GHA make most of ‘disjointed’ Hawks as dramatic derby delivers

THE first league derby in more than a decade between GHA and Glasgow Hawks had been keenly anticipated, and it did not disappoint. A dramatic encounter at Braidholm on Saturday saw GHA go a man and 16 points down heading into the final quarter, only for them to mount an inspired fightback and claim a 31-26 victory with the last play of the game.

Just two points behind at the break, GHA conceded the first two tries after the restart then had Dario Ewing sent off for a repeat yellowcard offence. His first had been for pulling down a maul, and his second was for a late hit on Liam Brims - even though team-mate Ruairi O’Keefe appeared to have accepted responsibility for that offence.

At that point, many teams might have accepted it was not going to be their day, but not so GHA. They pulled one try back, then got another just after Andy Kirkland had been sinbinned for the visitors. Finally, right on 80 minutes, replacement prop

Michael Fox (right) claimed the crucial score.

“As we scored a couple of tries I could see Hawks were maybe getting a wee bit disjointed,” GHA coach Trevor Carmichael said. “I can’t commend the players enough for effort - it was absolutely phenomenal.”

His opposite number, Andy Hill, was altogether less ecstatic, although he did find some positives to take from Hawks’ defeat. “The performance was probably the best one we’ve had of the season in terms of how we’ve played, and the attacking game plan,” he said. “We just didn’t manage the last 10 to 15 minutes.”

The win takes GHA up to sixth, while Hawks lie eighth. At the top of the table, meanwhile, Marr marched on in relentless fashion, preserving their 100 per cent record with a crushing 43-15 win at Hawick. The home team actually opened the scoring, but then conceded 43 unanswered points before a minor rally late - far too late - in the game.

“To beat Hawick 43-15 is an outstanding result,” Marr coach Craig Redpath said. “Hawick came strong in the end, but the game was done by then. We did the simple things right in the first half, took our chances and played most of the rugby, and we are coming together a lot more.”

Hawick were undone by indiscipline: at one point they had two men in the sinbin, and conceded three tries during that spell. No wonder, then, that their coach, George Graham, branded his team’s display “absolutely woeful”.

Currie Chieftains are still Marr’s closest challengers, and they cemented second place with a 31-12 win over Edinburgh Accies. Worsening conditions ensured the match was not vintage stuff, but, after underperforming badly when losing to the leaders last week, Currie showed a lot of character to dig deep and claim the bonus point.

“We got there, which was really important,” said Chieftains coach Mark Cairns. “It was a massive step up at Marr and we learned a lot from that. The whole week was spent building these boys’ confidence up.

“There’s too much doubting themselves. They’ve got the talent and they have got the physicality - they just need to back themselves.”

Accies have had a difficult start to the season, being forced to play their matches away from home while Raeburn Place is being redeveloped. “It’s tough for us because we are on the road all the time – we’ve just got to keep going,” head coach Iain Berthinussen said.

“We will be back and playing somewhere in Edinburgh for the second half of the season. But we need to look at our away form – that’s two defeats on the bounce.”

The Borders derby saw Selkirk follow up on last week’s commendable draw at Hawick by beating JedForest 26-20 at Philiphaugh. Jed were on top for much of the game, but an injury to lock Gregor Law hit them hard, and they then suffered a momentum swing after having two men yellow-carded. Full-back Henry Bithray claimed the decisive score for the home side in the dying moments of the game, meaning Jed came away with just a losing bonus.

Musselburgh also lost narrowly, going down 32-38 at home to Aberdeen Grammar. The visitors played the conditions well in the second half to claim a win that keeps them in third.

The performance was probably the best one we’ve had of the season in terms of how we’ve played, and the attacking game plan