Heriot’s were crowned as RBS Cup winners for 2013/14, following a 31-10 victory over their west opposition Glasgow Hawks, in the final at Broadwood Stadium.



The Edinburgh side took an early lead, their opposition failing to score in the opening 40 minutes, as Heriot’s went down the tunnel at half-time with a 13-0 advantage.

Hawks made a valiant comeback in the opening quarter of the second-half, although the experience within the Heriot’s ranks soon told as they consolidated their victory in the closing 15 minutes of the game.

Heriot’s head coach Phil Smith, said:

“The players stepped really stepped it up today even when Hawks came and scored a try in the second-half we notched it up another gear.

“Murray Douglas was absolutely outstanding and instrumental to the way we played, as well as our half-backs who really clicked.

“We felt the pitch sped our game up and this helped the way we wanted to play the game by bringing it in tight and quickly putting the ball wide.”

Heriot’s made an early first impression taking the lead within the first two minutes of the game as scrum-half Graham Wilson slotted a penalty from close range.

Jack Steele was offered the chance to reply on behalf of Glasgow Hawks only moments later although he seemed to fumble on his run-up to the ball and scuffed the kick to the right of the posts.

Heriot’s took control of the game for the next 20 minutes, suffocating their opposition of the ball, and continually battering at the line of Glasgow Hawks.

Within that period, Heriot’s showed great initiative in attacking from deep following a quick turnover ball. A well-timed pass from Heriot’s full-back Colin Goudie released wing Harry Boisseau who showed confidence in his own pace to skelp straight down the line from his own half and slide into the corner for the score. Wilson’s excellent touchline conversion gave Heriot’s a 10-0 lead at 13 minutes.

The rest of the half was a battle of the boot, Wilson landing one of his two attempts at goal, Steele having an off day from the tee failing to convert another penalty from directly in-front of goal.

Half-time: Glasgow Hawks 13- Heriot’s 0

It took 44 minutes for Hawks to open their scoring account for the day yet Jack Steele’s successful penalty, his first of three attempts, brought his team back into the game.

Hawks launched an attack immediately upon receiving the kick-off soon finding themselves back on the Heriot’s line. Their patience paid dividends as prop Brendan Cullinane muscled his way over the line under the posts - Gavin Lowe popping the easy kick over the bar to close the deficit to three points, the score now at 13-10 to Heriot’s.

The pressure soon started to take its toll on the Glasgow side when they found themselves pinned back in the confines of their half for prolonged periods of time.

It looked as if Heriot’s had crossed the line for the second time, although referee Gary Gordon was unsure of the grounding and asked for the TMO to step in and shed light on the situation. Following much deliberation, the incident was deemed inconclusive and the try was disallowed.

Their efforts did not go unrewarded as the relentless boot of Wilson continued to punish the opposition’s ill-discipline as he kicked a further two penalties to re-establish his side’s hold on the game and open up a nine point bridge in the scores (19-10).

Heriot’s once again started to fire in the final 10 minutes as back-row Jack Turley and replacement full-back Liam Steele both crossed the whitewash in quick succession, Wilson on target with the first of the two conversions.

Steele’s try closed the game, and in-turn sealed the victory for Heriots, the final score 31-10.

Heriot’s team: Colin Goudie; Max Nimmo, Keith Buchan, Cameron Ferguson, Harry Boisseau; Ruaraidh Carmichael, Graham Wilson; Nathan Borel, Kevin Bryce, Stewart Mustard, Russell Nimmo, Murray Douglas, Jack Turley (captain), George Turner and Jason Hill.

Replacements: Christopher Mulligan, Gavin Cameron, Craig Owenson, Michael Maltman, Oliver Brown, Max Learmonth and Liam Steele.

Glasgow Hawks team: Dan Smart; Tom Steven, Ally Maclay, Jack Steele, Haddon Mcpherson; Gavin Lowe, Paddy Boyer; Steven Findlay, Finlay Gillies, Brendan Cullinane, Andy Linton (captain), Angus Hamilton, Stephen Leckey, Tyrone Holmes and Andrew Kirkland.

Replacements: Jack Macfarlane, John Lohoar, Craig Williamson, Mateusz Bartoszek, Kenny Beattie, David Milne and Neil Herron.

Referee: Gary Gordon

This article was posted on 19-Apr-2014, 20:04 by Hugh Barrow.