SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY REPORTS

Hawks swoop to claw back win
CURRIE 22-27 GLASGOW HAWKS
IAIN MORRISON AT MALLENY PARK
IF CURRIE are to win this season's Premier One championship they will do it the hard way. Yesterday's loss to Hawks is their fourth defeat so far, their second in successive weeks, and their league lead is now down to just two points over second-placed Ayr. At least Ally Donaldson's side still have their fate in their own hands although Currie will be entirely grateful that Watsonians had the good manners to lose to Dundee yesterday.

This match was finely poised at 22-22 as it went into the final quarter, but the difference came down to the sidelines where Hawks have a reliable line-out and Currie do not. Three times in the last 20 minutes, the home team had an attacking throw deep inside the Hawks half and three times they failed to win the ball - two were stolen, one was knocked on. It proved to be critical because it was not a day for asking the back division to do very much other than kick, chase and tackle.

In contrast, Hawks had just the one attacking line-out in the last quarter which they converted with some ease, catching and then driving their hosts back for flanker Greg Francis to score the try that proved to be the difference between the two teams. The home side can hardly complain, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

However, the home supporters were left groaning in the last five minutes. Looking to bridge the five-point gap not once but twice, their team broke and not once but twice the home players dropped the ball under no pressure from the opposition.

Hawks had much the better of the opening 40 minutes, helped by a strong wind was which meant that in the battle of the fly-halves, Murray Strang was kicking about twice as far as his opposite number Ally Warnock. However, the two teams shared four tries in the first half and Hawks' lead of five points at half-time did not look enough.

The visitors dominated territory, scored the first try after seven minutes and looked comfortable against the league leaders with the exception of the set scrum where Currie got a nudge on in the first half although the roles were reversed after the break. Both sides squandered chances when Currie centre Andy MacMahon backed himself when he would have been better off using the winger outside him. At the other end, the Hawks midfield should have done better to finish off a Ricky Munday break but his fellow centre Jamie Kerr was unable to hold the greasy ball.

The opening try was sparked by Max Evans when the winger, brother of Glasgow professional Thom, found space at the side of a midfield maul. Evans boasts at least some of his brother's pace and certainly too much for the Currie defence. He was in behind them and Jamie Kerr, brother of former Warriors player Rory, was on his shoulder to score. It was a brief display of rugby in what amounted to little more than mud wrestling. Both sides mauled the ball from almost every line-out and only trusted their backs with the bar of soap when all other options had been exhausted.

Hawks fly-half Strang added a penalty and prop forward Nick Cox burrowed his way over the Currie line for his side's second score. There wasn't much action at the other end of the field, but crucially, Currie came away with points almost every time they visited the Hawks red zone. Warnock enjoyed something of a purple patch which would have impressed the trio of watching Edinburgh coaches. The fly-half ripped the ball from Cox, made a neat break to set up good field position and, from a back-row move, Currie found themselves camped on the Hawks line.

Three drives later and they were over the line, a ploy they found so successful that they used twice more in quick succession - firstly at the death of the first half when flanker Ben Cairns got the crucial score and then again five minutes into the second half when replacement hooker Andrew Reekie did exactly the same. It looked as though, having taken the lead, Currie would kick on from here, but Warnock's conversion was their last of the game.

After sustained pressure on his own line, Warnock was sin-binned although quite what for was lost in the Malleny gloom. With the home team missing one defender, Hawks worked full-back Stuart Low up the blind side from a back-row move and the extra man sent Evans over in the corner.

Strang missed the kick and the two sides were level pegging with one quarter of the match still to play, which is when the game was decided at the sidelines.

Currie: E Haigh, G Caldwell, D Officer, A MacMahon, C Browne; A Warnock, R Sneddon; J Cox (A Reekie 27 min), S Burnett, A Edwards, P Huntly, A Adam, J Taggart (S Burton 27 min), M Cairns, R Weston.

Hawks: S Low, J Kerr, R Munday, M Evans, R Kerr; M Strang, S Biggart (R McKnight 55 min); N Cox, J Maclay, G Mories, A Kelly, S Warnock, G Francis, J Fitzpatrick (A Dale 47 min), E Smith.

Referee: Bruce Devin (Portobello)

Scorers: Currie - Try: Weston, Cairns, Reekie. Con: Warnock (2) Pen:Warnock. Hawks - Try: J Kerr, Cox, Evans, Francis. Conv: Strang (2). Pen: Strang

This article was originally posted on 17-Dec-2006, 08:36 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 17-Dec-2006, 18:33.