Date: Saturday, 13th September 2008
Kickoff time: 15:00
Against: Boroughmuir
Team: Hawks 1st XV
Location: Away
Competition: Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership Division 1
Final score: 10 - 66 (lost)

he perfect time to score in a tight game is often said to be just before the half time interval. With the game finely poised at 7-3 in the home side’s favour as the clock ticked beyond the forty minute mark this afternoon, the game was sufficiently tight for any such scores to have a marked effect on the outcome. As it turned out, ’Muir managed two scores in the time added on to the first period with both wingers – first Ed Mills, then Tom Bury – taking advantage of the space created. With Elgan O’Donnell’s boot on song as well, it meant all of a sudden they sat upon an eighteen point lead. There had been little in the game up to that point to suggest what lay in store. In the first quarter hour there were few chances to cross the line, the best coming in the opening minute when Boroughmuir won a lineout in the Hawks twenty-two but the move broke down when O’Donnell rather fired his pass at Stephen Ruddick who was just a yard away from him. Hawks fly-half Mike Rainey gave the visitors the lead in the fifth minute when he slotted a penalty from thirty metres out, and when tasked with landing a penalty of his own, O’Donnell pushed his effort wide of the posts from a similar distance. If only by the fact that they were making fewer mistakes, Hawks were beginning to get the upper hand on the game, and so it was somewhat against the run of play when, in the twentieth minute, Boroughmuir scored an opportunist try. Hawks were attacking from a ruck inside the ’Muir half, but Rainey’s pass was too far in front of its intended target and Olly Brown was quickest to react. The flanker drew his man and then passed out to Greg Cottrell, who outpaced the Hawks defence from sixty metres. O’Donnell added the conversion. With Hawks having lost their opening two matches and ’Muir coming off the back of a poor result at Currie last week, it was a game that was lacking in confidence; there seemed few players willing to back themselves when the chance presented itself. A perfect example came on the half hour when, after Euan Matheson had made a great break down the left wing, Ed Mills looked certain to score in the corner but spent too much time looking for his support and allowed the Hawks defence to get across and cover the gap. The entire complexion of the game, however, was changed in just four minutes of time added on at the end of the half. There had been plenty of short stops during the half for various injuries, but the eventual eleven extra minutes played did seem somewhat generous. ’Muir weren’t complaining though, as they put the time to wonderful use. In the forty-third minute, with some already looking at their watches, Angus Martyn plucked a high ball from the air and set off in his trademark fashion. The flanker skipped through three tackles before slipping a ball inside to the waiting Mills. The pass seemed to wrong foot the Hawks defence and a gap opened up for Mills to race home from forty yards. Most ’Muir fans would have settled for that at the break, but the team weren’t about to stop. After Greig Scott made a powerful run up the left, the ball was swung right and Euan Matheson took a pass from Martyn and set off for the line. With Tom Bury on his outside, it was a two-on-one situation for the hosts, and Matheson played it perfectly, drawing the tackle then slipping the pass to Bury who dived over the line. The reaction of both sides at the start of the second half would go a long way to deciding the outcome of the match, and from the first whistle it was Boroughmuir who looked the stronger. It took them just five minutes from the restart to claim their bonus point try. Ruddick found the corner with a perfectly weighted kick and Fergus Pringle stole the resultant lineout. Bronson Ross darted towards the line but was just held short, but fellow front-rower Freddie Lait was on hand to pick up and drive over from just three yards. A level of rugby closer to that seen from Boroughmuir during last season was now beginning to flow, and though Ed Mills missed a good chance to score when he was enveloped by the Hawks defence just a yard from the line, it wasn’t long before the fifth try arrived. From a ruck on the right, the ball was swung into midfield and second-half substitute Ben Fisher was sent motoring through the Hawks defence. With just the full back to beat he found Malcolm Clapperton on his shoulder and the veteran centre slid in under the sticks. It now seemed only a question of how many ’Muir could score before time ran out. With less than an hour gone they grabbed number six, an impressive show of strength seeing Tom Bury to the line. The move started with a quick tap penalty on their own twenty-two sending Mills away down the right. He found Bury on his inside as they crossed into the Hawks twenty-two, and even though Tom was caught by the cover defence some ten metres from the line, he had the power in his legs to drive himself over for the score. Just five minutes later Clapperton believed he had his second of the game. After some excellent continuity play, Clapperton scythed through the Hawks defence and in under the posts, but at the previous breakdown there had been a swinging arm from Bury and for the second time in as many games ’Muir had a score chalked off. Fergus Pringle was next on the score sheet, the captain battering his way over from short range. The try was set up by a wonderful break from Cottrell, the utility back has an excellent rugby brain on him, and it showed throughout the second half as he put in a storming performance. After the ‘Ginger Ninja’ was stopped just short of the line, Pringle arrived to take Stuart McGee’s pass and crash over the line. The eighth try of the game – and fifth on an increasingly impressive second half performance – drew perhaps the biggest cheer from the crowd thanks to Conor Costigan’s barnstorming run. The Munster prop, sporting a new haircut, took a pass inside his own half and stepped inside Rainey before charging away. With Hawks pushing everything forward, there was no cover defence back but, showing common sense not usually seen from the front row, Costigan realised he didn’t have the pace to beat his chasers to the line and offloaded to Angus Martyn who raced in under the posts. Throughout the second half, ’Muir had the luxury of making changes as they pleased and one to particularly impress was debutant Apenai Kororua. The Fijian began his ’Muir career with three tries in the opening two fixtures for the 2nd XV, and having replaced Tom Bury on the wing, he showed something of his natural flair. The loose ball had been a feature of the match and Boroughmuir had more often than not been first to it. This was no exception. When Hawks spilled a pass just inside ’Muir’s half, Kororua pounced and, in unmistakably Fijian fashion, jinked his way through the remaining defence and all the way under the posts. There was time enough for one more Boroughmuir score before Stevie Gordon ripped through their defence for a Hawks consolation. ’Muir won a lineout in the Hawks twenty-two, and after a couple of probing attacks, the ball fell to Martyn, who danced outside two tackles and over for the score. O’Donnell’s conversion, his eighth of the match, rounded out ’Muir’s total. After last week’s performance and result against Currie, Boroughmuir needed a positive reaction this afternoon. There may have been some nerves and kinks to work out in the first half, but their second forty minutes in particular will have been just what coaches Eamon John and Brian Richardson were asking for. It showcased every bit of the pace and power that ’Muir are famous for and in a league where no one looks like running away, sends a signal that the boys are back in business. Team list for this match Andrew Kirkland

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