Dundee HSFP 10 : Glasgow Hawks 19

I came across the wonderful metaphor this weekend, 'it was all arranged with
the elegant whimsy of a Japanese parrot's funeral' and now find myself
desperate to use it somewhere appropriate.

A review of the game against Dundee would certainly not be the place. Having
encountered sleet on the drive up and being 'privileged' to stand in the
teeth of a vicious westerly wind while spectating, whimsy was the last
thing on my mind - or the minds of the players.

To be fair the game was considerably more sprightly than I had a right to
expect, though this may have been the only way the teams could avoid
hypothermia. At least it served as an object lesson to my two Welsh
visitors what privations we endure in Scotland for our rugby.

Hawks began the game by facing into the wind which aided and abetted a
determined start from Dundee. Hawks defence however is starting to take on
a tried and trusted air and they withstood the opening onslaught.

It wasn't long before they started to take control of the game, moving the
ball upfield and driving Dundee back to their own 22. The ebb and flow
stayed in the Dundee half until fifteen minutes in when winger Gordon was
able to dive over in the right hand corner for the first try of the match.

This effectively set the pattern for the rest of the half as anytime Dundee
looked like threatening the Hawks 22 the ball was won and made safe in the
Dundee half. Encouragingly Hawks are getting more confident on their own
lineout throw and sometimes robbing the opposition so kicks for touch are
less of a mixed blessing these days. There's still some work to be done
but at least there's progress.

The simpler game that Hawks seem to be playing is, to this tired old
super-hero's eyes, starting to pay off.

It seemed to me that a form of blitz defence was also being played by Hawks
which seemed to unsettle Dundee though occasionally allowed them the relief
of a penalty. Neverthless there was much to admire about the way the
visitors attacked their task. With only one real exception the team battled
away making speedy, first up, or combination tackles on the Dundee ball
carriers. It had the pleasing effect of ensuring that the bulk of the game
was played in the Dundee half. Ross Macallum in particular impressed me
with one of his tackles which certainly loosened some of his victim's
fillings.

The game also marked the return of Murray Strang at fly half. There seemed
little wrong with his game yesterday but maybe it was the wind that limited
some of his kicks.

Hawks second try came from more determined, driving play following the kick
off. Both teams scrapped hard for the ball but Hawks were able to break the
gain line consistently, keeping pressure on Dundee. Eventually the
pressure proved too much and, following a warning on Dundee's George
Oommen, Hawks forwards were able to get the ball down near the posts
through the safe hands of Greg Francis.

When play resumed following half time, Dundee again came out fighting but
astute play from Hawks nullified the threat and kept play in the home
side's half.

The final story of the game was another try for Francis and one for Dundee.
Two goals and a try to a penalty and a goal.

Based on yesterday's other results there are some tough games to come but
eminently winnable for Hawks. Curry and Ayr are sitting in first and second
place in the table but Ayr just managed to edge Hawks out in a game I
thought they should have lost - and that was away for Hawks. Yesterday Ayr
were only able to draw with Boroughmuir. Curry, despite their staggering
loss when they visited several weeks back are a different outfit at their
home ground. That leaves Melrose and Boroughmuir, both below us in the
table at present.

We may not be playing for the premiership this season but I still think we
can rise a few places in the chorus. Dear Santa, for Christmas I would
like some wins for the Hawks please, I've been very good...

regards

The Green Phantom

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DUNDEE HSFP

This article was originally posted on 3-Dec-2006, 23:33 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 3-Dec-2006, 23:57.