Currie 25 - Hawick 22
Feb
Hawick travelled to Malleny Park for this Cup match against Premier One
League leaders Currie. Played in near perfect playing conditions in front of
a very sparse crowd which unusually was lacking the normally good Hawick
travelling support. Hawick gave as good as they got from their much bigger
and more powerful opponents with Hawick tackling and scavenging for
possession and in the end Currie would know they had been in a match which
very nearly ended with the elimination of one of the favourites to lift the
Cup this season.
Hawick got off to the perfect start with a Graham Hogg penalty in the
opening minutes. But with the home side always looking dangerous on the
attack, a unconverted try and a penalty gave Currie a 8-3 lead. Hawick then
had their best spell of the match, a great initial break by Dean McCracken
saw hooker Hue Scammell up in support to score at the post which was
converted by Graham Hogg. Good play by John Coutts gave centre Greg Anderson
the chance to score in the corner which gave Hawick a deserved lead by 15
points to 8. With the match approaching half time and Hawick still on the
offensive, an interception try by Currie tied the scores at 15 all and a
converted try in injury time gave Currie the lead at the interval by 22
points to 15.
The second half saw Currie having most of the possession and territorial
advantage but excellent defence by Hawick kept the score at 22 -15 until
late into the match. A rare Hawick attack into the Currie half saw winger
Lee Armstrong high tackled going for a near certain try in the corner and
the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try which tied the
scores at 22 all with only minutes left on the clock. Currie then used their
big forwards to good effect, picking and driving to keep possession and the
inevitable penalty came in front of the posts in the final minute. The match
reached full time with Currie leading by 25 points to 22 and the whole
Hawick team can be proud that they gave their all in what a thoroughly
entertaining match.
Team:- 1. Bruce McNeil, 2. Hue Scammell, 3. Ali Marsh, 4. Keiran Willison,
5. Craig Charters, 6. Ross Gibson, 7. Gary Lowrie, 8. David Lowrie, 9. Kevin
Reid, 10. Dean McCracken, 11. Steven Anderson, 12. Graham Hogg, 13. Greg
Anderson, 14. Michael Graham, 15. John Coutts
16. Lee Armstrong, 17. Ali Weir, 18. Garry Douglas, 19. Michael Robertson
