and that helped to keep the score at 5-3 till midway through the 2 through the 2nd half. 

Gary McGarva Kicked a penalty, but then the game swung in Hamilton's favour. They scored a converted try with 10 minutes to go, then Paul Thomson was harshly sin binned for stamping with only 8 minutes remaining. But justice was served when Gary McGarva kicked a beautiful penalty from out wide to seal the game with only a minute remaining.

A great away win, but injuries to Clark (side) and Neil Cook (broken Hand) put a dampner on things.

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2nd Sept                                                                                    Good Start for 2nds

The seconds started their league campaign in perfect fashion at Poynder Park last night with a 28 - 3 victory against their Kelso counterparts. A very scrappy 1st half saw us struggle to keep the ball in hand and we went in 3 - 0 down. The second half was much better though and tries by David MacLeod, Michael Elder, Nick Burt and Frazer Mortimer, all converted by Ryan Miller saw us bag a comfortable win and gain a valuable bonus point.

The 2nds league have agreed to try and have as many games as possible on Friday nights but games will be confirmed on a week to week basis, so keep checking here for updated times.

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28th Aug                                                                                Agony in last gasp defeat

Jed suffered a horrendous last move of the game defeat at Stewarts Melville on Saturday when the home team snatched an 18 - 12 victory. Jed were leading 12-11 deep into injury time through 3 Gary McGarva penalties and Clark Laidlaw drop goal , when the Stew Mel Stand off kicked into the corner. A mix up and a miss kicked clearance gifted the ball to Stew Mel and they strolled in under the posts to snatch victory. They had missed a kickable penalty minutes before hand and truth be told were probably the better team, especially up front but it was still hard to take. There is a more detailed report on the match report page.

The 2nds were in action on Friday night v Hawick 2nds in a pre season friendly. Although the big Hawick pack out muscled us in the scrum we did compete well, and even held a 10 - 5 lead at one point. We were beat 16 - 13 with both teams scoring 2 tries. A worthwhile run out before the new 2nds Border League starts properly against Kelso 2nds on Saturday.

Jed points came from tries by Greg Nagle and Scott (Eethie) Martin and a Robin Laing penalty.

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25th Aug                                                                               200 Club Draw 

1st -  £100    R. Kinnear

2nd - £50      Mrs N. Rose

3rd -  £25     J. Gorrie

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23rd Sept                                                               Jed see of Hawick in last warm up game

Jed Final preparations for the new league campaign were given a nice boost at Mansfield park on Saturday from a 31 - 24 victory over border rivals Hawick.

Both teams started at pretty much full strength and Jed lead 12 -7 at half time through tries from Simon Lightbody and James Hogg, Donald Grieve added a conversion. 

Hawick made a few changes at the start of the second half and that let us build a nice lead and Roy McFarlane, Neil Smail and Ali Hall all added tries, Gary McGarva converted 2 of them. The Jed management then made wholesale changes as did Hawick who brought back a few of their stars. 

Hawick brought the score closer together in that time but it is surely an encouraging sign for the Jed staff that thing are progressing well for Saturdays league kick off at Stew Mel.

Jed went to Selkirk without Clark Laidlaw and James Henderson on Sunday and were knocked out of the tournament in the first round by the SRU development boys. We didn't play very well and were beaten 10-7, Robert Hogg scored our try.

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14th Aug                                                                            Jed win Kelso 7s

Jed started the season with a bang on Saturday by winning the Kelso 7s trophy for the third time in 5 years. The draw was kind to us and the first round tie against Earlston got the cobwebs out of the way and we cruised to a 45 - 0 victory with all of the squad getting a run.

Jed's hardest game came next against a very stuffy Peebles side. We scraped through 14 - 7 thanks to a neat grubber kick from Clark which brother Scott collected just before the dead ball line to score the deciding try. This game came at a cost though as Gary Hill suffered a shoulder injury that could keep him out for 6 weeks.

The Semi Final was a pretty one sided affair with Clark Laidlaw in brilliant form. He guided us to a 24 - 0 victory.

Clark was once again the instigator in the final, scoring a try and kicking four conversions to keep Selkirk under the cosh. Jed's other try scorers were new Berwick recruit Paul Pringle, Ross Goodfellow, Roy Macfarlane and Melrose's Graeme Dodds who came in to cover for Hilly. Selkirk's first half try scorer was Lee Jones, who also kicked the conversion of his try after the break, while Guy Blair converted Nixon's injury time score.

A nice start to the season and the Armstrong brothers coaching stint. It was also Paul Pringles 1st 7s medal.

Click here to view Clark Laidlaws thoughts on club rugby, The interview was in today's Scotsman.

Jed were also in action on Friday night, playing a friendly against Melrose. The match was played in 4, 20 minute periods and proved to be a valuable pointer for our new coaching team. The coaches hard work on defensive drills proved worthwhile as the game remained score free for the first 3 periods. While there were glimpses of attacking flair, this will surely improve once the players get used to the new codes and moves. Melrose did score 2 late converted tries, but was after a multitude of changes on both sides.

Jed's pre season moves up to Hawick on Saturday for another friendly.