2008-09 News

Jed-Forest RFC invite applications for head coach. Apply in writing to: Heather Smith Secretary, 2 Springfield Lanton, Jedburgh, and include your CV. For furthur information contact Roy Laidlaw 01835 863567

Jed season finally came to end this afternoon at the 108th playing of our annual 7s tournament. Having suffered badly with injures in recent weeks the Jed squad featured 2 players that played in the Thistle 7s last week and we lost another hugely influential player half way through our fist round victory against Dundee when Garry Elder had to retire with a broken nose. The Jed boys did stick in well though and secured a second round spot with a 19 - 0 win.

We came up against a very strong Hawick team in the next tie and in truth we were completely out muscled and out paced and we went down 24 - 0. This set up an exiting end to the kings of the 7s series with 3 of the 4 semi final teams still in contention of winning the title but Watsonians sealed the title with a thrilling 21 - 12 win against Selkirk, Watsonians hooker Tapu Saena scored 2 brilliant tries in the process. Hawick demolished Heriots in the other semi to set up a very interesting final.

To show you the real strength of the Kings of the 7s the 2 finalists had really taken the event seriously and they brought really strong squads and Watsonians in particualar featured Andrew Skeen, back from a season in Italy and recently released Scottish international Marcus Di Rollo. Hawick had also strengthened with Returning pro's Greg Goodfelow and Rory Hutton. Hawicks big forwards were perhaps the deciding factor though in the final with Ryan Hogg knocking boys about for fun and allowing the pace of the Hawick backs to be freed. Watsonians maybe ran out of steam after sealing the kings of the 7s and Hawick were 26 - 15 winners.

Fijian legend Waisale Serevi was true to his word and ran out with the Melrose squad to play Heriots in the first round. He showed some terific handling skills but it was not enough to help the Melrose youngsters who were beaten 20- 12.

Fijian rugby legend Waisale Serevi will make a surprise appearance at the Jed-Forest SKS Homes 7s on Saturday. He is currently a guest of Melrose coach Craig Chalmers and has agreed to play as part of the Melrose squad. Melrose are due to play Heriots in the last tie of the first round (3.15 ish) so make sure you are there to see a true 7s legend.

On a sadder note. West of Scotland have cried off tonight, but Dundee have taken their place in the draw against Jed in the first tie in the bottom half of the draw.

Jed missed out on a return to Murrayfield after a heroic 30 - 20 defeat to Glasgow Hawks yesterday. Despite major injury problems including losing James Henderson before we left Jed, we played some of our best rugby for months and only lost out to a last gasp 2 try rally from Hawks.

We led 15 - 11 at half time from 3 penalties from Chris Laidlaw before he and Donald Grieve had to be replaced because of injury and 2 by replacement Ewan Scott. We also lost Gary Elder in the second half and Paul Pringle limped his way to the final whistle, we had no one left to replace him and despite this we scored a cracking try when Jamie McCraw ran in from 60 metres. A long kick trough was our downfall though. The Ball bounced awkwardly for James Hogg who stuck a hand out and the ball bounced off going dead for a 5 yard scrum instead of a 22 and Hawks scored from it to take the lead and they rubbed salt into our wounds with a last minute try.

We could only genuinely muster 6 players to go to Milntown for the Langholm 7s and we predictably lost 50 - 0 to Hawick. We must thank Peebles who supplied us with some extra bodies to full fill our fixture after they were knocked out. Hawick went on to win the tournament, beating Newcastle 26 - 7 in the final.

Hawick also knocked us out of the Peebles 7s today but it was in the second round and we were much more competitive this time, we lost out 26 - 17. We beat Edinburgh Accies 40 - 5 in the first round with Gregor Young (one of 4 Thistle aged players in our squad) showing up particularly well scoring 4 tries. Melrose beat Watsonians in the final. Watsonians now lead the Kings of the 7s table.

Jed were knocked out of Berwick 7s in round 2, beaten 28 - 5 by eventual winners Watsonians. We had knocked out Peebles 26 - 7 in the first round with tries from Ian Chisholm (2), Roy McFarlane & Paul Pringle.

Jed reached the Semi Final of The Scottish Hydro Electric Shield after a 30 - 12 victory against Falkirk at Riverside today. We now have to travel to Glasgow next Saturday to play Glasgow Hawks who had a bye after Hawick YM could not raise a team. Peebles will play Dumfries in the other Semi.

Ross Goodfellow failed a late fitness test and David Grieve also pulled out this morning and Falkirk were a big team, especially up front. They caused us a few problems and took the lead into half time after scoring a converted try to two Chris Laidlaw penalties.

