Hawks celebrations kept on ice
ABERDEEN 17-17 HAWKS
JACK NIXON AT RUBISLAW
GLASGOW Hawks coach David Wilson will be pleased not to be playing each Premiership One match in such cold conditions, nor will his side face such ferocious opponents.

Wilson was disappointed not to have clinched the championship at Rubislaw, but said: "Over the piece a draw was probably the fairest result."


The fair-minded Wilson refused to make excuses for the absence of four key members of his pack. Instead he praised the replacements, including 18-year-old Scott MacDonald, who despite getting a yellow card had a fine game. "They played well and we have three more games in which to clinch the title."

Given the extreme cold, the very idea of drinking champagne had little appeal even for the strong Hawks contingent who had made the trip to Aberdeen. Equalling the feat of Melrose and Hawick in winning three consecutive Premiership One titles can wait for another day when the elements are more friendly.

But if the enthralled crowd were complaining about the chill of the north-east, the players had little time to consider the conditions in a rugged game in which the older fraternity enjoyed a good, old-fashioned encounter in which no quarter was asked or likely to be given. Blood sports are not a thing of the past, if Saturday's fiercely fought contest is any kind of indication.

Grammar refused to be cowed by the occasion, and despite falling 12 points behind in as many minutes came back as is so often their wont to come the closest to winning in the second half. Indeed veteran hooker and one of the home heroes, Iain Stanger, insisted: "With all our second half pressure we should have won."

Two tries in two minutes looked to have put Hawks on easy street, though the wily Wilson was taking nothing for granted. "I knew we had to have a cushion at half-time if we were to win facing the wind in the second period."

So it proved to be, though scoring a try in the absence of young MacDonald right on the interval was a bonus for the home side, enabling them to turn round only 12-7 down, which soon became a deficit of only two points when stand- off Keith Oddie slotted a penalty.

While the blistering pace of centre Ally Maclay and the power of captain and No 8 Mark Sitch looked to have launched the Hawks celebrations, it was Grammar grit up front which turned the game, as proved when they forced the visitors to concede a penalty try, albeit without MacDonald.

Hawks showed why they are champions through a well-worked try just before the hour, the touchdown attributed to flanker Greg Francis. The normally reliable Mike Adamson inexplicably hit the post with the conversion from the easiest of angles.

Lesser teams might have folded as the Hawks sought the try bonus, but were stung once again by the ferocity of the Grammar response, enabling scrum- half Luke Parsons to score under the posts after intense home forward power. Oddie tied up the scores to end a memorable day and take Grammar two more deserved points closer to safety.

Hawks will in the meantime have to wait for two weeks to claim the title. And rightly so.

Scorers: Aberdeen Grammar: Tries: Pen try, Parsons. Cons: Oddie 2. Pen: Oddie. Glasgow Hawks: Tries: Maclay, Stich, Francis. Con: Adamson.

Aberdeen Grammar: R Seib; C Philips, E Campbell, M Ozich, D Waldman; K Oddie, L Parsons; D Massey, I Stanger, B Prescott, C McCaul, A Pulman, S Corsar, J McKenzie, R Currie. Subs used: C Bartlett, M Low, J Watt, T Jericevich.

Glasgow Hawks: M Adamson; R Munday, A Maclay, S Duffy, S Smith; M Strang, I Monaghan; G Mories, S Fell, P Dalton, S Warnock, R MacDonald, G Francis, N MacKenzie, M Stich. Subs used: M Smith, S Tourde.

Referee: I Heard (Gala).

This article was posted on 13-Feb-2006, 08:21 by Hugh Barrow.