CURRIE CHIEFTAINS TOO STRONG FOR SELKIRK AT WIND-SWEPT MALLENY PARK Hooker James Bett eludes the clutches of two Currie defenders to score Selkirk‘s first try on Saturday. Scott McClymont on the charge, watched by Bett, Riddell and MacDougall. Jack Houston secures line-out ball, with a little help from Luke Pettie. Selkirk fly-half Callum Anderson manages to shake off his marker. Josh Welsh in the thick of it, along with Ross Nixon and Luca Morello. [Photos by DAVID NICHOL] Currie Chieftains 34, Selkirk 17 SELKIRK’S three-match unbeaten run was ended by a powerful Currie Chieftains side at Malleny Park on Saturday, with the home team’s tighter game control and clinical finishing ultimately proving decisive. Early in the match things had looked promising for Selkirk when fly-half Callum Anderson and hooker James Bett again combined cleverly, resulting in the latter scoring his second try of the campaign with less than five minutes on the clock. Aaron McColm’s conversion put the visitors 7-0 ahead. However, with the penalty count against the Philiphaugh men beginning to rise at an alarming rate, Currie took advantage to gain large chunks of territory - taking the lead through an opportunist try from scrum-half Gregor Christie, converted by Gregor Hunter, who’d earlier kicked a penalty. The visitors’ cause wasn’t helped when flanker Rob Cook was yellow-carded for deliberately slowing down play, and a try from Fergus Scott gave Currie a 17-7 interval lead. Injuries to Luca Berte (cut lip) and Scott McClymont (hamstring strain) didn’t hampered the visitors’ cause, and any hopes of a Selkirk revival were dashed when Currie crossed for three tries in the space of seven minutes – Wallace Nelson, Hunter and Steven Hamilton getting the touchdowns. To their credit Ewan MacDougall’s men batted to the end, with tries from Frazer Anderson and Bruce Riddell putting a better complexion on the scoreline. Once again ex-skipper Ross Nixon proved a tower of strength for Selkirk in midfield, while James Bett, Peter Forrest and Jack Houston all put in hard shifts in defence and attack. After the game, Selkirk head coach Scott Wight was typically forthright in his assessment of the contest: “Currie played at a good tempo, they took their chances and at the end of the day they deserved the win. “The important thing for us is how we regroup through the week. We’ve had a great pre-season, and the positivity doesn’t stop now just because we’ve suffered our first defeat. “This game is past, so we’ll start working hard again and concentrate on putting together a game plan for the Aberdeen Grammar match on Saturday.” SELKIRK – Aaron McColm, L. Berte, J. Welsh, R. Nixon, F. Anderson, C. Anderson, L. Merolle, L. Pettie, J. Bett, B. Riddell, J. Houston, P. Forrest, R. Cook, S. McClymont, E. MacDougall. Replacements – J. Henry, R. Cottrell, Andrew McColm, A. Mackay, G. Forrest. CURRIE – C. Brett, S. Hamilton, A. Hall, A. Harley, A. MacLean, G. Hunter, G. Christie, G. Carson, F. Scott, M. Argiro, M. Poole, M. Vernel, J. O’Brien, W. Nelson, D. Dee. Replacements: E. Blair, C. Ramsay, H. Ferguson, C. Meager, C. Lessels.  Sponsors . .  .  .   .     . 3