Watsonians have lots more in their tank - Rennie
GARY HEATLY

THE man who scored the try which saw Glasgow Hawks defeated at home for the first time in over a year heaped praise on his Watsonians team mates for the way they performed at Old Anniesland - and today warned the rest of the league that there is more to come from his side.

Trailing 12-10 heading into injury time in the top of the table Premier One clash on Saturday the Myreside men looked like being on the receiving end of Hawks' 13th straight league win of the season.


That was until centre Bryan Rennie decided to take matters into his own hands. He ran 40 yards to touch down in the corner and spark jubilant celebrations.

"It was a simple switch move with James [Easton] and I managed to create a gap. I just kept running and eventually managed to touch the ball down in the corner. It was a sweet moment," said the amiable South African.

The 20-year-old was "ecstatic" to score the winning try but he was quick to point out that the whole team played well, helping to lay the foundations for the 17-12 victory.

He stated: "The pack were superb as they have been all year and we scored two tries earlier on in the game through Ali Rowe and our skipper Steve Lawrie.

"Although it was great to get the try in the last minute, we should be proud of the way we played for 80 minutes - it takes more than one run to win a game."

"It was an excellent win, not just because we beat Hawks on their own patch but because it made up for the disappointment of losing to them earlier in the season at Myreside when we should have won," he added.

Ironically, Hawks won that league meeting 28-25 with an injury-time try of their own from ex-Watsonian Steve Begley. They also defeated Cammy Mather's men in the recent club sevens final at Murrayfield, making Saturday's triumph even sweeter for Rennie and Co.

The result kept Watsonians in second place in the table, nine points behind Hawks, and although it will be a tough to close the gap, especially having played a game more, Rennie believes the confidence from the performance will stand them in good stead.

He said: "We will take a lot of confidence on from Saturday and the guys are really buzzing now and we just have to keep winning. It is a big gap but Hawks have tough trips still to go, starting this weekend with a visit to Ayr, so we shall see what happens."

Having joined the Myreside club at the beginning of the season the former Natal Shark has come to love Edinburgh and can see himself staying here for a "good few years". The transition from the Southern Hemisphere was also made easier by "friendly faces" at the club such as fellow countrymen Bernie Hennessey and Kian Coertze.

On Saturday evening the whole first team squad took Rennie out to celebrate the winning try and his upcoming 21st birthday and being happy off the pitch has clearly helped the youngster on it.

His strong performances and eight tries from outside centre have been a major reason why 'Sonians have improved markedly this season and he has proved to be an important asset. They face another mouth-watering clash on Saturday when old foes Heriot's, who were the last side to beat Hawks in Glasgow way back in November 2004, visit Myreside.

Looking forward to the match Rennie said: "It will be another tough game but, as I said, we are confident at the moment and we are just looking for a win to hopefully keep our good form going."

This article was posted on 16-Dec-2005, 08:26 by Hugh Barrow.