Date: Saturday, 4th December 2004
Kickoff time: 15:00
Against: Watsonians
Team: Hawks 1st XV
Location: Away
Competition: Premiership Division 1
Final score: 42 - 13 (won)

Hawks had a double win at Myreside today. The 1st xv beat Watsonians 42-13 and the 2nd xv won 34-10--match report from Scotland on Sunday Sun 5 Dec 2004 Hawks bank on a Shaw thing IAIN MORRISON AT MYRESIDE WATSONIANS 13 GLASGOW HAWKS 42 COACH or no coach, it seems to make little difference to Watsonians who belied their lowly position one off the bottom of the league to give title holders Hawks a real run for their money in the first half, before suffering their traditional collapse in the second 40. After taking 35 minutes to score the first try, the visitors ran in another five after the break, including three from full-back Colin Shaw, who didn’t do his chances of a pro contract any harm yesterday. Self belief is in short supply at Myreside these days and it took a further dent in this match, although there was little between the two sides until the break. Watsonians had their chances but didn’t always take them and they will need to if they are to climb out of the relegation mire. The home side were quickest out of the blocks in yesterday’s match with all the early possession and all the pressure that comes with it. The game was just two minutes old when Hawks were lured offside under their own posts and Bernard Hennessey did the needful. After a lazy ten minutes, Hawks began to string some phases together, but when Murray Strang had a simple chance to level the scores after a quarter of an hour, the stand-off missed a sitter. Hawks were further hampered when they lost Steve Begley with a hamstring injury and while his replacement Scott Forrest is a wonderfully athletic breakaway, he is not best suited to the graft and grind of the second row boilerhouse. Iain Monaghan tried to lift the pace of the game but the normally reliable scrum-half ruined one textbook break by throwing a reverse pass through thin air. The roasting he got from full-back Shaw did not auger well for the bus journey back to Glasgow. The little scrum-half also thought he had charged down an opposition kick but the referee judged him off-side and one of the few scoring chances of the first half went west. After the opening ten minutes the game had been played almost exclusively in the Watsonians half but somehow the home side held on to their precious three-point lead approaching the half-time break. Unfortunately, all this good work was undone just five minutes before half-time. Stuart Low could have grabbed the first try after stepping inside the defence and leaving himself a clear ten-yard run to the line, but a slip ruined that chance. Still the referee called play back for a previous infringement, sent home prop Dan O’Connell to the sinbin and Strang equalised from the ensuing penalty. Ominously for the home team, Hawks finally found top gear in the final few minutes of the first half, going the length of the field in a sweeping movement and getting the ball over the line but failing to ground it. They were not kept out for long as they cleverly exploited their extra man to run a classic back-row move from a five-metre scrum that went from Mark Stitch to Kenny Baillie via Monaghan, and the winger dotted down in the corner with what proved to be the last move of the half. The second half started with Hennessey running through almost the entire Hawks team and the home hero might even have scored an unlikely try had Monaghan not got back to make the tackle. Instead Hawks extended their lead thanks to Strang’s second penalty of the afternoon. Watsonians reserve prop Gordon Dickson was then lucky to stay on the field after an ugly stamping incident that saw his boot connect with Steve Swindall’s head as the Glasgow flanker lay helpless at the bottom of the ruck. The touch judge saw the incident but not the culprit because, as referee Allan Williamson declared after the match, it would have been a certain red card had any official noted the shirt number. Some justice was done when Hawks kicked the ensuing penalty to touch and drove the lineout over for their second score. This was quickly followed by the third when Baillie got himself on the end of a break by Strang to collect a simple touchdown and the match was over as a contest before the final quarter. Hawks full-back Shaw then showed that he has benefited from his time with the Glasgow pro team as he ran in a hat-trick of tries all within the space of 12 minutes with the Watsonians tacklers tiring. The home side did have the occasional sortie and winger Matt Morrell broke clear from deep, but his attempted chip over the cover defence went into touch. At least Gavin Brown made no mistake when a neat move sent the home flanker under the sticks for Watsonians only try. After that, the home team went back to the thankless and futile task of chasing Hawks shadows. Watsonians: C McWilliam; S McAllister, J Easton, B Di Rollo, M Morrell; B Hennessey, M McKee; S Laird, S Lawrie, D O’Driscoll, R Duncan, I Dryburgh, G Brown, I Sinclair, T Takiari. Glasgow Hawks: C Shaw; K Baillie, A McLay, S Duffy, S Low; M Strang, I Monaghan (R McKnight, 60 min); E Milligan, F Thomson, P Dalton (G Mories, 65), S Begley (S Forrest, 10), S Warnock, S Swindall (G Francis, 55), N Mackenzie, M Stitch. Referee: A Williamson (Hawick) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to News Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News Archive -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other News 03/03/05 Developmenr match v Ayr 28/02/05 Three called in again by Glasgow 26/02/05 SCOTLAND WOMEN WIN AT OLD ANNIESLAND 26/02/05 CURRIE CUP TIE OFF 25/02/05 WOMENS MATCH V SPAIN AT OLD ANNIESLAND 24/02/05 HAWKS SQUAD FOR CURRIE CUP TIE 24/02/05 Sandy and Scott in Scotland Under 21s -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News Archive -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No team list has been added yet.

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