We played much better in the second half and took a 13 - 7 lead when David Gobby sliced through a missed tackle to score in the corner, Laidlaw converted then kicked another penalty. We were maybe a slightly fitter team and were now enjoying good possession and Gary Holborn emerged with the ball after a good rumble over the line by the forwards, Laidlaw converted again. Marti Hastie was then rewarded for a solid performance with a great solo try from the 10 yard line on the 80 minute mark, once again converted by Laidlaw. We maybe relaxed a bit but Falkirk stuck in and despite some great defence we could not stop their huge prop from short range for a well deserved consolation try.

We fell at the first Hurdle at Hawick 7s which was not a surprise. Gala beat us 24 - 0 in the first round. See the 7s page for the tournament results, scroll down to find every tournament.

Jed 2nds lifted the cup at Dumfries 7s for the second time in three years on Saturday. They had a bye in the first round after Stewartry failed to show then tough games against Gala and a 28 - 27 win against Selkirk in the semi set up a final against Newcastle Exiles. This was a more straight forward game and Jed ran out winners by 5 tries to two.

As it was the 2nds day out Jed took a second 7 including four Thistle boys and fared well, beating a Selkirk B team (Dumfries had a spate of call ofss due to league commitments) in the first round before succumbing to Haddington 2nds in the next round.

Jed's first 7s squad fell at the first hurdle at Melrose 7s to Glasgow Hawks. Those of who saw it on telly will know that there is not much else to say about it, we were awful!!.

Jed reached the last eight of the Scottish Hydro Electric Shield after a 51 - 20 defeat of Livingston this afternoon. We will now play Falkirk who beat Highland away by 20 points to 7, the next round is on Saturday the 18th of April at Riverside.

Although the score suggests a comfortable win this was not the case and Livingston should have lead at half time after a dread-full first 30 minutes from Jed. Jed stand in coach for the day Donald Miller was not happy and said "we have been slow to start in recent weeks and we really need to get involved much earlier, Livingston played much better than their league results suggested but that was always gong to happen an our boys need to realize this".

Jed's points came from a hat trick of tries by Jamie McCraw, 2 by Ross Goodfellow and one each from Roy McFarlane, Marti Hastie and Paul Pringle, Ewan Scott kicked 2 penalties and a conversion, Marti Hastie kicked a drop goal.

In a more competitive game than the score suggests, Jed scored eight tries en route to beating Berwick 50 - 12 in last night's Border League Match at Riverside. Pool A has now been completed with Selkirk coming top but they may have to wait a while to find out who they will play in the final as Hawick still have three games to play.

Jed's points came from tries by Roy McFarlane 3, Robert Hogg 2, Seb Trotter, Lawrence Patton & David Gobby. Ewan Scott kicked 5 conversions.

Jed produced another last gasp 20 - 14 win at Musselburgh yesterday to complete this seasons league campaign. We should finish in 4th place with a record of 13 wins to 9 defeats and a positive 23 points difference.

Musselburgh won the toss and played with the wind in the first half and kicked an early penalty. The game was pretty scrappy but Robert Hogg finished of a neat backs move by looping round to score in the corner, Musselburgh responded with another penalty to lead 6 - 5 at half time.

Jed made a real mess of the second half kick off and Musselburgh kicked another penalty and punished our mistakes when their stand off scored 10 minutes later. Jed then produced the play of the day to send Roy McFarlane in at the corner to get us back into the game. We were leaving it late but Hendy, (on as a sub) broke a couple of tackles and popped to Paul Pringle who ran in from 45 metres to score under the posts with 2 minutes to go, Ewan Scott converted. Jed were then awarded a penalty deep into Musselburgh territory and Scott kicked it to finish the game and unfortunately confirm Musselburgh's relegation.

As a footnote Michael Weekley had to come off with his shoulder injury again and will probably miss the end of the season. Ewan Scott's last kick of the game has vaulted him to top points scorer for Jed in competitive games this season.

A cracking Border league game ended in an agonising 15-14 defeat for Jed at Philiphaugh last night. Both teams had rested a couple of players but were still near full strength and Selkirk played with the wind in the first half building up a 15-0 lead thanks to an early opening try from Jason Hendrie, which was converted by Ross Armstrong, a penalty by Armstrong and a further try by Rory Aglen. Jed sneaked seven points before the break when Gary Holborn side-stepped over for a try converted by Ewan Scott.

The wind became stronger and the rain pelted down in the second half and Jed took full advantage of it. Our pack was dominant and gave the Souters a very uncomfortable evening, and when Ewan Scott charged down Ross Armstrong's clearance kick to dive on the ball to score, it set up a cracking final few minutes, especially when Scott's touchline conversion sailed over the posts to bring Jed to within a point. But Selkirk defended like demons and somehow kept us out to remain unbeaten and secure their place in the final for the second year running.

