Complete' Hawks step upto new performance level

DON BLAIN
AT BRIDGEHAUGH


Stirling County 5

Glasgow Hawks 48


GLASGOW Hawks finally produced their closest yet to the "complete performance" that David Wilson, their coach, has been promising all season and he used the occasion to round on critics who he says failed to understand that he was in effect building a new side.

"What people don't seem to appreciate is that we are eight or nine players different from last season. This is in effect a new team and new teams take time to gel," he said. "People keep going on about us stuttering to wins and gaining victories without looking impressive but having lost so many players from last year that was always going to be the case."

It is bizarre that the team that stands unbeaten at the top of the BT Premiership, 12 points clear of its nearest rival, should have been feeling any pressure about the quality of its play, but even Wilson admits that so far this season they have shown glimpses of taking Scottish club rugby to a new level without being able to sustain them.

Then came their trip to Bridgehaugh. Stirling had put out a weaker side the week before and could have won at Watsonians. Perhaps there were not that many in the stand who really believed they could beat the Hawks, but they did think their boys would fight all the way in a close-fought battle. In the event, it was a contest for about five minutes. Once Richard Mill had missed a long range penalty for Stirling and Eric Milligan had touched down for the opening try at the other end, it was a rout.

"What I find hard to take is that our players should have kept their worst performance of the season for the best opposition," said Bob McKillop, the coach, afterwards. "They are by a country mile the best team in the league and they showed it."

While the much-quoted jibe that the Hawks are the fourth professional team in Scotland is ridiculous, what is true is that they are the closest to producing a professional style of play. Plenty of movement off the ball, good close support and a willingness to interchange forwards and backs, as was seen when Mark Sitch, the No8, popped up on the wing to score the next two tries with the bonus point being earned by Iain Kennedy, the centre, before half-time.

Even Wilson admitted the side relaxed for a period, allowing Stirling back into the game with Mill completing a break by Alan Syme on the opposite wing, but he shuffled the backs to sharpen things up and gained the reward with another four tries.

Scorers: Stirling County: Try - Mill. Glasgow Hawks: Tries - Milligan, Sitch 2, Kennedy, McKnight, McFadyen, Strang, McLay; Cons - Adamson 4.

Stirling County: B Addison; A Syme, T Ngu, S Parlane, R Mill; D Arneil, A Miller, M Hunter, A Moffat, I Brown, J Stewart, C Deacons, T Clarke, B Wylie, J Matheson. Subs used: G Lindsay, D Mason, C Eadie, C Reid.

Glasgow Hawks: M Adamson; A McLay, I Kennedy, S Duffy, S Low; M Strang, S Biggart; E Milligan, S Fell, P Dalton, S Warnock, R Maxton, S Forrest, M Sitch, N McKenzie. Subs used: G McFadyen, N Cox, M Wiseman, R McKnight.

Referee: T Coutts (Watsonians)

This article was posted on 31-Oct-2005, 09:21 by Hugh Barrow.