Date: Saturday, 19th February 2005
Kickoff time: 15:00
Against: Biggar
Team: Hawks 1st XV
Location: Away
Competition: Premiership Division 1
Final score: 26 - 7 (won)

Hawks 1st and 2nd xvs both managed wins at Hartree Mill on Saturday The 1st xv won 26-7 whilst the 2nd xv won 19-10 Accies lost 5-12 to Garnock whilst GHK beat Paisley 27-3 Match report from SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY MARTIN HANNAN AT HARTREEMILL BIGGAR 7 GLASGOW HAWKS 26 IF THERE was any doubt beforehand there is none now. Glasgow Hawks are the champions elect of Scottish club rugby following a hard fought but ultimately convincing victory over a feisty Biggar. Hawks earned their reward for a piece of derring-do by coach Peter Wright and his team. Earlier in the week the Glasgow professional side asked for three Hawks to join them, which could have allowed the postponement of this match, an option taken by league leaders Heriot’s whose match against Watsonians was called off for that reason. "They wanted three, then they wanted two, then they wanted three again," said Wright. "We are fed up getting mucked around and even though we had other players ill with flu we just decided to go ahead. I’m glad we did, because even to win at Biggar is difficult but to get a bonus point was something else." His players were made to earn their victory by a Biggar side which was never anything less than totally committed. In the end class and discipline made the difference. Hawks just had too many options and too much pace for the home side, and Biggar committed too many offences. Poor Kenny Sinclair. The Hawks scrum-half was in the Scottish squad at the recent Los Angeles Sevens, complete with scantily-clad cheerleaders. At wintry Hartreemill yesterday, the conditions could not have been less Californian. A niggly match started in a flurry of snow, and though the temperatures were icy, the players were certainly fired up for this game. Too much so, in truth, and we could have done without the sneaky punches and off the ball confrontations which made referee Mike Hall’s task very difficult, though he coped well. After an initial thrust by Hawks, most of the good early stuff came from Biggar. Eady Manuwaiti was warned for stamping and the surprising thing is that the other two Biggar flankers were eventually sin binned but somehow the No.8 stayed on the pitch despite his transgressions. Hawks soaked up the pressure and then went ahead with a score after 18 minutes. Kenny Sinclair found Stuart Low on the burst and the full-back ran clean through a dissipated Biggar line for the try, Murray Strang missing the conversion. Just before the try, Biggar lost their full-back Murray Thomson, who was replaced by Ally Browning, and that may have affected their formation as they tried to come back into the game. The home side should have scored in the 22nd minute when they had a clear overlap on the left but prop Fraser Campbell’s pass did not go to hand and Hawks were able to clear. The game degenerated into a stalemate with both defences on top and some tough tackling in evidence. Both packs laboured manfully to win the ball but their backs often squandered possession with a plethora of dropped passes. Biggar had slightly the better play in the second quarter and Quintan Sanft missed a kickable penalty after 33 minutes. The same player almost made up for that miss in the opening minute of the second half when he let fly with a dropped goal attempt from 40 metres only to see the ball sail narrowly past the post. With Steve Begley rampant for Hawks, Kenny Sinclair directing operations and Murray Strang improving as the match went on, Hawks began to turn the screw. Three times they were deep in the Biggar 22 but on each occasion the stuffy home defence cleared. Sadly for Biggar, however, their own attacking efforts were feeble and it was Hawks who went ahead with a well worked try after 52 minutes. Sinclair fed Begley who charged forward before offloading to Strang and the stand-off’s neat pass sent Mark Sitch away for the try which Strang converted. The end was in sight for Biggar in 67 minutes when Andy Dunlop was yellow-carded after an umpteenth ruck offence. Straight away Hawks scored two tries within four minutes, the first an excellent break by Sinclair which Strang converted and the second a rather controversial score in the 71st minute. Sinclair broke into the 22 but Sitch appeared to drop his pass backwards. Referee Hall immediately ruled that the ball was still in play and while Biggar waited for the whistle Steve Gordon picked the ball up and ran through wide open gaps for the try which earned the bonus point, Strang again converting. Biggar’s consolation try was down to a piece of pure foot ball by Gary Walkinshaw. Cammy Little, on as a replacement, missed a bouncing grubber, Walkinshaw hacked it on three times and scored under the posts. You’ll be hard pushed to see a better bit of ball control in a certain tribal clash in Glasgow today. Biggar had not learned their lesson and Richard Woods also earned a yellow card just as Dunlop re-entered the fray. The biggest cheer of the day came when a Biggar ball boy hoofed the oval back into play where it landed precisely on the bounce of referee Hall. There were smiles all round but at the final whistle it was Peter Wright’s team who were laughing aloud. With three games in hand and only a point behind Heriot’s they are assured the title of champions coming their way once again. No team list has been added yet.

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