Team ethic gives Hawks winning edge in title chase

DAVID FERGUSON

MANSFIELD Park in deepest Hawick could this afternoon become the setting for another reminder that Glasgow continues to dominate the Scottish club scene. Having taken some time to convert ambition and consistency at Anniesland into a league title, the Hawks are now on track for their second successive Division 1 championship.

Whether they claim it this afternoon in the Borders or not will depend largely on the resistance of a proud, but still developing Hawick team, and probably their determination to ensure a failure to remain among the title contenders in recent times is not rubbed in their faces. That will be tough as the Hawks, even with their inspirational coach Peter Wright in South Africa on Scotland under-19s duty, are intent on a party.

That will not surprise those who know the man standing in for Wright, the well-known Anniesland veteran Cammy Little, who has named three players who will join the full-time professional ranks with Glasgow this summer, Colin Shaw and Fergus Thomson in the team and Stevie Swindall on the bench. There are others, including prop Eric Milligan, who are also in talks with Glasgow, and some players heading closer to retirement, so with their cup hopes blown by Currie last month the league presents the final chance for many Hawks savour a trophy success.

Hugh Barrow, the Hawks spokesman, admitted there was a real determination within the squad to keep the team at the top of the Scottish game, but he insisted his side were not yet hovering over the champagne bottles.

He said: "The club has been pretty consistent since it was formed and has never been out of the top six, but winning the title has been a bit elusive. It was great last season but I think winning it again is a real mark of a good, consistent side and these guys want that. They’ve had a difficult year with Rob Ackerman falling ill and then re-assessing his priorities in life as a result, and then losing Peter to the Scotland under-19s.

"But, I think the boys would also like to show them how much they appreciate their work. In saying that, Hawick is a very difficult place to win and we have too much respect for the club to think anything different. If we do it here at Hawick it would be great and would certainly please Peter in his absence, but if not then so be it.

"The cup defeat to Currie has kept feet on the ground and we know we need to work hard to make it happen."

The title is all but theirs, but, for the mathematicians, second-placed Heriot’s are still in the running. The Hawks have four games remaining, including today’s, but they need only three points to secure the championship outright, which they could achieve today simply by beating Hawick or by scoring four tries and drawing.

Heriot’s have just one game remaining, against Watsonians in a fortnight. If Hawks were to be thumped today they would still need to lose their remaining matches and fail to claim three bonus points.


Hawks look to cheer up Wright with title triumph
By Lewis Stuart



AFTER seeing his latest set of charges comfortably beaten by England yesterday, Peter Wright will be hoping to hear some more cheerful news from Scotland as Glasgow Hawks, his club side, try to clinch the BT Premiership title for the second year running on a big weekend for the domestic game with a BT Cup semi-final and the remaining quarter-final also being played at the same time.
It might lighten his mood a bit after Scotland Under-19s were beaten 32-11 by the Auld Enemy in their opening fixture of the age group’s World Championships in South Africa, being outscored five tries to one. “We struggled to keep our ball in contact and lost too much possession,” he said. “We didn’t have enough continuity. England is a very good side. We will, however, work on our faults and get it right; it’s still early in the tournament.”



Wright took over as full-time coach of the age-group team just before Christmas but agreed to stay on until the end of the season, coaching the club side in his own time. He took charge of the Hawks, a team crammed with talent that had never won anything, and took them to the league and cup double in his first season. He cannot repeat the feat this year, the Hawks having been knocked out of the cup, but if they can claim three points at Hawick this afternoon, they will have wrapped up the league with three matches to spare.

Despite the absence of Wright’s bear-like presence on the touchline, the Hawks should be strong enough to do it. With the Glasgow professional team having the weekend off, they have available all three of their representatives who will sign up as full-time players in the summer in Colin Shaw, Steve Swindall and Fergus Thomson and they are anxious to wrap up the title as quickly as possible.

Not that the Green Machine will make it easy for the Hawks. They are a different outfit from the one that surrendered 40-14 at Anniesland earlier in the season, and even if they have nothing at stake, they are fired up to make sure that the trophy is not brought out of its box at Mansfield Park to be handed to the opposition.

If his team is to capture the trophy, it might bring a little light to Wright’s life after the Under-19s collapsed from leading 6-5 after the first quarter to allow England to run away with the game with only Cameron Johnstone, the wing, managing a try for Scotland. The other points came from James King, the Borders fly half, with a penalty and a drop goal.

Elsewhere, the focus will be on the road to Murrayfield with one semi-final in the BT Cup as well as both in both the Shield and Bowl competitions. The other semi-final will be played in a fortnight, featuring the winner of today’s quarter-final between Currie and Aberdeen, a match that has

This article was originally posted on 2-Apr-2005, 07:46 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 3-Apr-2005, 08:58.