TODAYS HERALD REPORTS
Glasgow Hawks 30 - 5 Hawick

HARRY McARTHUR February 02 2009
"Perhaps we will allow them a shandy or three."

That was Peter Wright, the Hawks coach, in charitable mood after his boys had wrung out a very valuable victory and were then dressing up to attend their supporters' club dinner later in the evening.

It was a gesture well warranted by the Old Anniesland squad after a bruising yet intriguing encounter.

advertisementBoth camps admitted pre-match that victory was vital if survival in Premier One was to be achieved.

While Hawks were obviously the happier team, widening the gap over bottom-equal Hawick to seven points, and leap-frogging Watsonians, the Border side were in no way downtrodden and willing to admit they were certain to drop.

Forwards' coach Derek Armstrong remained positive after the defeat. "Don't underestimate the spirit of Hawick," he said forcefully. "I know we have a tough time ahead, but the town, the supporters, the players, everyone around us is convinced we can still beat the drop. We have four games to play - three of them at home - so we are still quietly confident we can survive."

It is a tall order, but the Greens showed enough commitment to ensure they will not go down quietly.

They got off to a good enough start on Saturday with a Mike Robertson unconverted try in the sixth minute while facing a strong wind that would have much to do with the outcome.

Their lead was merited but lasted only six minutes before Hawks hit back with a touchdown from Steve Gordon which Mike Rainey converted from a difficult angle a long way out.

Hawick contested well against the strong wind and just over the half-hour mark it was felt that Hawks' precarious two-point lead would hardly be enough once the Borderers inherited the difficult elements.

However, Hawks were combining well and had long spells in Hawick territory. Then, in the space of six minutes, including two minutes of injury time, they collected 13 points, with an Allan Kelly try converted by Rainey, who also struck two excellent penalties to give his side a 20-5 interval lead.

The opinion even then was that this may still not be enough, given the Hawick team's resilience and determination which had earned them a three-win recovery run before this match.

But for all the endeavours of scrum-half Kevin Reid, who seemed to be everywhere, and the endless probing of full-back John Coutts and wingers Steven Anderson and Garry Johnstone, the Greens did not use the wind to any real advantage.

Much of their lack of success was due to Hawks' belligerent defending. They sensed victory and were not prepared to undone.

Hawks' forwards Nick Cox, Allan Kelly, Grant Strang and Greg Francis refused to buckle in the tackle and despite the occasional wind-assisted kicks, Hawick never really used the extra element to get scores.

Hawks slowly rebuffed the Hawick efforts and Rainey kicked a superb penalty into the wind to make the Borderers' chances impossible with just more than 10 minutes to play. In injury time, the almost unstoppable Cox barged over for a final try which Rainey converted for a personal tally of 15 points.

Hawks have been more recent champions than Hawick, but as an amalgamated club in recent times lack the tradition and honours that the Greens have garnered over the years. It is ironic that these two great clubs should be entwined in relegation troubles at this time.

This article was posted on 2-Feb-2009, 08:19 by Hugh Barrow.