Team manager Donald Miller was delighted by the Jed performance saying "that's the best we've played for weeks, I thought Robert Ferguson and Gary Hoblorn were outstanding in the forwards and young Scott was the pick of our backs"

Ultimately this was another defeat in a very disappointing Border league campaign though and leaves us at the foot of pool A with only Berwick to play next Tuesday.

Jed's promotion hopes took a deadly blow yesterday with a 17 - 11 defeat at G.H.A. Coach Calum Brown was much happier with his charges this week though and said " the boys showed a great deal more hunger than last weeks debacle especially after losing Hilly to injury early on and falling 10 - 0 behind. If we had taken some chances from breaks better and made some different decisions from penalties then we might have had a better result"

For the record G.H.A scored 2 first half tries before Seb Trotter crossed for Jed, Euan Scott missed the kick and half time was 10 - 5. He did however kick us back into contention with a penalty but G.H.A. Scored a converted try to take them 2 scores clear, Ewan kicked anther penalty to take it to 17 - 11 at the final whistle.

Jed produced a terrible display at Riverside on Saturday and were deservedly beaten 36 - 19 by Gala in a League and Border League double header. Coach, Calum Brown had challenged the players to prove him wrong as he had sensed a lack of motivation in the warm up to the game but he was proved right as we fell behind to two early Gala penalties.

To be fair to the boys we did fight back when Garry Elder scored, taking advantage of Gala having a player sin binned. Gala scored a try then Chris Laidlaw finished off a neat loop in the corner for our best piece of play but it was all down hill from there. Some terrible tackling let Gala score two more tries before half time to go in 25 - 13 up, Chris Laidlaw had kicked a penalty.

Another weak tackling display let the nippy Gala winger in 40 seconds after the restart and it was effectively all over. Two penalties apiece completed the scoring and Jed's misery.

This was Gala's highest score at Riverside since 1985 and they have virtually kept us in Division 2 for another season after their super quick back three tore us apart all afternoon.

Kelso 2nds proved to strong for our lads last night, winning 33 - 13 in a hastily arranged friendly at Poynder park. Jed's points came from a try, penalty and conversion by Greg Nagle and a drop goal by Greg Walker.

Jed-Forest won the local derby against Kelso 21-8 at Riverside this afternoon. Playing against the wind in the first half Jed dominated the early possession, taking advantage of the penalty count against Kelso, and we turned round 10-5 up through an early penalty by Chris Laidlaw and an interception try by Roy McFarlane who crossed for his first try of the season in the league. He added another in a dour second half to seal the match. Chris Laidlaw had a good day with the boot, bagging 2 penalties, a drop goal and conversion, while for Kelso Michael Tait scored a try with Utterson adding a penalty. One incredible statistic from this match saw Jed win the put-in in the first 16 scrums!

The draw has been made for the remaining rounds of Scottish Hydro Electric Shield and Jed will be at home against Livingston in the last 16 on Saturday 4th April. Livingston beat Portobello 43 - 11 away in the last round and are currently at the foot of Premier Div 3.

If we progress, we will again have a home tie against Falkirk or Highland, probably Falkirk. The draw then gets really tough as we should face Glasgow Hawks away in the Semi Final. It's no forgone conclusion though but it does add interest to the end of the season.

Jed secured the double over Biggar in a 17 - 6 win at Hartree Mill on Saturday. Jed are now level on points with Peebles in third but Stew Mel have a game in hand and a 3 point cushion in second so still look favourites for promotion.

There is a match report this week on the match report page. All league's and stats have also been updated so check them out on their relevant pages.

Nicky Bates will start for Hawick tomorrow in their cup game against Ayr at Mansfield. Before you all panic though, Hawick asked us last night if we could spare them a prop. This is allowed as the SRU introduced a rule that allows clubs to ask for emergency front row cover to try and ensure that more games are played instead of calling them of like Allan Glen's did last week.

Jed captain Neil Cook has been ruled out of the rest of the season after injuring his knee ligaments in a training match against St Boswells last Saturday. The full extent of the injury is not clear yet, but Neil has a brace on and is waiting on a scan to see if he will require surgery etc.

Jed-Forest RFC is hosting a beach party night on Saturday the 14^th of March, starting at 7 pm, right after the Ireland v Scotland game. We are also playing Gala at 2:30 pm in a re-arranged league game that day.

Entry will be free and Reflex Disco from Hawick will be playing all your favourite holiday songs. Fancy dress is optional but I hope you all come in shorts and semits. A few bikini’s on show would also be appreciated, haha.

We will also have a few cocktails available and maybe some limbo dancing etc, so please tell everyone to come along and support our efforts.

Jed have progressed to the second round of the Shield after Allan Glen's withdrew from tomorrows match due to front row problems.

Jed fell further behind the promotion race today when Peebles came down and beat us 27 - 21 at Riverside. Although we are still in 4th place, we are now 7 points behind second placed Stewarts Melville and they have a much better points difference.

