Date: Saturday, 2nd August 2008
Kickoff time: 15:00
Against: Preston Lodge
Team: Hawks 1st XV
Location: Away
Competition: Tens Tournament
Final score: -

Hawks Swoop to Victory at PL Tens Tournament Match-Reports Holders Haddington kicked off the Preston Lodge Tens Tournament against Trinity Accies on Saturday as lightning was striking in the distance but it was to be Glasgow Hawks who would light up the afternoon with fast, attacking rugby in this curtain raiser to the new season. Haddington squeezed past Trinity by 17-10 in that opening tie despite giving up a 10�0 half-time lead and it was a solo break from half way by stand off Ross King, that allowed him to score the winning try under the posts. Hawks would dominate the group though, by scoring 50, 56 and 57 points without loss against PL Helldogs, Trinity and Haddington respectively. The Premier Division One Team�s tournament had started with a minute�s silence in memory of former player Gordon Mackay, who died recently aged just 39 and their style of out and out rumbustious rugby was a fitting tribute to the big forward. It was their extremely nippy back division, especially Gossman, Hare and Murray who would do most of the damage though, as they danced their way through each of the defences to rack up the points. Haddington secured second place in the group with a 21-0 win over PL�s second string, The Helldogs. Pool 2 was largely dominated by The Pigbarians - a charity team brought together by larger than life former PL player, Jimmy �The Pig� Michie and mainly made up from Watsonian players, who also showed that they could play classy rugby with convincing victories over Musselburgh, Preston Lodge and Edinburgh University. Preston Lodge conceded two early tries in their first game against Edinburgh Uni but showed their mettle by scoring three in reply through debutant scrum half Andy Parkes, hooker Calum Wilson and 2nd row Blair Cowan. Musselburgh looked more convincing in beating the Students by 50-0 to set up a local derby against PL to decide the runners up spot in the pool but it was the hosts who would score first in that crucial tie, when centre Jonathan Brash took a big hit in midfield but still managed to set the ball up for Parkes to grab and dash through to score. Unfortunately for the home support, that was to be their final effort of the afternoon and it was Musselburgh who would dominate the rest of the tie as they went on to win by 33-5. Musselburgh could not provide any resistance against the unstoppable Hawks in the first semi-final as they went down by 33-0 and East Lothian�s other semi-finalists, Haddington, found the going equally tough as they lost 41-0 to The Pigbarians in the second semi. With the two best teams in the tournament and Hawks yet to concede a point, the final looked like it could be a cracker � and so it was to prove as the lead changed hands three times throughout the game. The aptly pink-stripped Pigs finally managed to breach the Hawks defence and score a good try but the Hawks soon struck back with a converted effort of their own after good work at the base of the scrum by Gossman. The Glasgow outfit then extended their lead to 12-5 but the Pigbarians dominated the five-minute spells either side of half time and deservedly scored an excellent try that was converted to tie the scores. It would take a good try to break the deadlock and it was to come from Hawks as they quickly moved the ball between their forwards and backs to create the space needed to set winger Sean Murray clear. He made no mistake to touch down and give his team a fully deserved victory although the plucky Pigbarians pushed them all the way to the end. The three tournament referees had been given the task of choosing the Player of the Tournament and although there were several candidates from either side in the final, no one was too surprised when the trophy was awarded to Hawks� scrum half Craig Gossman. Despite two or three very heavy downpours, all eight teams served up a feast of running rugby throughout the afternoon to whet the appetite for the season to come. Hawks 55 Thorntree Helldogs 0 Hawks 57 Trinity Accies 0 Hawks 57 Haddington 0 Semi final Hawks 37 Musselburgh 0 Final Hawks 17 Watonians 12 Luke Farrell Sean Murray Craig Gossman Robbie Hare Andy White Ian Noble Rory Love Nick Cox Graeme Harkness Tom McGarrity Ross McDonald Nico Nyemba Ally Maxwell Gavin Mories Clubs forced to scrum down to new rules THE county�s top rugby clubs face controversial new rugby rules for the first time, at the annual Preston Lodge 10s at The Pennypit next Saturday. Haddington, Musselburgh and the home side will have their first taste of the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) at the August 2 tournament. ELVs are being trialled in the northern hemisphere for 12 months. Thirteen of the 23 ELVs currently in use in the southern hemisphere will be introduced. They include: Players defending a maul by pulling it down; An offside line five metres behind the back of the scrum; and, No restriction on the number of players who can participate in the lineout from either side (minimum of two). A further seven ELVs have been referred back to the International Rugby Board�s laws group for more analysis. The ELVs were partially tested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in this year�s Super 14 competition, but some northern hemisphere unions have expressed reservations. Although the SRU has backed the proposals, English RFU chief executive Francis Baron and others have expressed concerns. PL vice-president Johnston Craig is looking forward to seeing the new laws in action in next Saturday�s 10s competition. He said: �If previous years are anything to go by, next Saturday should be brilliant entertainment for everyone. �Playing to the new laws will only add to the excitement and it will be interesting to see how the players react and how they affect the games.� Last year�s winners Haddington will be hoping for a repeat of the performance that saw them win the tournament in style without conceding a point in the pool stages. However, they are sure to face a sterner test this year in the form of Premier 1 side Glasgow Hawks. The other teams in Pool 1 are Murrayfield Wanderers and Trinity Accies. Craig is excited by the calibre of teams that are playing in this year�s competition. He said: �We are really pleased to have a top-class side like Glasgow Hawks taking part. �Haddington played some fantastic rugby last year and we are hoping to see the same sort of rugby this year. �I spoke to some people from Haddington recently and they were raving about the tournament last year. That�s how much it means to the teams that take part.� Craig�s PL will play in Pool 2 along with county rivals Musselburgh, and Edinburgh University. The pool is completed by another prestigious side in the shape of The Pigbarians � a charity invitation rugby team formed by Jimmy �The Pig� Michie. Michie is a popular figure in Scottish Rugby and his side, which is made up of players from Watsonians, Dundee HSFP and Heriot�s, play to raise money for charity. Craig is hopeful that a large crowd will turn out and see at first hand the work being done by the Prestonpans outfit in building on the success of last season�s SHE Bowl final win in May. He said: �It was such a great day at Murrayfield and it was fantastic to see all the people who supported the club on the day. �We are working really hard to try and build on that success and are hoping to arrange a friendly in Oban as a team-bonding exercise. �We are doing that because of the trip we had in the Bowl semi-final to Caithness a couple of months ago. �It was a long way up there, but everyone said the trip was a great experience.� In the close season, the club recruited Eddie Henderson as their backs coach. Henderson previously coached 2008 SHE Plate finalists Portobello and played for Gala and the South of Scotland. No team list has been added yet.

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