diff --git a/src/wurf/post_resolve_run.py b/src/wurf/post_resolve_run.py
index 3820883..2111707 100644
--- a/src/wurf/post_resolve_run.py
+++ b/src/wurf/post_resolve_run.py
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ class PostResolveRun(object):
     """
 
     def __init__(self, resolver, ctx, run, cwd):
-
         """Construct a new instance.
 
         :param resolver: A resolver instance.
diff --git a/src/wurf/semver_selector.py b/src/wurf/semver_selector.py
index ff38bfc..e4ff9a6 100644
--- a/src/wurf/semver_selector.py
+++ b/src/wurf/semver_selector.py
@@ -1,6 +1,22 @@
 #! /usr/bin/env python
 # encoding: utf-8
 
+import re
+
+
+BASEVERSION = re.compile(
+    r"""[vV]?
+        (?P<major>0|[1-9]\d*)
+        (\.
+        (?P<minor>0|[1-9]\d*)
+        (\.
+            (?P<patch>0|[1-9]\d*)
+        )?
+        )?
+    """,
+    re.VERBOSE,
+)
+
 
 class SemverSelector(object):
     """
@@ -27,32 +43,58 @@ def select_tag(self, major, tags):
         """
         assert isinstance(major, int), "Major version is not an int"
 
-        valid_tags = []
+        valid_tags_ver = dict()
 
         # Get tags with a matching major version
-        for tag in tags:
+        for tag_str in tags:
             try:
-                t = self.semver.parse(tag)
-                if t["major"] != major:
-                    continue
+                tag_ver = self.semver.VersionInfo.parse(tag_str)
+            except ValueError:
+                # Version might be prefixed with `v` or otherwise not be semver
+                # compatible. Try to find a simpler `major.minor.patch` match
+                # somewhere in the tag as a last resort.
+                tag_ver = self._semver_coerce(tag_str)
+            if tag_ver and tag_ver.major == major:
+                valid_tags_ver[tag_ver] = tag_str
 
-                valid_tags.append(tag)
-            except ValueError:  # ignore tags we cannot parse
-                pass
-
-        if len(valid_tags) == 0:
+        if not valid_tags_ver:
             return None
 
         # Now figure out which version is the newest.
         # We only use tags that have the specified major version to ensure
         # compatibility, see rules at semver.org
-        best_match = valid_tags[0]
+        best_match_ver = max(valid_tags_ver.keys())
+
+        # Return original string representation of version tag.
+        return valid_tags_ver[best_match_ver]
 
-        for t in valid_tags:
-            if self.semver.match(best_match, "<" + t):
-                best_match = t
+    def _semver_coerce(self, version):
+        """Convert an incomplete version string into a semver-compatible Version
+        object
+
+        * Tries to detect a "basic" version string (``major.minor.patch``).
+        * If not enough components can be found, missing components are
+            set to zero to obtain a valid semver version.
+
+        Copyright (c) 2013, Konstantine Rybnikov
+        https://github.com/python-semver/python-semver/
+
+        :param str version: the version string to convert
+        :return: a :class:`Version` instance (or ``None`` if it's not a version)
+        :rtype: :class:`Version` | None
+        """
+        # Changed: using `match` instead of `search` to avoid situation where
+        # a tag simply containing a number inside it is parsed as a major
+        # version.
+        match = BASEVERSION.match(version)
+        if not match:
+            return None
 
-        return best_match
+        ver = {
+            key: 0 if value is None else int(value)
+            for key, value in match.groupdict().items()
+        }
+        return self.semver.VersionInfo(**ver)
 
     def __repr__(self):
         """
diff --git a/src/wurf/waf_standalone_context.py b/src/wurf/waf_standalone_context.py
index 42452fa..65abe93 100644
--- a/src/wurf/waf_standalone_context.py
+++ b/src/wurf/waf_standalone_context.py
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ def options(opt):
 
 
 class WafStandaloneContext(Dist):
-
     """creates a standalone archive that contains all dependencies"""
 
     cmd = "standalone"
diff --git a/test/python/test_semver_selector.py b/test/python/test_semver_selector.py
index 114f442..f929729 100644
--- a/test/python/test_semver_selector.py
+++ b/test/python/test_semver_selector.py
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ def test_semver_selector():
         "3.0.0",
         "3.0.0-lts.0",
         "3.0.0-lts.1",
+        "backups/3.1.0-lts.0",  # Do not match non-toplevel tags.
+        "4.0.0",
+        "v4.0.1",
+        "5.0.0",
+        "5.1",
     ]
 
     # Select latest tag for major version 1
@@ -27,3 +32,9 @@ def test_semver_selector():
 
     # Select latest tag for major version 3 (LTS tags should be ignored)
     assert selector.select_tag(major=3, tags=tags) == "3.0.0"
+
+    # Select latest tag for major version 4 (v prefix should be ignored)
+    assert selector.select_tag(major=4, tags=tags) == "v4.0.1"
+
+    # Select latest tag for major version 5 (missing minor should be ignored)
+    assert selector.select_tag(major=5, tags=tags) == "5.1"