Jed started ok as usual and went 3 up thanks to a Trotter penalty but Peebles responded to make it 3 - 3. Jamie McCraw, playing his 150th match for the 1sts scored the first try of the match after a fine break by Goody. Peebles then went ahead when Dan Broughtwood converted his own try and we could have been further behind as he had unusually missed 2 other penalty attempts. We scored again from a Greg Walker try, converted by Trotter who also kicked a further penalty to go 18 - 10 up but Peebles crossed the line just on the stoke of half time to make it 18 - 15.

A converted try by Peebles put them in front but another penalty from Seb gave us hope until Peebles crossed for the killer try with a minute to go to secure a probable deserved victory. Peebles strength in depth in the forwards, especially the front row was probably the key. Michael Weekley dislocated his AC joint in training on Thursday night, Hendy injured his ankle last week and Greg McLeod was suspended following a sending off last week. Leaving the Jed coaches little choice but to leave our front row on for the whole match, while Peebles rotated theirs.

Although the scoring slowed down in the second half this was a cracking game with plenty chances on both sides and it could have been oh so different, had a brilliant break by Gary Elder been finished off near the end. The full back put in a cracking tackle and lack of support allowed Peebles to turn the ball over and clear the danger.

The Seconds suffered from our injury crisis and traveled to Selkirk with a 16 man man squad made up from mostly forwards and they took a 45 - 0 beating. Selkirk had 7 subs and did loan us a couple of players when injuries took their toll but the referee still cut the game short when the score was inevitable.

Jed managed to end a major jinx by beating Hamilton 21 - 14 yesterday to record our first win away from home in January since we started this website in the 2002/2003 season. The jinx may even go back further.

Jed were trailing 5 - 3 at half time and then 11 - 9, Ewan Scott had kicked 3 penalties when Jed were awarded a penalty try. Seb Trotter was impeded when he was challenging for the loose ball over the line, Scott converted. We then had Gary Holborn and David Grieve sin binned, Hendy was also off with an ankle injury so the scrums had to be uncompetitive. Hamilton added a further penalty but Jamie McCraw sealed the win with a fine try. Hendy is the only major injury concern at the time of writing.

The 2nds did not fare as well, losing 33 - 10 to a more experienced Melrose side. Greg Nagle scored our try while Chris Laidlaw kicked the conversion and added a penalty on his return to rugby after a short break.

Jed produced another amazing escape act to pip Aberdeen GSFP 17 - 16 with the last move of the match at Riverside yesterday.

Jed started well and could easily have scored 3 tries in the first half had it not been for missed passes and the referee ruling out what looked like a good try. Ewan Scott also missed 2 penalty attempts and we went into half time 6 - 0 down as Aberdeen had kicked 2 penalties.

We started the second half terribly playing awful for 20 minutes, Paul Pringle also got sin binned for a silly trip and Aberdeen scored 2 tries stretching to a 16 - 3 lead, Scott had kicked a penalty for Jed. Time was running out and Jed had to throw caution to the wind in the last 10 minutes. Seb Trotter crossed for a try, converted by Scott to give us hope and by now we were really pressing. With the game now well into injury time we were camped on the Aberdeen line phase after phase eventually paid off when 17 year old Ewan Scott found space to cross near the posts, he kept his cool to convert his try and send the Jed players and supporters into celebration mode as the ref blew for full time.

The seconds also had cause for celebration after a hard fought 13 - 0 victory over Peebles 2nds. Ali Hall scored Jed's try as he gradually builds match fitness. Ryan Miller kicked 2 penalties and Gary Hughes kicked the conversion. This was the 2nds fourth win of the season and it was a real team effort particularly in some long spells of great defence.

The Seconds will be in action again on Tuesday night at Selkirk in a re arranged league game, weather permitting.

Following the departure of Cliff Livingstone, Jed have made further changes to support the new coaching set up. Donald Miller will now become the 1st XV team manager. Paul Cranston has agree to replace Donald in the 2nds coaching set up and is now player coach, supporting Glen Gibson and Scott (Eeeeethie) Martin is now the 2nd XV team manager.

Jed have been drawn to play Allan Glen's in the first round of the Scottish Hydro Electric Shield. Allan Glen's were beat 19 - 3 at home to Dunfermline in the last round of the Cup and are currently second to Lasswade in Scottish Hydro Electric National League Division 3.

The Shield is for losers of the 4th round of the Cup competition and the game will be played on Saturday the 21st February at Riverside

We wish to announce that club coach, Cliff Livingstone has left the club by mutual agreement. Calum Brown takes over as head coach for the rest of the season assisted by Greig Laidlaw.

Jed were knocked out of the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup by the very impressive Lasswade this afternoon. Lasswade are currently four divisions below Jed but sit at the top of their league and will pose a real threat to whoever they draw in the next round.

