Hawks 37 Toulouse 15 --Mike Blackie recalls a famous win

Hawks 37 Toulouse 15 Mike Blackie remembers

What Scottish club 2nd xv can boast two coaches who have played on a winning side against Toulouse-- go on have a wild guess

Whilst Glasgow Warriors prepare to face the might of Toulouse at Firhill this week Hawks 2nd xv coach Mike Blackie recalls a great night at Old Anniesland a night he shared with fellow 2nd xv coach Cammy Little ,Fergus Wallace and other members of a famous Hawks squad
This match may have been termed a friendly but it was no friendly when a strong Toulouse team pitched up in west Glasgow to face a Hawks team that included Glenn Metcalfe, Tommy Hayes and Mike Beckham
Amongst the interested spectators were Rob Andrew and Sir John Hall who were up scouting for Newcastle Falcons and believed to be watching Glenn Metcalfe as a possible replacement for Tim Stimpson. They were also on a fact finding mission regarding the future of Heineken Cup.

The following words were penned by Mike Blackie who played in that historic match on a cold wet Friday night in February 1998

Memories like those generated by the events at Old Anniesland on a cold wet night in February live with you for ever. Hard to believe its over 12 years ago that the mighty Toulouse came to play the newly formed Glasgow Hawks. The hope was that this might be the first of many glamour fixtures but unfortunately it still remains the only time a Hawks team have been on the same pitch as a top European team.
Levels of anticipation were massive and I'm sure some didn't believe such illustrious opponents would be on the same pitch until it actually happened. I do remember getting the news that the Toulouse private jet had arrived at lunch time and realising it was game on!! Possibly all the excitement had clouded our judgements and maybe was the reason for allowing Gordon MacKay , now sadly missed, to design and produce a commemorative and memorable strip for the occasion. This was to cost each player £75 and on the face of it was a great idea.Until the unveiling in the changing room an hour before the game- certainly memorable! For those not fortunate to have been there it was bright yellow and electric blue quarter top, half yellow and half blue shorts and socks!!!!
Toulouse certainly seemed dazzled by the illumination in front of them and the fact we ran onto the pitch to the sound of a "Blur" anthem. Anniesland had never seen its like.
Rugby has a huge mental aspect and it was shown in different ways in the build up. In the clubhouse teams change across the corridor from each other and Toulouse had their door open the whole time. Human nature insists that you have a wee look to see what's happening! Huge brooding characters that I had only ever seen on TV winning the European Cup!
I remember the Hawks pack all getting together and looking each other in the eye- anticipation/ excitement and a wee bit of fear?! Who knows?
The Hawks team that night had quality throughout and many who had embarked that season on professional contracts with Glasgow. Several internationalists in Glenn Metcalfe, Derek Stark, Tommy Hayes, Murray Wallace. As a complete amateur this was by far the highlight of my career. Especially when I glanced down the Toulouse team sheet, to see only(!) 9 internationalists in the starting line up and my opposite man, Jean-Luc Jordana , had played for France the previous year when beating Scotland to win the grand slam! And 2 more in the replacements.
Hawks had been playing great stuff all season, attacking from all over the pitch but those first 20mins in front of a capacity crowd were tortuous. Personally I had never been in such a brutally physical period in my career. Toulouse threw everything at us and sheer guts kept the line intact. Real heroics were performed as we shut out their stars, Chris Docherty, Scott Hutton , the Wallaces et al met fire with fire but it still felt we would get a real mauling if we didn't get some ball.
Eventually I managed to hold a scrum up long enough to allow Doc to win it and as the scrum collapsed again all we heard from buried deep in the mud was huge roars from the crowd. Apparently(?), Tommy Hayes attacked from our line , linked with Derek Stark and we scored under the posts in the blink of an eye, the front row never saw any of it! Toulouse knew then that they were in for a long night!
Huge confidence was generated and despite toiling through the rest of the half we reached the turn around ahead. Up front we had survived a few unsavoury tests that the French are experts at and probably gained some respect as a result.
The second half Hawks turned on the style , Toulouse replied and the the huge crowd who had turned up expecting a Toulouse master class were well entertained. The final score 37-15 did not flatter Hawks. The forwards had stood up to the intimidation and the talented back line had finished them off.
The French seemed pretty bewildered but they recovered quickly to make the most of Glasgewian hospitality and both teams finished the night off sharing a few beers in one of Glasgow's finest night club establishments!!
A huge experience for everyone involved at Glasgow Hawks and one that we should aspire to repeating.

For the record the Hawks squad were
Glenn Metcalfe--now back in NZ but still playing Sevens voted Hawk of the decade he was the last player to be capped for Scotland direct from a club
Derek Stark-- a man of more clubs than Jack Nicklaus helped organize Hawks trips to Paris and Rome
Chris Simmers--spotted at Myreside
Davie Wilson --now coach to Dalziel
Ally Common-- in Italy and now on Facebook
Tommy Hayes-- who went on to Glasgow Worcester and Bristol
Cammy Little--now Hawks 2nd xv coach and sports quiz specialist
Mike Blackie-- now Hawks 2nd xv coach
Chris Docherty--now with Cartha QP
Mike Beckham--wherabouts unknown
Scott Hutton--recently still playing in Dublin with Old Belvedere
Chas Afuakwah-- recently coached Glasgow Accies
Gordon Mackay--sadly passed away last year
Murray Wallace-- coaching in Boulder USA
Matt McGrandles --went back to Stirling
Liam Macintyre --now coaching GHK
Kevin Horton helped keep the New Anniesland stand standing
Stuart Simmers --now coaching at Strathendrick
Fergus Wallace-- coaches with Young Hawks
Steve Begley--played and coached at Glasgow Accies
Andy Ness--still attends Hawks matches
Gerry Hawkes-- now coaching with GHK