SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY REPORTS
Hawks' feathers ruffled

IAIN MORRISON
AT MANSFIELD PARK


HAWICK 16
GLASGOW HAWKS 29

ONE Premier One coach spoke last week of a league consisting of one club with everyone else in a relegation battle. But while Hawks continued their unbeaten season yesterday at Mansfield Park, the other top flight clubs will take heart from this display. Hawks won but the city side didn't even appear on the scoreboard until the ten minutes into the second half and were made to look very ordinary when facing the elements in the opening 40.


Unsurprisingly Hawks coach David Wilson was unconvinced that the league was over. "If you look at the results there are a lot of sides out there that can do a bit of damage," he said.

"Today was a real banana skin and at 11-0 down at half time I said that to the guys. We didn't help ourselves trying to play too much rugby into the wind in the first half, moving the ball too wide too early. We needed to go back to basics.

"Luckily in the second half we knocked the stuffing out of them with three quick tries and then perhaps got too loose."

Those three tries from the visitors came in a whirlwind five minutes between the 51st and 56th minutes and ensured that the points went back to Glasgow. But if Hawick lost the match, they gained untold plaudits for the way they played, a huge turnaround from last season's humiliation in the corresponding fixture.

That 80-19 score represented a low in the club's fortunes but as well as showing their customary fighting spirit, Hawick proved yesterday that they have both skill and ambition to go with it. The scoreboard might look comfortable but the match was anything but. There was less than one converted try separating the sides until Hawks winger Stevie Gordon grabbed his second try, Hawks' fourth of the day, with ten minutes remaining.

The home team played some clever stuff and dominated the first half almost as conclusively as Hawks bossed the second, both sides helped by what home coach Jim Hay referred to as "a 20-point wind". The men in green repeatedly tied down the visiting tearaways of Neil McKenzie and Greg Francis with close moves before they tried to move the ball wide. Hay also rotated his props to ensure they all remained fresh with Willie Blacklock lasting just 20 minutes before he got his first breather.

An early mistake by Hawk midfielder Steven Duffy gifted the home side an early advantage and the "green machine" had already been held up over the line from a driving lineout when Colin Murray opened the scoring with a sixth-minute penalty.

The visitors struggled to get out of their own half and another mistake, this time when full-back Michael Adamson misjudged a kick that stopped agonisingly short of his own line, only added to the pressure and in due course Murray doubled the home advantage with his second penalty.

That was the cue for Hawks to up their tempo and the champions duly carved out a few chances, none of which they were able to put away.

Stuart Low was beaten to Duffy's kick ahead, Adamson knocked on in contact when going for the line and Stuart Low cut inside just as Ally McLay floated a long pass the winger's way.

Hawick may not top the table this year, but this side plays more rugby than the championship winning squad ever did and, having weathered the storm, they proved it, working winger Neil Douglas into the right-hand corner after throwing the ball from wing to wing. The score should have come before it did but Blacklock chose to pass inside with a man free outside him. Fortunately, the big prop's blushes were saved by his team mates who quickly moved the ruck ball to Douglas who remained unmarked.

Despite more chances for both sides, the score remained 11-0 until after the break when, with the advantage of the wind, it was Hawks' turn to apply the pressure.

Their first try went to winger Stevie Gordon, who nipped over in the right-hand corner after some slick handling. Then hooker Matt Smith touched down in a driving maul before Stuart Low grabbed the third, stepping off his left wing and nipping between two green defenders.

Hawick full-back Keith Hedley grabbed one try back to narrow the gap to just three points and against anyone else, the final 15 minutes could have been a tense affair. However this Hawks side has been here before and know how to close out a game. Adamson kicked a 40-yard penalty and Gordon grabbed his second touchdown of the afternoon - and a bonus point - after professional replacement Graydon Staniforth and Low made the running.

Hawks then withstood a final foray by the home team in search of a losing bonus point. They didn't get it but that is not to say that Hawick's display didn't merit one.

This article was posted on 4-Oct-2005, 12:50 by Hugh Barrow.