The game was played in a gale force wind and Lasswade took advantage of that in the first half to go into half time 14 - 0 up. Lasswade scored another try against the run of play before Jed got on the scoreboard through a Euan Scott penalty. Jed's use of the wind was not as successful as Lasswade's, the ball bouncing miles and going dead instead of into space or touch and we were reduced to taking long shots at goal from penalties. Euan Scott was being very successful and landed 2 huge kicks, one from well inside his own half but we never looked like winning. Jed kicked another penalty well into injury time as the referee had indicated that the game would continue but Lasswade won the ball at kick off and deservedly hung on for the 19 - 12 win.

Young Yid (Euan Scott) looks to be a player to look forward to when he moves from the Thistle next year and there were no major injuries to report, just split heads for Greg Walker and Goody, so maybe they are positives that we can take from this game.

Jed suffered their biggest defeat in years at Melrose on Saturday, going down 64 - 12 in our Border League clash at the Greenyards. We went into the game carrying major injuries throughout the squad and resting players and it was never going to be easy. Despite this we hit back at Melrose's early try when David Gobby scored after some fine adventurous play but this was a false dawn. We just could not cope with the pace of the Melrose attack, especially Jordan Macey who scored 4 of Melrose's 10 tries against us. We did score another try through Lewis Young, one of 3 Thistle laddies to come on as substitute to play along side Euan Scott who started the game and converted Lewis's try.

Jed lost the rearranged Skelly Cup match by 27 points to 15 at Riverside. Despite going into the match carrying lots of injuries and losing 3 more players through the game Jed competed very well against their Premier 1 opposition. Had we held onto the ball when attacking Hawick would not have scored 2 opportunist tries and the score could have been very different. This win ties the scores for the Skelly Cup at 2 wins each.

Jed's points came from a Paul Thomson try, a penalty try, when were going to push them over and a penalty and conversion from Donald Grieve.

Jed suffered a disappointing 33 - 12 defeat at Stew Mel this afternoon and slipped to fourth place in the league as a consequence. A string of handling mistakes and a malfunctioning lineout gifted Stew Mel a 19 - 0 lead after 15 minutes and we never looked like recovering after that. We were 26 - 0 down and into the second half before Scott Laidlaw scored from a pushover try after they had a forward sin binned. Stew Mel scored again to go 33 - 5 up before Scot got his second try, converted by Seb Trotter to round things off.

The Seconds competed much better this week but still fell to a 28 - 10 defeat at Haddington. Roy McFarlane scored our try, Gary Hughes converted and kicked a penalty.

John Szkudro came back to haunt Jed last weekend when he scored a last gasp try to give Kelso 2nds a 18 - 17 victory at Poynder park. Jed suffered a whole host of call offs but had 4 Thistle boys in the squad to make up numbers. Jed's try scorers were Greg Nagle (2) & Euan Scott (Thistle), Donald Grieve converted one.

Jed suffered 2 bad injury blows when James Hogg's knee gave way yet again and Scott MacDonald broke a bone in his hand. Both will be out long term.

The next two rounds of the cup have been drawn and Jed will play at the winners of Lismore v Lasswade on the 10th of January when the top 3 Premier division teams enter the competition.

Lasswade are currently dominating Scottish Hydro Electric National League Division 3 and are unbeaten after 11 games, scoring 419 points and only conceding 95.

Lismore are 10th in the same League, winning 4 and losing 7 of their 11 games.

Jed looked to challenge Dundee for the league title and gain promotion to Premier one but Dundee proved to be very worthy title challengers beating Jed 24 - 7 at Riverside yesterday.

Jed once again got off to a brilliant start when Greg Walker scored and Chris Richards converted but Dundee dominated the rest of the half and when James Henderson was yellow carded the visitors took advantage. They scored two converted tries and a penalty to lead 17-7 at the break.

Jed dominated with wind advantage and especially in the scrum for the first half hour of the second period but somehow couldn't get the try they deserved. The referee didn't help when he penalised Gary Holborn for boring in the scrum despite the Dundee prop lifting his head out of the scrum for the umpteenth scrum in a row. High School wrapped things up ten minutes from time with a further converted try to take the game. Jed once again saw points going begging with three missed penalties which didn't help their cause but they still remain second in the league as Stew Mel and Peebles drew in their game.

No major injuries to report but Neil Cook is struggling with hamstring problems.

The seconds went down by 41 points to 19 to Watsonians 2nds at Riverside tonight. Jed's tries were scored by Robert Ferguson, Grant Johnston and Paul Cranston, Chris Laidlaw converted 2. Scores won't be added to stats as we keep them for competitive games. No major injuries to report and Roy McFarlane came through his comeback from shoulder problems ok.

