The Sunday Herald reports

Alasdair Reid


The length of the M8 would be a hopelessly insufficient measure of the gap between the sides in this tale of two cities – something more along the lines of the trans-Siberian
highway would be closer to the mark.

They may have been near-neighbours in the middle of yesterday morning’s Scottish Hydro Premiership table, but there was a gulf in skill and class on the grass of Raeburn Place.

The Accies competed well enough for the opening half-hour, but the Hawks were more forceful in contact, quicker on their feet, and sharper near the line when points were on offer. Alarmingly, the Edinburgh side even seemed to give up the ghost at one stage, for there was a distinct impression that they had thrown in the towel as early as the third quarter.

A late try by Alex Blair, brother of Mike and a player of mighty promise, hoisted the Accies’ scoreline into double figures, but even that effort was more than cancelled out as the Hawks collected another two for themselves before the game was up. All things considered, it was a ludicrously easy victory for Peter Wright’s men.

“To play and win as convincingly as we have is a bit of a surprise,” Wright admitted. “We were missing a few players, but we have strength in depth and we proved it today. To come to Raeburn Place and get a bonus point is pretty satisfying. I think that was one of the easier games we’ve had. We got three good tries in the first half and I think that knocked the stuffing out of them a bit. I’m a little bit surprised to be honest.”

I think that was one of our easier games. I’m a little bit surprised
As Wright spoke, Edinburgh Accies coach Ian Barnes walked by, looking a little bit ballistic. As well he might, for aside from the odd cameo here and there, his players looked uninspired. Worryingly for the coach, they also seemed rudderless in adversity.

The Hawks had no problem in that regard. The Anniesland lot have some marvellous young players coming through their ranks, but they have some worthy old stalwarts in there too. While the tyros scuttled about the place, the greybeards gave their game a bit of gravitas and the combin-ation was too much for the Accies to deal with.

The most spectacular contributions were made by 20-year-old Craig Gossman and his 19-year-old brother Kerr. The siblings can boast a decent pedigree through their father Jimmy and uncle Bryan who collected a handful of Scotland caps between them in the early Eighties, but they can also boast an aptitude for the try-line, collecting three tries between them.

We also saw some fine, if sometimes over-eager, touches from Peter Jericevich, the national academy scrum-half, and an exhibition of Stakhanovite selflessness by lock forward Matt Whittleston. Nick Cox and Joe Stafford, the Hawks’ starting props, used up about a ton of ice as they came and went to have their knocks and bumps seen to, but they put the Accies’ front row under fearsome pressure, giving their own side the perfect platform in the process.

With their set-piece advantage established, tries were bound to follow. The first fell to the appropriately hirsute Robbie Hair in the 18th minute, the full-back overcoming the aerodynamic disadvantage of his decidedly retro barnet to speed 60 metres for the score.

Lewis Niven replied with a try soon afterwards, but the momentum was all with the Hawks and Craig Gossman cashed in with a couple of tries in the second quarter. Mark Adamson could claim an assist in both, twice 
bamboozling the Accies’ defence with the speed of his pass.

As a consequence, the Hawks held a 22-5 lead at the interval and by the time Kerr collected the bonus-point fourth try for the Hawks, in the 60th minute, it was clear that only one result was possible.

Blair pitched in with his act of lone defiance, but it was too late to make a difference. Instead, Hawks hammered home their advantage with tries by Whittleston and Kerr Grossman, both converted by Jericevich.

Edinburgh Accies: S Walker; T Brown, A Blair, I Berthinussen, C Dickie; R Bonner, R Samson; J McSorley, M Strachan, L Niven, N Pike, G Campbell, D Teague (captain), D Denton, T Drennan. Subs used: J Henderson, R Snape, J Berthinussen, R Drummond, S Wilson.

Glasgow Hawks: R Hair; K Grossman, M Adamson, G Harkness, S Low; I Noble, P Jericevich; N Cox (captain) J MacLay, J Stafford, A Kirkland, M Whittleston, C Kerr, G Oommen, G Francis. Subs used: E Milligan, G Strain, C Harvey, E Morrison, C Gossman.

Referee: D Jack (Madras)

This article was originally posted on 24-Oct-2009, 22:38 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 24-Oct-2009, 22:39.