Rugby Union: Aitkin on track for semi-final

Boroughmuir 42 Watsonians 29

Boroughmuir 42 Watsonians 29

Boroughmuir produced a performance belying an indifferent league campaign to outclass last year's runners-up, Watsonians, in the quarter-final of the Tennents Scottish Cup at Meggetland, Edinburgh, yesterday.

The immediate prize for Boroughmuir is a semi-final match with their local rivals, Heriot's FP, while the league champions, Melrose, take on Kirkcaldy, also next weekend.

With five minutes remaining, Watsonians, who briefly lost the British Lion, Tom Smith, for stitches to a mouth wound, trailed 15-42 and were facing a rout, but to their credit they rallied to produce two late converted tries.

Yet there was really no doubting the outcome from the moment the Boroughmuir full-back, Campbell Aitkin, began gathering a 27-point haul with an early angled penalty followed by the conversion of the first of Graeme Beveridge's two tries.

Not to be outdone, Aitkin, who claimed 31 points in the previous round, pierced his three-quarter line for three tries himself. The other Boroughmuir try came from Ally McClean, one of six Boroughmuir players being lined up to play club rugby in New Zealand this summer on a SRU scholarship.

Watsonians kept in touch when Jamie Meyer bullocked over for a try and when Duncan Hodge fired a 35-metre drop goal they were trailing only 10- 17 after half an hour.

Boroughmuir: Tries Aitkin 3, Beveridge 2, McClean; Conversions Aitkin 3; Penalties Aitkin 2. Watsonians: Tries Meyer, Giles, Kerr, Burns; Conversions Hodge 3. Drop goal Hodge.

Boroughmuir: C Aitkin; N Renton, D Laird, S Lineen, A McClean; D Wyllie, G Beverage; S Paris, K Allan, A Penman, D Burns, G McAllum, A Cadzow, S Reid (capt), R Kirkpatrick.

Wasonians: D Giles; J Kerr, J Meyer, A Garry, G Hannah; D Hodge, G Burns; T Smith, G McKelvey (capt), P FitzGerald, S Grimes, J White, C Mather, R Wainwright, I Sinclair.

Referee: C Muir (Langholm).