THE HERALD REPORTS

Glasgow Hawks 48 - 7 Ayr
A seven-try romp in the sun for Hawks meant a dismal exit for Ayr from the Scottish Hydro Super Cup - but at least the visitors are still the second best league team in the country.

The Ayrshire outfit will now be looking to make changes in personnel for next season while Hawks have plenty to keep them occupied what with their progression here and in the Scottish Cup.

The Super Cup and its experimental law variations is still encouraging differing opinions among coaches, players and fans as to its value. But it must be remembered that it is for this season only, although reactions - particularly those of the players - will be monitored for the future by IRB\'s Bill Nolan and his committee.

Both coaches at Old Anniesland were in agreement there are flaws in the experimental laws and that they don\'t really enhance the game.

Hawks\' David Wilson felt that the breakdown situations were a joke and did nothing to speed up delivery in the game. \"It is difficult for the players and difficult for the referee and unless there is a tightening up in its interpretation it will ruin the idea of speeding up the game,\" he said.

\"It is supposed to do so but there were times the game almost ground to a halt as players on their feet as the rules decree are still able to interfere with someone who is in possession of the ball. If one team has the ball in a ruck that should be it, but suddenly someone can come in and put their hands on it and it slows everything down.

\"The mindset in these games is crucial and if the players are not conditioned to the rules then it will not work. There is an artificial feeling about the game. Perhaps the gaps in playing these cup ties is doing nothing to help the continuity. If they had been played in consecutive weeks it would have helped but we have had league and other cup ties coming into the equation.\"

Wilson now has the Scottish Cup tie with Berwick to negotiate and will have to get his players\' mindset right for that.

Craig Redpath, the Ayr coach, felt the game was played at a good pace in part due to the trial rulings, but he too felt the breakdown situation is a shambles and not conducive to quicker play. He did feel other situations were worth looking at, such as the compulsory five-metre gap behind the scrums giving the backs a better chance to attack. Pulling down in the mauls could be acceptable also, he felt.

He conceded: \"Hawks have a lot of quality players and are a big side. They have come together late in the season but might get something out of it in the two remaining cup tournaments. But today we missed too many tackles and gave them room to move in for a lot of their tries. We were struggling in the backs due to various reasons and we found it difficult to make ground with the limited ball we got.\"

The home fans got their money\'s worth with the scoring of seven tries and the growing comfort that there is a general awareness now among their players who are beginning to gel together. Team spirit is certainly high.

Under-strength Ayr were struggling to find a cutting edge and it took them 66 minutes before they got a score warranted much earlier for their never-say-die efforts.

But just when they thought they were improving with the score reduced to 20-7 against them, Hawks hit them with three converted tries in the space of seven minutes. Understandably they lost heart and an exaggerated scoreline appeared on the board.

8:05pm today



By HARRY McARTHUR

This article was posted on 19-Feb-2007, 08:24 by Hugh Barrow.