A CLINICAL display of running rugby by Melrose sent Whitecraigs tumbling out of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
But despite the obvious gulf in class between the sides Craigs never gave up and even managed to draw first blood on the scoreboard.
In front of a 500-strong crowd the young West Lodge boys did the club proud and ensured it was a day to remember for everyone involved.
It took Craigs just five minutes to get the first points of the afternoon when a rampaging run by Stuart Pollock through the heart of the home defence drew a penalty in front of the posts.
Gordon Stevenson stepped up confidently and slotted the ball between the sticks, sending the massive travelling support into raptures.
Unfortunately that was to be the one glimmer of hope of the day as Melrose, the defending Scottish Cup champions, raised their performance level to a pace and intensity which Craigs could not match.
In perfect playing conditions Rose gave high-flying Craigs a taste of what it takes to make it to the top and ran in four scintilating tries before the break.
With Craigs trailing 29-3 at half time the game was already out of sight but the team rallied in a bid to give the noisy travelling crowd a try to cheer.
The well organised Melrose defence held firm though and they started to extend their lead with some fantastic interplay between backs and forwards.
Another six tries were scored in the second half to give a final score of 65-3, but Whitecraigs made their superior opposition fight every step of the way.
Despite his team's dominant display Melrose coach Craig Chalmers, a former Scotland internationalist, could not hide his admiration of the Whitecraigs performance.
He said:"Whitecraigs started really well and scored first but the pace of the game got away from them a bit.
"There's a bright future ahead for Whitecraigs and I'm sure we will see them continue to move up the leagues because they were well drilled and organised."
Whitecraigs coach Jim Henderson added: "I'm really proud of how they stuck to the task, even in the last ten minutes.
"The first fifteen minutes were outstanding and I thought our forwards matched them in the set piece.
"But that's what we have to aspire to get to in the coming years."
Team: Laidlaw, Christine, Campbell, Stuart, Howarth, K. Hunter, B. Blamire, Pollock, Henderson, Mahindru, Fisher, Stevenson, Nicol, Kemp, Corbett. Subs - F. Hunter, Smyllie, N. Blamire, Nisbet.