KELSO have won nine of their 11 league matches so far in BT National League Division Two as they look to make an immediate return to the second tier of club rugby.

The famous Borders club have had a tough couple of years and last term were relegated along with old rivals Peebles from BT National League Division One.

Throughout the whole campaign they only won four league matches out of 22, drawing another four.

“That was really tough,” admits their captain Dom Buckley. “We felt like we had let people at the club down a bit and in the summer the senior players and the coaching staff got together and talked about what it would take to get back up at the first time of asking.

“The feeling was that if we could keep the core of the team at the club and supplement that in key positions whilst getting our home form right then that would set us up for a promotion push. We did lose quite a few players which sometimes happens when you get relegated.

“However, the guys who have come into the club, particularly in the front-row, have made a big difference and others have taken confidence from that. There is a good feeling around the group just now, but we know that there is a long way to go and a lot of clubs in this division can beat anyone on their day especially on their home patch.

“Right now our focus is trying to keep the winning form going up until Christmas and then reassess, get a rest and go again early in 2017.”

Saturday’s 27-10 win over Kirkcaldy leaves the men from Poynder Park on 47 points with a trip to Preston Lodge next up this coming weekend.

GHK are hot on their heels on 45 points though and with Cartha Queens Park sitting on 44 and Peebles on 41 you get the feeling that this division still has plenty of twists and turns left before the final round of fixtures on April 1.

In the summer of 2015 former club favourite Adam Roxburgh took up the head coaching post at the club and Buckley, 26, says he and the other players are enjoying working under him.

“Adam played for Scotland [earning eight caps in the back-row in the late 1990s] and also played a lot of sevens for his country, so he has been there and done that,” Buckley said. “He is also a very proud Kelso guy and he is determined to make sure that we get ourselves back to where we feel we belong.

“The guys have learnt a lot from him while he has helped get the seconds playing some good rugby which means that there are lots of guys pushing for top team places week in and week out. We also have Darren Cunningham working with him and he is a very qualified coach with some great ideas too.”

The front-row players who Buckley talked up for their form earlier are Colin Arthur, Nick Hart and Rhys Morgan while scrum-half Andy Tait and the experienced stand-off/full-back Andrew Skeen have also been playing well.

Skeen previously represented Scotland sevens on a number of occasions and has played for Watsonians and Melrose in the top flight. Buckley, too, has been in fine form and the former centre is enjoying life in the back-row.

“I played rugby when I was younger, but also had a spell playing football. I came back to rugby though and it has been a big honour to play regularly for the first team at my local club in recent years,” he said.

“When I was asked to be captain it was a big honour, but I know a lot of my team-mates pretty well and I thought we had a group of guys that would work hard for each other and dig in for results and that has proved to be the case.

“As for switching from centre to back-row I have liked the challenge and it means that I am involved a lot more. There were a few technical parts of the position to learn, but as I say I have some great forwards around me helping me out.”