Date: Sunday, 15th November 2009
Kickoff time: 14:00
Against: Stewarts Melville FP
Team: Hawks 1st XV
Location: Away
Competition: Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership Division 1
Final score: 24 - 18 (won)

Stewart's Melville FP 18 - 24 Glasgow Hawks : Hawks survive late Stew/Mel rally Published Date: 16 November 2009 By DAVID BARNES AT INVERLEITH A RETURN to winning ways for Glasgow Hawks, but they had to survive a late rally from a Stew/Mel team clearly determined not to give up the ghost of surviving in Premier One without a fight. Tries from Blair Tweedie and Alex Cox in the final 15 minutes brought the home team to within three points of an invaluable victory at one stage, but a couple of Duncan Weir penalties eased the visitors home. The bonus point picked up by the InvADVERTISEMENT erleith men for finishing within seven points of their opponents will give them little comfort. With Selkirk and West of Scotland both winning this weekend, they have now fallen 11 points behind the pack at the bottom of the table. "It's reached that stage where we've got to be picking up victories. We seem to be getting closer and closer but you can't expect to win matches whilst making as many mistakes as we did out there," said Stew/Mel coach Graeme Moffat. "There were far too many individual errors, and the number of turnovers we conceded was just not good enough. I don't think either team will be particularly happy with the way they played. It is certainly the worst we have performed in the last four weeks. "We've got a lot of good rugby players and we just have to realise that we don't need to over-complicate things. We've got some great runners but we've got to back ourselves to beat opponents in one-on-one situations. It is difficult when you are at the bottom of the table because you don't play with as much belief or ambition as you should – and if we can get past that then we are good enough to pick up a few more wins." Stew/Mel drew first blood with a Stuart Ker penalty after only three minutes, but Hawks struck back when Mike Adamson barged over after an arching run by Ian Boyer broke the home defence. Weir missed the conversion from almost in front of the posts, which allowed Stew/Mel to sneak ahead once again when Ker clipped over a second penalty with a quarter of the match gone. A huge tackle from Graham Harkness on Alex Cox dislodged the ball and gave Hawks a golden try scoring opportunity, but Cammy Kerr fumbled over the line. Blair Tweedie was fortunate not to be shown a yellow-card for a recklessly high challenge on Adamson, especially as Harkness was sin-binned just before half-time for lying over the ball at a ruck. By that stage Hawks had already extended their lead through a Gary Strain try after a series of tight drives. Weir kept the scoreboard ticking over for Hawks with a couple of penalties during the third quarter, and with the visitors mounting several promising counter attacks they looked the team most likely to score the next try. But Hayden Lingard had other ideas. From inside his own 22, the Kiwi full-back latched onto a loose ball and charged 50 metres up the left touchline, before Harry Boisseau acted as the link man for the onrushing Tweedie. The flanker juggled as he crossed the line, but held on for a fine score. Weir kicked his third penalty of the afternoon, but Hawks could not shake themselves clear. A tap penalty from Euan Clark and a break from Liam Steele created a two-on-one scenario from which Richard Borthwick sent Alex Cox over, and Ker's conversion reduced the deficit to three points. With tensions rising, fists flew at the next scrum. Stew/Mel manufactured a couple promising platforms from which they could have stolen the points, but a lack of composure let them down, while Weir held his nerve to give Hawks breathing space with his fourth penalty. Hawks coach Peter Wright said: "We lost our last two games so it was important to get back on track with that victory. If we had been beaten again we would have been in the relegation mire and we're still not safe. At times we played some pretty good rugby, but they were a lot smarter in the contact area. I'm pleased that we hung in there and I think over the 80 minutes we deserved the victory." Scorers: Stew/Mel: Tries: Tweedie, Cox; Con: Ker; Pen: Ker 2. Glasgow Hawks: Tries: Adamson, Strain; Con: Weir; Pens: Weir 4. 15 ADAMSON 14 BOYER 13 NOBLE 12 HARKNESS 11 HAIR 10 WEIR 9 JERICEVICH 1 COX 2 MILLIGAN 3 STAFFORD 4 HARVEY 5 WHITTLESTON 6 FRANCIS 8 KERR 7 OOMMEN 16 STRAIN 17 MCGARRITY 18 MACLAY 19 GOSSMAN, K 20 GOSSMAN, C No team list has been added yet.

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