Stirling prove their right to be among the five leaders

with the defeats of Stirling County, Gala, and Hawick. No club is left

unbeaten, and, instead, five share the lead.

Holders Melrose, who beat Stirling at the Greenyards, are there. So

are Heriot's, Edinburgh Academicals, Stirling, and Gala.

Yet even in defeat Stirling proved that they have the right to be up

there.

Melrose could breathe a collective sigh of relief whereas County could

ponder what might have been if they had not been so profligate.

Especially in the first half, the visitors handed away penalties, and

the try Melrose scored to settle the game ought to have been scripted by

Basil Fawlty.

Three points adrift, County tried to run a penalty out of their own

twenty-two. It was brave stuff but as necessity was the mother of

invention so it also bred failure.

Gordon Mackay guddled his support for Malcolm Norval, Craig Joiner

snapped up the offering, and though Mackay recovered to nab the wing,

Millan Browne ran in from close range.

That was a rare instance of looseness in County ranks. Their rugby was

as tight and uncompromising as the Melrose game, and over the match

Stirling were more adept at winning 50-50 ball.

Brian Ireland and Kevin McKenzie were the most essential there, but

ironically Stirling could not maintain it when they had turned the

screws.

Among Stirling's other pluses, Mark McKenzie won plaudits for his

kicking, and Malcolm Norval emerged with extra credits in lineout

leaping.

Two Melrose players at the other range of the height scale were just

as crucial to the cause. Bryan Redpath added to his growing reputation

with his busy work on the forwards' heel, whether with ball in hand or

hustling Andrew Imrie, whereas Gary Parker, though restrained in attack,

swept up the back with Craig Redpath and turned Stirling with hefty

kicks.

Parker's goal-kicking, however, was not on a par with his usual. He

had only four goals out of eight, though enough to raise his season's

tally already to 98 points, whereas Mark McKenzie had three from five.

County could have been level at half-time instead of being three

points down. Parker and McKenzie each had three penalty pots at the

posts, but the Stirling stand-off missed one.

He equalised early in the second half, and the scores were still level

when from the first Melrose throw-in of the second half, 14 minutes

after the interval, Ewan Simpson sparked a fearsome drive to the line.

Weir, Robbie Brown, and Bryan Redpath were denied inches out, and

Melrose had to settle for another penalty goal to take them back into

the lead before Browne's clinching try.

Neither team could have been happy with Chuck Muir's inconsistent and

less than sharp-eyed refereeing. Comments here, though, will be confined

to one instance when the Langholm referee penalised Stewart Hamilton for

going over the top even though the Stirling captain had stayed firmly on

his feet to reach over a tackle to pick the ball up. Is that not what

Morgan and other coaches from the top level down have been encouraging

Scottish players to do?

Melrose - A C Redpath; G A Parker, R N C Brown, I S Leighton, C A

Joiner; A G Shiel, B W Redpath; M G Browne, S J Brotherstone, D Lunn, R

R Brown, E M Simpson, A J Kerr, G W Weir, C D Hogg. Replacements - R

Barrie, R E Craig.

Stirling County -- K M Logan; A S M Turner, J Wright, I C Jardine, B

Mailer; M McKenzie, A Imrie; J T Gibson, K D McKenzie, G B Robertson, J

A Hamilton, M Norval, G T Mackay, J Brough, B Ireland. Replacement -- J

Milligan.

Referee -- C B Muir (Langholm).