Rugby player death accused bailed

Richard Wilkinson played for the Hawick Wanderers team

Two teenagers have appeared in court charged with causing the death of a talented young rugby player by dangerous driving.

Richard Wilkinson, 17, died in the smash in the Borders on the way home from playing in a rugby sevens tournament on 4 April.

His Hawick Wanderers team-mate Sean Goodfellow, and also Murray McAllan, appeared at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

The two 18-year-olds made no plea or declaration and were released on bail.

The accused, both from Hawick, Roxburghshire, were alleged to have committed the offence on the A698 Kelso to Crailing Road.

Mr Wilkinson's home town of Hawick came to a standstill for his funeral service in April.

More than 600 mourners, including former Scotland rugby coach Jim Telfer, attended the church service while hundreds more lined the streets to watch the 12-vehicle funeral cavalcade.

Mr Wilkinson - whose grandfather Doug Jackson played for Scotland in the 1960s - had been playing for Hawick Wanderers in an under-18s rugby sevens tournament in Kelso.

He was a front seat passenger in a Peugeot 306 car which crashed through a fence and landed on its roof.

Three of his team-mates escaped with cuts and bruises, but Mr Wilkinson was pronounced dead at the scene.