Aberdeen Grammar 20 Glasgow Hawks 23

Grammar
Tries​Reid 11, Duthie 39, Preece 61, Nacamavuto 80
Hawks
Tries​MacFarlane 22, McPherson 49
Con ​Wight 22, 49
Pen​Wight 4, 52, Steele 19

Hawks finished the first half of the league season with a win away from home in atrocious conditions at Rubislaw. Despite being outscored 2 tries to 4, Hawks controlled the match to secure the four points on offer although as a former Aberdonian coach might say, it was squeaky bum time towards the end.
Early pressure saw the Glasgow side awarded a penalty which Scott Wight slotted over easily in 4 minutes. Immediately after the kick off, Ally MacLay was sent to the naughty step for ten minutes when an Aberdeen player “tripped over him”*.
From the consequent penalty, Aberdeen forced themselves into the visitor’s 22 as Glasgow pro, Gordi Reid went over from short range. With the home stand-off Grant Clow having a desperate day with his place kicking, he missed the most goalable of his pots at goal.
Hawks pulled ahead by the narrowest of margins when Jack Steele put a secon penalty over just before 20 minutes. From the restart Hawks sprung into attack and a sustained period of play saw the ball recycled seceral time before hooker Jack MacFarlane went over for Hawks try which Wight converted. Hawks looked comfortable with their 8 point lead and the pack had the upper hand in the set piece and the loose.
It then came as a shock just before half-time when Hawks had been pressing that Peceli Nacamavuto burst from deep inside his own 22, over his ten metres and into Hawks half without, tackles sliding of him like the rain on the stand roof.. Even when tackled he managed to offload to Wiil Wardlaw who although still caught short of the line was able to give a scoring pass to Harry Duthie.
At half-time the gap was down to 3 points which seemed scant reward for the Hawks effort. Ten minutes into the second half kiwi newby, Dan Smart, put a clever chip in which had Haddon McPherson on the end of it for his sixth try of the season and Hawks’ second of the afternoon. With the extras the lead was now ten points and Wight extended that as he knocked over a penalty in 52 minutes.
The weather was clearly sapping the energy of both sides and it increasingly looked like a prize-fight between two heavyweights in the 15th round.
Aberdeen gave themselves a lift just after the hour as Tom Preece scored a third try, but Aberdeen struggled to come to terms with the solid Hawks’ defensive effort. In 80 minutes it drew close as the Fijian, Nacamavuto went over for a late try, which gave the home side two bonus points, but that is what they were bonuses as Hawks left with the real prize.

This article was posted on 19-Oct-2013, 20:56 by Hugh Barrow.