Glasgow Hawks Take Derby Day Honours As West Boss Slams Stars' Fitness
Aug 26 2010 By Matthew Leslie
The Glaswegian reports



KEITH ROBERTSON has demanded his West of Scotland troops get their running shoes on if they are to survive in the top flight.
The Burbrae side were brutally swept away in the season opener at city rivals Glasgow Hawks who themselves ran in six tries for a thumping 41-15 win.
Hawks' tries came from Kerr Gosman (3), his brother Craig (2) and Nico Nyemba with West's two scores coming in the second half from Mark Jenkinson and Alex Fisken.
Robertson was less than impressed with the ease in which Hawks destroyed his side in the rst half and has called upon his team to get t. He said: "We deserved what we got - simple as that.
"We didn't bring that intensity you need to compete at this level.
"The team were like rabbits in front of the headlights at times and we paid the price.
"There's a lot of things that we need to work on and tness is one of them.
"As far as I'm concerned, we're not t enough to play at this level and we'l l be working doubly hard in training in order to get up to speed because it is something that we need to do and fast. Some of the boys have come from Premier Three and National One so they are going to have a problem or two in adjusting with the speed of the game in the top ight.
"What impressed me about those boys is that they didn't let their heads go down and stuck to their task and as you saw in the second half, we put in a much-improved display.
"We did have some bad luck late on in the rst half because we scored a legitimate try which was not given and seconds later Hawks have scored.
"But had that gone for us I don't think it would have changed the result as Hawks had far too much repower. "
Meanwhile, Hawks boss Peter Wright was delighted to get off to a flying start and hopes his men can build on it.
He said: "It was good to win the opening game because it's been a while since we last did that.
"It was also important not to slip up at home as we only have five matches here before the split.
"At times we played some good rugby, however, I am still a bit disappointed that we took our foot o the gas and let West back into it in the second half."

This article was originally posted on 26-Aug-2010, 10:24 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 26-Aug-2010, 10:27.