The Borders club cited a lack of front row cover for the Premier A game at Anniesland as forcing them to withdraw from the game, though questions were asked by Glasgow Hawks after one of their injured props, Bruce McNeil, turned out for Hawick in Sunday's Gala Sevens tournament.

The SRU's Championship Committee looked into the matter and Premier One representative on the committee, Gordon Cairns, revealed that they were not happy with Hawick's explanation. He said: "It's crucial to the integrity of Scotland's top domestic division that matches are fulfilled as scheduled. Hawick have failed to justify the non-fulfilment of their Premier A fixture against Glasgow Hawks on Saturday (2 April] and so have been penalised five championship points and fined £525, which will be subtracted from the financial contributions made to the club from Scottish Rugby next season."

The match has been rescheduled for Tuesday 12 April at Old Anniesland (7.30pm). Hawick have the right to appeal the decision within seven days.

Peter Wright, the director of rugby at Hawks, said he was pleased that the game would be played, but added that the club would be asking for a change of the sanctions open to the committee in future, noting that the postponement had cost them financially and that a points deduction would have no effect on Hawick's season.

He said: "I think for the integrity of the competition it's important that the game is played. There is too much at stake for us just to get five points, with clubs vying for the British and Irish Cup places in particular. So the replay of the game is the right decision. I'm also pleased that it hasn't been rearranged for Saturday 16 April, which is Hawick Sevens day, because we had players off that day too and it didn't suit either club.

"But, in saying that, we have lost out. We had a 'Fathers and Sons Day' set up and won't get the crowd we would have got, and we can't claim for gate receipt losses or hospitality, just the money we have spent on food for the day, which is the compensation.

"But we will be asking for the rule to change on that in future so that all costs are taken into account, as much for the deterrent as anything. We would also like to see punishments taken into the following season, which isn't an option at the moment.

"Again, it's not about this case specifically, but we feel there has to be some punishment that stops teams even thinking about going down this route, and losing points next year, or in the worst cases, even being relegated would be a better deterrent."

This article was originally posted on 7-Apr-2011, 06:22 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 7-Apr-2011, 06:24.