HERIOT'S fell short of their best form to flirt with defeat before pulling through to take the points in a game that ensures the race for the championship still has more than one horse in it.
If the Edinburgh side had lost or drawn, Ayr's defeat of Hawick would have seen the Seasiders virtually home and dry.
And while Heriot's played poorly, they can still nurture the hope of clawing back the difference when they go to Millbrae in
two weeks' time for the match that is shaping up to be the championship decider.
Heriot's were leading 14-3 at half-time against a Watsonians team that had been roasted for lack of effort then shaken up and shuffled around after losing to relegation candidates Stirling County the previous week.
When the home side went a further three points ahead soon after the break and Watsonians skipper Torrie Callander was dispatched to the sin bin for the fourth time this season it looked like they might be in for another potentially explosive postmortem.
Instead, they rallied to get back within four points, missed a penalty that would have reduced the deficit to a single point, and then created a try in injury time that meant the extras would have given them a draw.
The conversion, attempted by Mike Ker who had been dropped because of his dismal display the previous week and had only just come on as a substitute, flew wide and there was no fairytale ending. Instead, the script writers can save themselves for a championship climax on another day.
Saturday's trailer will be Heriot's against Stirling County who have won their last two games and moved off the foot of the table, while Watsonians welcome Ayr to Myreside.
Watsonians coach Bruce Aitchison said: "I thought we were superb in the second half and for want of the bounce of the ball or the referee's arm going a different way we could have won and it would have been deserved. But Heriot's are a pretty smart team with some wily old campaigners.
" I was proud of my players. Our attitude was good this week. They were determined and showed passion, much improved."
It might have been much improved form but it wasn't enough for Watsonians to overcome an out of sorts Heriot's who struggled to get any kind of rhythm going, but still managed to accrue the necessary points for victory, although without any bonus point they might have hoped for.
Heriot's scored after ten minutes when Watsonians won the ball at the breakdown and presented it beautifully at the back of a ruck, save for the fact that their scrum-half was awol so Heriot's No8 Jamie Syme came round to pinch it and feed Marc Teague for the try.
In the rest of the half Heriot's scrum-half Graham Smith added three penalties to one by Ben Di Rollo for the visitors with both sides kicking aimlessly when they looked much more purposeful and effective when keeping the ball in hand and going through the phases.
Soon after the restart, Smith kicked his fourth penalty and the result began to look like a formality until Callander was sent to the sidelines and Samoan winger Tupu Saena went on a mazy run from his own half into the red zone, outstripping his own forwards so that when he was tackled he was penalised for holding on.
Di Rollo added a drop goal and Saena appeared in the right place to take an off-load from centre Doug Brown that opened up a clear route to the line. Di Rollo's conversion spooked Heriot's into a concerted rally and they were held up on the line a couple of times before Watsonians turned the tables only to be held up at the other end.
What had been a largely drab and uninspiring game had been transformed into a thriller and Watsonians might have got within a single point with ten minutes to go but Di Rollo's penalty from 20 metres clattered the post and within minutes Smith landed his attempt from the same distance to stretch Heriot's lead to 20-13.
Watsonians did not give up and some efficient passing and recycling took them deep into the Heriot's 22. The ball went wide to the left and winger Richard Minto side-stepped round the last defender to touch down in the corner.
That left Ker, not a speck of dirt on his pristine jersey because he had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes, to kick the conversion to get the draw. It had the distance but not the direction. Heriot's escaped.
Heriot's coach Bob McKillop said: "We would have been pretty sick if we had lost the game. Our decision making was not very crisp and we lacked conviction whether we were kicking or handling.
"The feeling among the squad is that we did play badly, but I think we still did enough to win the game. We will take the win and move on."
Scorers. Heriot's: Try: Teague. Pens: G Smith 5. Watsonians: Tries: Saena, Minto. Con: Di Rollo. Pen: Di Rollo. Drop goal: Di Rollo.
Heriot's: J Thompson; M Teague, G Thomson, R Mill, C Goudie; G Rutherford, G Wilson; A Dymock, S Burnett, W Blacklock, T McVie, I Nimmo, J Parker, J Stevens, J Syme. Subs used: F Gillies, K Blyth, G Anderson, B Walls, S Bell.
Watsonians: S Kennedy; R Minto, D Brown, J Blackwood, T Saena; B Di Rollo, E Howe; A Fisher, F Brown, K Traynor, T Callander, A Tweed, J Pelter, I Condell, I Dryburgh. Subs used: T Hawes, N Hart, J Nicolson, M Ker, J Johnstone.
Referee: D Gamage (RFU).
