Hawks keep Glasgow rugby soaring NEIL DRYSDALE May 07 2007
Edinburgh Accies 13
Glasgow Hawks 24

Neil Drysdale
at Murrayfield


These are exciting times for Glasgow rugby. At the highest level, Sean Lineen's professionals have recently enjoyed an impressive surge in the Magners League, serving notice of their potential for next season, and the city's amateur clubs duly dominated the proceedings during National Finals Day at Murrayfield.

GHK edged home in a wonderfully entertaining denouement to the Plate competition, emerging victorious over Crieff & Strathearn by 34-29, and that was the prelude to Glasgow Hawks sweeping to their third Scottish Cup triumph with a clinical demolition of Edinburgh Accies.

In the circumstances, it was hardly surprising that Rory Kerr, one of the stalwart performers in the Hawks ranks, should radiate with positivity afterwards, as he spoke of the seedbed of precocious talent which seems ready to sprout forth from the west of Scotland. "It's been a terrific day for Glasgow and you can't help but be thrilled at the number of youngsters who are coming through the system," said the winger. "These kids love rugby, they are ambitious and they want success, and there is serious competition for places at every age group, so there is no reason why the future shouldn't be bright.

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His words were justified, given the convincing manner in which David Wilson's troops secured another piece of silverware to add to a decade's haul of prime achievement, though it was difficult to muster similar optimism about the match itself or the whole occasion.

A paltry attendance of 4667 testified to how support at the grassroots has plummeted since more than 22,000 fans attended the inaugural Cup final between Hawick and Watsonians in 1996, and the plain fact is that the SRU badly needs to wake up to the realities of their member organisations, who have effectively been handed a shovel by the union and told to dig themselves out of the mire.

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On Saturday, for instance, there was no sponsor, no prize money for the combatants, and precious little indication of the sport being promoted beyond the die-hards, whose number, sadly, is shrinking. Granted, the noise generated by the crowd was the sound of raucous, full-blooded passion and, mercifully, we were spared any asinine Mexican Waves or booing at penalty kicks, frequently witnessed at the ground, come the autumn internationals.

But whilst the Shield match between Falkirk and Garnock, (eventually won by the former), was a visceral, compelling battle of wills which defied even neutrals to look away, the main event, when it arrived, was a bit of a disappointment and the atmosphere by the death was shrouded in anti-climax.

Partially, that was due to Accies' failure to replicate the intensity of their displays in eliminating Hawick, Currie and Boroughmuir. Instead of seeking a solid forward platform, Ian Barnes' men too often strove for expansiveness and gradually, inexorably, surrendered the initiative, hardly assisted by under-par showings from the normally reliable Ross Browne and Gavin Douglas.

Even when their pack produced glimmerings of cranking into top gear, such as establishing the maul which allowed Ed Stuart to open the scoring with a try in the 21st minute, they were forced to exist on scraps of possession and Hawks constantly looked dangerous when the likes of Murray Strang, Ricky Munday, Stevie Gordon and Kerr had the ball. Nor were the Glaswegians flustered at falling 8-3 behind as Douglas' drop-goal cancelled out Mike Adamson's penalty.

On the contrary, they simply launched a controlled offensive which squeezed the life out of their opponents and the die was cast shortly before the interval when the behemoth, Stuart, was yellow-carded for killing the ball in his own 22. Adamson narrowed the gap with a penalty, and Hawks subsequently displayed their ruthlessness by seizing a brace of tries on either side of half time, amassing a lead they never threatened to relinquish.

Their first touchdown was gift-wrapped, courtesy of the hapless Browne, who passed straight to rival flanker, John Fitzpatrick, who sprinted 50 metres to his goal without resistance. Then, as Stuart watched forlornly from the bin, the Accies full-back spilled an up-and-under, whereupon Hawks sparked wave upon wave of attacks, Strang off-loaded to Ally Maclay and the potent No.8 was calmness personified in his execution.

To their credit, the Edinburghers responded with a terrific surge, which briefly drove their adversaries into reverse, and the Accies captain, Dan Teague, ultimately emerged from the morass with a try. Yet, despite a flurry of substitutions in the last 20 minutes, the Glaswegians had already struck the decisive blows and it only remained for Adamson to deliver the coup de grace with two penalties, before the celebrations commenced.

"We knew they had players who could trouble us, but we knuckled down and got what we deserved," said the coach who was understandably proud of the manner in which his warriors shrugged off the loss, through injury, of captain, Steven Duffy and Nick Cox. "It's a big confidence boost for next season, because it has been a transitional year for us, and we had to rebuild at the start of the campaign, but we have definitely made progress. We still have work to do, but it feels great to have lifted the Cup again."

This article was posted on 7-May-2007, 07:35 by Hugh Barrow.