After last weeks disappointing performance Jed got back on track with a 29 - 10 win against Musselburgh yesterday. We fell behind to an early converted try but hit back with a Gary Holborn try and then went into half time 10 - 7 up after Jamie McCraw finished of a great break by Greg Walker.

A push over try by Scott Laidlaw, converted by Chris Richards put us in reach of a bonus point but a Musselburgh penalty briefly got them back into contention. Ross Goodfellow got the bonus point try, Converted by Richards and Paul Pringle rounded things off with try number five to cap off a fine performance on his first start for nearly 2 years following his horrific leg break.

We are 6 points clear in second again after results went our way in other games and our next game against Dundee on the 22nd could really go a long way to gaining promotion. A break next week will give Neil Cook and Chris Richards time to recover from slight injuries.

The Border league clash with Selkirk, scheduled for Saturday 15th November has had to be cancelled. Selkirk have to play a rearranged league match against Stirling County and that takes priority. No new date has been set for the game yet.

The seconds will play Watsonians 2nds at Riverside on Wednesday the 12th at 7.30pm to help fill the 3 week gap for the Autumn internationals.

Jed had a very disappointing day yesterday with both the firsts and seconds losing. The firsts got off to a good start and led 6 - 0 after Chris Richards kicked 2 early penalties but Kelso hit back with a converted try and a penalty. Jed did go into half time 11 - 10 up after Greg Walker had out paced the Kelso defenders but we were very disappointing. There was no real fire or determination and despite several breaks it seemed that stupid little mistakes crept in at the crucial time and play would break down. We only had another Chris Richards penalty in the second half and it was not enough to prevent Kelso running out 20 - 14 winners.

We are still 2 points clear in second but the pack is closing and we really need to step up a few gears before improving Musselburgh arrive next Saturday.

The seconds also had a shocker, losing 44 - 14 to Gala 2nds. The score probably flatters Gala a touch as they pounced on every mistake we made and seemed to score every time we coughed the ball up but once again the work rate was not there and lessons need to be leant. David Gobby scored both of our tries for the record and Hughsey converted them.

Jed kept up their promotion challenge with a 16 - 11 win against GHA at Riverside today. The weather conditions were terrible and a very strong wind and driving rain made it a real game of two halves. Jed played into the wind in the first half and went in 11 - 0 down at half time. An early Chris Richards penalty got us on the scoreboard but we had to wait until the hour mark for our first and only try, scored by Scott Laidlaw, converted by Richards. Chris kicked another two penalties to put us 5 points clear at 16 - 11 but amazingly the referee found eight minutes extra time and GHA pushed hard but we held on to keep 5 points clear of third placed Aberdeen in the league.

The seconds also posted a good win, their third out of the eight league games played this season, beating Melrose 2nds 13 - 0 on Woodend. Jed's points all came in the first half, Johny Field scored a try, converted by Gary Hughes, Gary also kicked 2 penalties. The game was marred by a serious facial injury to Niki Bates, who had his cheek bone fractured by a punch and it looks like he will need surgery. On a more positive note, Paul Hill made his first appearance for five weeks after recovering from a recurring foot injury and a holiday.

Jed tasted defeat for the first time since the opening league game after a 15 - 8 loss at fortress Peebles. Jed did score the only try of the game through Robert Ferguson but we could not capitalize on numerous penalties, Chris Laidlaw did kick one but we were punished by the Peebles kicking machine Dan Broughtwood who kicked five from all ranges.

Results elsewhere went our way today and we are still six points clear in second place in the league but it is very tight and anyone can get promoted still.

The seconds were also beat, going down 16 - 8 to their Peebles counterparts. Ali scored our try and Gary Hughes kicked a penalty.

Six seemed a lucky number for Jed yesterday as we recorded our sixth straight victory in the league with a convincing six try 37 - 11 win against Hamilton at Riverside.

Jed got off to a good start with a Chris Laidlaw penalty inside 5 minutes, but Hamilton hit back with a penalty and the game ground to a halt for half an hour. Hamilton kicked another penalty before Robert Ferguson broke the deadlock with a try, converted by Laidlaw and we went into half time 10 - 6 up.

We have struggled after half time until last week but we got off to another great start when Jeeves romped in from 2 yards. This set us on the road and we scored a cracking try next when Gary Elder finished of a sweeping move to put us 20 - 6 in front. Robert Hogg gave us the bonus point try and then Sub Marti Hastie put us out of sight with try number 5. Hamilton got a consolation try before Seb Trotter finished the game off with try number 6, Laidlaw converted.

A really good win for Jed that keeps us within 2 points of Dundee at the top of the league and crucially 6 points clear of third placed Aberdeen and Gala. It was nice to see Paul Pringle get a first team run out after 2 years, Seb Trotter and Ali Hall also returned successfully. James Hogg was our only casualty, His knee (injured against Hawick) is still troubling him and he may need rest.

