THEY say misfortunes always happen in threes. And if you don’t think this is so, then ask anyone watching Selkirk’s opening day defeat at the hands of Murrayfield Wanderers in the capital, where no fewer than threeof the visitors’ key players had to leave the field injured.
However, even allowing for the disruption this state of affairs undoubtedly caused, the Souters didn’t do themselves any favours by allowing a hungrier Murrayfield side to capitalise on unforced errors at critical periods of the game. Too often Selkirk’s most promising moves foundered, either because a wrong option was taken or because of lack of support for the ball carrier. Wanderers, on the other hand, looked more confident and aggressive when in possession, and almost always crossed the gain line.
Both sides had to contend with a strong cross-field wind, and it wasSelkirk who took the lead in the sixth minute when Carl McWilliam’s clearance kick was charged down by Billy Gentleman. The flanker fly-hacked the ball towards the home try-line, and Guy Blair deftly picked it up returned it inside for Gentleman to score. Blair’s hooked his conversion kick wide under pressure from an advancing Murrayfield player.
Shortly afterwards Selkirk suffered their first major setback when flanker Craig Forster, who has been in outstanding form so far this season, was forced to leave the pitch with a troublesome back injury, his place going to Aussie newcomer Matt de Franck.
Murrayfield took the lead in the 17th minute when the home threequarters launched a counterattack deep in their own half and, having sucked Selkirk’s backs into the middle of the field, full-back Ian Henderson found himself in acres of space on the right wing. His mazy 50-metre solo run was rewarded by a try near the corner, which McWilliam coolly converted.
With Selkirk’s composure badly shaken, Murrayfield went further ahead when de Franck’s hurried clearance kick was charged down by McWilliam, who collected the ball and dived over for a score, which he again converted.
Selkirk’s second injury blow came when a clash of heads saw Billy Gentleman helped to the sidelines. With only three Selkirk replacements on duty, scrum-half replacement Fraser Jack was pressed into service at wing-forward. Just before the interval Selkirk finally began to put some phases together, with Martin Murray’s bulldozing run allowing David Cassidy to slip his marker and make a powerful break upfield. When stopped, Craig Hunter had the presence of mind to come off his wing and carry Cassidy’s inside pass over the line for the visitors’ second score. Blair’s conversion flew wide, making the halftime score 14-10 in Wanderers’ favour.

After the break, and with the elements now in their favour, Selkirk had several chances to grab the lead, but simply couldn’t find the killer touch when it mattered. The Souters’ most sustained spell of pressure on the home try-line came to a shuddering halt when skipper Cammy Cochrane was stopped in his tracks by a double tackle, the impact of which badly buckled his right knee, leaving the centre lying in agony on the ground. A stretcher was called for, and the player taken down to the BGH, where medial ligament damage was later diagnosed, necessitating a lengthy lay-off. Cochrane’s departure meant another formation change for the visitors,
this time John McDonald coming in on the loosehead, with Darren Hoggan switching to blindside flanker. Although Selkirk threatened a comeback on more than one occasion in the final stages, it was Murrayfield who had the final say when McWilliam slotted a penalty to make the score17-10 in the city team’s favour.