Glasgow Hawks 11 : Ayr 8

'Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden!
Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! Maggie Thatcher - can you hear
me, Maggie Thatcher! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys
took one hell of a beating!'

Said by Bjorge Lillelien on Norwegian TV When Norway beat England 2-1 in
Oslo in a World Cup qualifier in Sept 1981.

No-one who heard the somewhat emotional viking hoarsely blaring out that
comment would be unaware of the passion - and tension that was present
at Old Anniesland when Ayr visited Glasgow Hawks today. If I could have
found enough famous Ayr names (no offence intended) I would have
published my own version.

With more perms than an Abba reunion concert (that's permutations not
permanents - ed) Ayr attempted to put themselves in a position to lift
the Premiership title by going to the wire with the last game of the
season. Currie, the league leaders, had to lose to Herriots, Ayr had to
win, maybe with a bonus point, I think one of the other teams in the
premiership had to lose as well. Whatever happened Jupiter had to be in
the seventh house.

Don't let the low score fool you, this was rugby red in tooth and claw.
Ayr were desperate to make their bid for the championship and win for
the first time at Old Anniesland. Hawks were equally determined to show
that their very narrow defeat down the coast was an abberation.

In the event it may have been Ayr's determination that proved their
undoing as a stream of nervous penalties, particularly in the first
half, combined with one of the finest Hawks' performances I've seen held
them at bay.

I've commented before that Hawks appear to be using the blitz defense
now. Whether they are, or not it is certainly aggressive, not to
mention effective. Probably the entire game was played between Hawks' 10
metre line and Ayr's 22. A magnificent effort. Ayr got through three or
four times I think, twice, worryingly, they scored, which at least
displayed clinical finishing. On the other occasions Hawks were able to
clear their line.

If Hawks had displayed the same precision they would have come away with
two more tries, one of which would have been converted.

Might have beens win no matches however. This one was won with guts,
passion and forward power. The forwards attacked the Ayr scrum, took all
their own lineout ball while disrupting Ayr's and mauled like tigers.
Two of the mauls were taken twenty metres or more by Hawks.

I knew there was something different about the day when Hawks won two
lineouts in the first couple of minutes. MYF and I watched open mouthed.
It was six minutes in though when Cox started a movement from a free
kick just inside the Ayr half; it ended with the ball in Cox's hands
again, with 7 metres to go. At that distance the result can be seen
almost as a foregone conclusion. Five points to Hawks but with Strang
unable to convert the goal from the touchline.

The first quarter was almost over when a penalty took Ayr into Hawks'
half for a rare incursion. Another penalty a minute later for hands in
the ruck, directly in front of the posts allowed Lavelle to get Ayr into
the game.

At 25 minutes it was apparent that Ayr were getting frustrated by their
inability to get out of their own territory. Francis and Martin were
outstanding from a team of grafters during this period and their
collective efforts meant another fifteen minutes passed before some rare
sustained pressure from Ayr allowed Holland in at the corner.

The second half started with a gasp and a groan from the home support as
Jamie Kerr lost the ball with the line beckoning following an almost
surgical break from the halfway line. Some Bostik for the hands in the
Christmas stocking perhaps?

With the game about to go into the third quarter Hawks' half-backs,
McKnight and Strang were replaced by Biggart and Adamson. The fresh
legs were further assisted when Ayr's Logan was given an opportunity to
consider the game from the touchline for 10 minutes just minutes later.

Hawks took the opportunity presented to them by contriving to put Low
clear on a run for the line, but, once again the ball was dropped,
perhaps in an effort to make Kerr feel better, and the moment was lost.

Ayr's relief was short lived however. They pushed a penalty kick to the
Hawks' 22 which was fielded by Jamie Kerr. A touch of the afterburner
and an Ayr infringement gave Adamson the chance to collect another three
points from right in front of the posts.

Both Kerr brothers took part in a dynamic breakout a minute later and a
carbon copy penalty put another three points in Adamson's bonus bag.
Hawks were back in the lead with ten minutes to go.

Feeling that perhaps there hadn't been enough drama up to that point Ayr
collected a penalty which eventually served up a Hawks' scrum just on
their 10m. A surprise strike against the head followed by another
penalty took Ayr to Hawks' 22. Another penalty and a yellow card against
Hawks' Warnock kept both sets of supporters tense in their seats. With
seconds to go a blow for a set piece turned into a longer blast and
Hawks had come through. You could feel the tension drain out of the
air. MYF had shouted herself hoarse, the Ayr's support watched their
dreams turn to ashes. The Hawks' support needed a crowbar to get the
collective smile off their faces.

Back to the studio now where Jonathan Davies will shrug his shoulders
helplessly at Guscott's apparent despair before wolfing another mince pie.

regards

The Green Phantom

This article was posted on 24-Dec-2006, 09:05 by Hugh Barrow.