The Seconds are now playing Selkirk 2nds at Riverside on Monday night at 7.30pm

As It's only 2 weeks to go I am appealing to all you ex players to register for the past players lunch. The lunch is on Saturday the 25th October when we play G.H.A. it only costs £22.50 and that includes wine on the table. The SRU president Jim Stevenson is attending and as usual it promises to be a rowdy day.

Jed sealed another very important victory in Aberdeen when Chris Laidlaw kicked a penalty with the last kick of the game. Aberdeen were leading 16 - 15 and decided to kick for touch instead of trying to kick a long range penalty with 2 minutes to go. The Jed defence held firm and we got our chance to kick for the win and Chris held his nerve to give us a brilliant 18 - 16 win and keep us in second place in the league.

Chris landed another penalty and a conversion and also set up a try for Robert Hogg with a cross field kick, Greg Walker scored our other try. There are no major injuries which is also a huge bonus.

The seconds were giving their Hawick counterparts a real game but a last quarter collapse let Hawick score 24 unanswered points and they stretched to a 44 - 17 victory. Jed actually led for a long time in the first half from tries by Pip Renwick and Ali Hall but went into half time 12 - 10 down. Hawick added another try and a penalty but Jed came back after a penalty try was awarded when Paul Pringle was pole axed by a shocking high tackle which left him pretty wobbly, Greg Nagle kicked the easy conversion. Again no major injuries to report.

Jed produced an amazing comeback against Haddington to seal a 29 - 26 bonus point win yesterday. Trailing 26 - 10 with 20 minutes and we looked dead and buried but tries from Neil Cook, David Gobby and Robert Hogg and two Chris Richards conversions sealed an amazing win and we now lie second in S.H.E Premier division 2.

Scott Laidlaw scored our first try in the first half, converted by Richards who also klicked a penalty. We again picked up some worrying injuries though, Donald Grieve, James Hogg and Garry Hill all had to be replaced because of knee injuries, Donalds looks most serious but time will tell. We also lost Neil Cook near the end due to hand and head knocks.

The Seconds also recorded a fine win, beating Haddington seconds 16 - 3. Tattie Elder scored our only try, Converted by Chris Laidlaw, who also kicked 2 penalties. Marti Hastie added a drop kick. Scott MacDonald suffered an ankle injury but more worryingly we need to catch the sniper who seemed to mow him down when the ball was 20 yards away from him when he went down.

Jed gained a rare try scoring bonus point in a 34 - 18 win against Stew Mel at Riverside today. Played in glorious autumn sunshine Jed got off to a slow start and we went 5 -0 down but by half time we held a 17 - 13 lead thanks to two tries from Robert Hogg and one from Gary Hill, Donald Grieve converted one.

Robert Ferguson scored early in the second half, converted by Grieve, to give us the bonus point. We seemed to switch off and let them back into the game but a penalty from Chris Richards and a late try from Greg walker, converted by Richards, gave us a 34 - 18 victory and moved us up to 5th place in the league and only two points from the top.

The 2nds fell to their second league defeat, losing 28 - 25 to Kelso at woodend. Jed were actually 22 - 11 up at one point but every time we scored we lost concentration and let Kelso score. Jed's tries came from Michael (Tattie) Elder, Graeme (Pip) Renwick and Billy Graham, Gary Hughes kicked 2 conversions and a penalty and Robin Laing kicked a drop goal.

Gary Hughes hurt his wrist, prognosis unknown but not too bad a weekend injury wise.

Jed beat a young inexperienced Gala team by 18 points to 17 at Netherdale on Saturday. Jed's tries came from Greg Walker, David Gobby and Gary Holborn Donald Grieve had a bad day on kicking duties and only landed one penalty. Scott MacDonald once again hurt his shoulder and was replaced in the first half but I don't think it's to bad and Jamie McCraw smashed his nose and will see a specialist to make him beautiful again.

The 2nds also had a victorious trip with a 34 - 0 win at Berwick. A competitive first half saw us lead 5 - 0 at half time but we stretched away scoring 5 more tries in an easier 2nd half. Jed's tries came from Tom Elliot, Johnny Field, Ali Hall, Marti Hastie, Grant Jonhston and Robin Laing, Gary Hughes kicked 2 conversions. Garry Ramsey also suffered a shoulder injury but it seemed to pop back in quickly and should not be too serious.

Scott Laidlaw can breath a sigh of relief after his disciplinary hearing at Murrayfield last night. It was decided that Scott would only be banned for one match after being sent off at Dundee. Scott sat out last weeks win against Biggar therefore he is eligible to play against Gala this weekend if selected.

If he is selected this will be Scott's 200th competitive match for Jed-Forest.

