30/08/2026
MATCH REPORT | JED-FOREST 37-35 MUSSELBURGH
It was a warm afternoon at Riverside Park as Jed-Forest welcomed Musselburgh for the opening fixture of the Arnold Clark National League Division 1 season.
There was plenty of anticipation ahead of the new campaign, although preparations weren't exactly straightforward, with the final make-up of the Jed bench not confirmed until around 2PM.
Once proceedings got underway, neither side was able to settle into any real rhythm. Knock-ons, handling errors and penalties dominated the early exchanges as both teams looked to find their feet.
The first points of the afternoon eventually arrived in the 14th minute when Jed were awarded a penalty. Captain Aaron Weatherhead stepped up and made no mistake from the tee to give Royal Blue an early 3-0 advantage.
Shortly afterwards, play was brought to a halt following an injury to Jed full-back Lewis Elder, who was making his 50th appearance for the club.
Everyone at Jed would like to thank the Musselburgh physio and Eric Wright for their assistance in attending to Lewis.
Following the stoppage, the game remained a tight and scrappy affair as both sides searched for the opening try of the afternoon.
It eventually arrived in the 33rd minute and, unfortunately for the home support, it was Musselburgh who found the breakthrough. The visitors crossed for the first try of the afternoon and added the conversion to move ahead for the first time at 3-7.
Jed responded five minutes later. Another Musselburgh infringement gave Weatherhead an opportunity from the tee and the Jed captain made no mistake, adding his second penalty of the afternoon to reduce the deficit to a single point at 6-7.
With very little separating the sides, Jed looked set to head into the interval just a point behind, but the closing stages of the half proved costly.
Two quick converted tries at the death of the opening forty suddenly gave Musselburgh some breathing room and completely changed the complexion of the contest.
After an opening half in which there had been very little between the sides for long periods, Jed headed for the changing rooms with a 15-point deficit to overturn.
HALF-TIME | JED 6-21 MUSSELBURGH
The second half initially followed a similar pattern to the first, with basic errors and penalties preventing either side from finding any real rhythm.
That all changed in the 53rd minute when Jed finally crossed the whitewash — and it was a familiar face who got Royal Blue moving.
Jed legend Paulo Ferreira, who had arrived at Riverside Park just 14 minutes before kick-off following a trip to London, did what he does best. From all of about a metre out, Paulo powered his way over the line for his first try of the season.
Weatherhead added the extras to reduce the deficit to 13-21 and suddenly there was a feeling around Riverside that Jed might just have a way back into the contest.
Eight minutes later, that feeling grew even stronger.
A Jed scrum provided the platform before Logan Kerr delivered a simple but effective ball to captain Weatherhead, who took his opportunity and dotted down for Jed's second try of the afternoon.
Having been faultless from the tee up to that point, Weatherhead stepped up looking to convert his own try, but his 100% kicking record for the afternoon finally came to an end as the conversion went wide.
It mattered little to the growing home support. Jed had scored twice in eight minutes and what had been a 21-6 deficit at the break was suddenly down to just three points at 18-21.
The momentum was now firmly with Royal Blue — and they wouldn't have to wait long for another opportunity.
Just three minutes later, Weatherhead broke through the Musselburgh defence, with Ben Howe and Robbie Shirra-Gibb in support as Jed surged into the visitors' 22.
After another couple of phases came a moment that brought back memories of last season's away trip to Marr.
Debutant Christian Beaton spotted the space in the corner and pointed out exactly where he wanted the ball. Weatherhead saw it too and produced a perfectly weighted d**k over the defence, with Beaton there to finish the move and mark his Jed debut with a memorable try.
Weatherhead was unable to add the extras, but for the first time since the opening stages of the afternoon, Jed were back in front.
Three tries in just 11 minutes had completely transformed the contest.
64 MINUTES | JED 23-21 MUSSELBURGH
Jed's lead didn't last long, however, as Musselburgh showed they weren't about to disappear from the contest.
Five minutes after Beaton's try, the visitors were awarded a scrum just outside the Jed 22.
