With two IRB World Series tournaments to go in the current season, Stephen Gemmell, the Scotland coach, admitted that victory at Melrose has not solved all his problems.

"We still need a couple of pacy players in the side. The team work hard to win, and retain, possession, but we need finishers. I'll be doing my utmost to secure at least one flier for London and Edinburgh," said Gemmell, who, conceded that he had taken a risk entering his side in the Melrose tournament.

"We had everything to lose. We were a bit sluggish in the opening two rounds, but in the semi-final and the final we showed what we could do."

An accurate kick-off from Ali Warnock gave Scotland possession and from then on until the interval, the Tigers rarely had the ball. In the event, the Thistles, playing to their pace limitations by using the inside channels, scored 19 points with two tries by Warnock and one by Ben Addison, before Leicester claimed their first score with a touchdown from Will Lawson.

Immediately after the break, the Thistles made sure of a sizable victory with further tries from Greig Laidlaw and Mike Adamson for a 33-12 win, Ben Youngs having run in a late consolation try for the Tigers.