Jed got their league campaign up and running with a scrappy 13 - 3 win over Biggar in the rain at Riverside this afternoon. Jed played with the wind in the first half and Ross Goodfellow's try along with 2 penalties and a conversion from Donald Grieve completed our points for the day. Biggar kicked a second half penalty.

The seconds went to Earlston for a hastily arranged friendly and came away 37 - 0 winners in a very useful exercise. Both teams were delighted with the fixture and it gave Ali Hall vital game time as he recovers from hernia surgery. Ali came on as a second half sub and scored 2 tries.

I don't know much about our games except that Donald Grieve and Sub Robert Ferguson scored tries. Chris Laidlaw kicked 2 penalties and Scott Laidlaw was sent off for dangerous stamping in a 26 - 15 defeat at Dundee. I also heard that Dundee could have scored a lot more points.

Scott will miss the next game against Biggar and will find out how long he will be banned for at a disciplinary hearing at Murrayfield on Wednesday 10th September.

The 2nds lost 34 - 12 to a much fitter Gala 2nds team at Netherdale, Billy Graham and Ryan Miller scored tries and Robin Laing converted one.

Jed's final friendly before the league kicks of next week ended in a good 24-14 win against Edinburgh Accies at Riverside. Jed dominated the 1st half and lead 14-0 with tries from Scott Laidlaw and Gary Hill. Ross Goodfellow scored first in the 2nd half and Chris Laidlaw converted all 3 trie and kicked a penalty before Accies hit back with 2 late tries but we held on for a fine win. The only slight injury was a knee niggle for James Henderson.

The 2nds played two 30 minute halves against Hawick 2nds and stuck in well for 45 minutes but 3 late tries for Hawick gave them a 33 - 5 victory. The score flatters Hawick but it was a good game and it gets the boys ready for next weeks league opener at Gala. Greg Nagle scored Jed's try.

Jed's injury jinx shows no sign of easing as we lost 4 players in the first quarter of last nights friendly at Hawick. The game was only arranged at the weekend as a warm up for the league campaign which starts at Dundee on the 30th but a shortage of hookers put us under pressure even before the game began. Jed then lost James Hogg, Nasty looking knee injury, Seb Trotter, Wrist needing ex-ray, Robert Ferguson & Scott Laidlaw who both had shoulder injuries but are not major concerns. For the record Paul Pringle scored our try.

Jed have arranged a friendly against Hawick at Mansfield on Tuesday night. This is vital preparation for the league especially after having 2 pre season games cancelled already.

Selkirk v Kelso, Edinburgh Accies v Biggar, Perthshire v Peebles, Hawick v Jed-Forest, Scottish Rugby Academy v Haddington, Newcastle Falcons v Gala, Langholm v Melrose, Berwick v Watsonians

Jed went out of the Kelso 7s with a whimper against Watsonians in the second round today. After conceding 3 tries in the first 5 minutes we were never near them and we drifted to a dismal 40 - 5 defeat. We had beaten Langholm 24 - 14.

Kelso were the eventual winners of their own tournament, they deservedly beat reigning 7s Kings Selkirk 21 - 15 in a brilliant final.

The Friendly against Hawick YM planned for Saturday morning has been cancelled due to Hawick having to many commitments and a stag day amongst their ranks. The coaches hope talk to teams at Kelso 7s on Saturday to arrange a friendly during next week.

A useful first outing for Jed saw a 26 man squad including 4 players up from Jed Thistle travel up to Dumfermline to take on the Prem 3 side. It took about 25 minutes to break the deadlock but a long well timed pass by Henderson put Greg Walker in space and he outpaced the cover to score in the corner. The next came from a forward drive that Neil Cook was credited with. Chris Laidlaw converted to put Jed 12-0 up at the break.

In the second half the Jed fitness told and some fine scores came from Ross Goodfellow, Scott MacDonald, Robert Hogg and Ian Chisholm before Dumfermline got a late score from a mix up at the back of a scrum allowed their scrum half to break away. Plenty to improve on before the start of the league campaign but a good place to start from for the Jed side. It was good to see Gary Elder get through his first game in more than a year and Hendy also had a fine shift after a long spell out with a back problem. Ally Hall also got some game time which will help his return to fitness following a recent hernia op.

The draw for the Kelso Sevens taking place on Saturday 16th August, 1st tie 1.30pm:-
Gala v Watsonians; Jed-Forest v Langholm; Edinburgh Accies v Stewart's-Melville; Kelso v Hawick YM; Haddington v Selkirk; Melrose v Berwick; Hamilton v Peebles; Hawick v Earlston

After Melrose cancelled Tuesdays training friendly the Jed coaching staff have been quick to arrange a couple of training friendlies. Jed will travel up to Dunfermline on Saturday and then go up to Hawick next Saturday morning to take on Hawick YM at 11am, before going to Kelso 7s in the afternoon.