With Logan Kerr temporarily off the field getting strapped up, Jed were forced into a reshuffle. Ben Howe moved into the centre alongside Gregor Young, while the team sheet suggested that "An Other" was about to make his Jed debut.
As it turned out, "An Other" was none other than Michael Weekley — a man with 267 previous appearances for the club — who had been a late addition to the squad and was now making appearance number 268 in Royal Blue.
Musselburgh made the most of the opportunity. A slick passage of play opened up the Jed defence and the visitors found their way underneath the posts, with the straightforward conversion putting them back ahead at 23-28.
This game wasn't finished swinging yet.
In rugby, the bounce of the ball can make or break you and, more often than Jed would probably care to remember, it doesn't always seem to fall the way of Royal Blue.
In the 74th minute, however, it finally did.
From around ten metres inside his own half, debutant Callum Auchinleck put boot to ball and sent it bouncing downfield. The ball landed just outside the Musselburgh 22 and the awkward bounce caused confusion for the covering defender.
It bounced again, and again, before remarkably finding its way back into the hands of the chasing Auchinleck.
Callum still had work to do. A desperate last-ditch tap tackle threatened to bring him down, but he managed to evade it, stay on his feet and race underneath the posts to finish off a fantastic try on his Jed debut.
It was also a hugely important score for the team, with Auchinleck's try being Jed's fourth of the afternoon and securing the try-scoring bonus point.
Weatherhead was left with a simple conversion and duly added the extras to put Royal Blue back in front.
74 MINUTES | JED 30-28 MUSSELBURGH
With just six minutes of normal time remaining and Jed holding a slender advantage, the pressure was now firmly on Musselburgh to find a response.
Three minutes later, the visitors found themselves deep inside their own half and were forced to clear their lines. The kick landed in the hands of Auchinleck, who quickly moved the ball on to Gregor Young.
Young found Weatherhead, with Robbie Shirra-Gibb hitting the cut, before the ball eventually made its way out to Jamie Hynd on the wing.
Channelling his inner prime Jonah Lomu, Hynd had one defender standing between himself and the try line — and there was only going to be one winner.
Hynd powered his way over the final man and crossed for Jed's fifth try of the afternoon.
Weatherhead popped over the conversion and, having trailed 6-21 at half-time, Royal Blue remarkably found themselves nine points clear with just minutes remaining.
77 MINUTES | JED 37-28 MUSSELBURGH
Surely that was that?
Not quite.
With the clock in the red, Jed were presented with an opportunity to bring proceedings to an end when Weatherhead lined up a penalty. The captain's attempt went wide, however, giving Musselburgh one final opportunity.
The visitors knew there was still something to salvage and, starting from virtually their own try line, produced one final remarkable attack.
In a matter of seconds, Musselburgh went almost the entire length of the field and crossed the Jed try line for their fifth try of the afternoon.
The conversion followed, reducing the deficit to just two points before the final whistle brought an extraordinary afternoon at Riverside Park to an end.
FULL-TIME | JED 37-35 MUSSELBURGH
From 21-6 down at half-time, Jed produced a tremendous second-half fightback, scoring five tries after the break to begin their Arnold Clark National League Division 1 campaign with a victory.
Callum Auchinleck's superb debut try was Jed's fourth of the afternoon and secured the try-scoring bonus point, meaning Royal Blue collected the maximum five league points from their opening fixture.
Musselburgh didn't leave Riverside empty-handed. Having also scored at least four tries, the visitors collected the try-scoring bonus point, while their dramatic final converted score brought them back within seven points to secure the losing bonus point as well.
Saturday's victory also brought an end to a remarkable opening-day wait for Jed.
You have to go all the way back to 2 September 2017 for the last time Royal Blue won their opening league fixture of a season, when Jed defeated Kelso 27-20 at Riverside Park.
Some 3,283 days later — just four days short of nine years — Jed finally began a league campaign with another victory.
And they certainly didn't do it the easy way.
Five points on the board and an opening-day league victory 3,283 days in the making.
Jed now turn their attention to next weekend and the first Border encounter of the league campaign, making the trip to Philiphaugh to face fellow Borderers Selkirk, with kick-off at 3PM.
