Cool Heriot’s leave it late to seal victory
0 Boroughmuir’s Greg Cannie is tackled by Scotland international John Hardie and Lee Armstrong.
HAWICK 22 20
Hawick took another step to safety in the Premiership while Boroughmuir kept their hopes alive in an engrossing match at Mansfield Park – but nothing is guaranteed, writes Atholl Innes.
The victory gave head coach George Graham’s side a fifth successive win aided by two penalty tries and a battling second-half performance into the strong wind.
“We fought well, but there are tough games to go yet. I think we are safe from the relegation spot and I was delighted to get the win. But we have to keep going and picking up the odd point and the boys are working really hard,” he said.
Boroughmuir coach Peter Wright, who believed that one of the two penalty tries should not have been awarded, added: “At half-time we were the best team. But Hawick kept the ball really well in the second half and took their chances well. We got a point and something is better than nothing, but we have just to work hard in our final four games for we have a lot of points to make up in this division.”
Both sides were hit by injuries – the second half ran over by almost ten minutes – and Boroughmuir showed great resilience against a toughtackling Hawick defence to score with the final play of the game and the conversion secured the bonus point.
There were also several minutes of added time in the first half when penalty tries in 35 and 40 minutes, added to a Lee Armstrong penalty, gave Hawick a 17-8 lead, Dale Robertson scoring for the visitors and Clark Laidlaw kicking a penalty.
Hawick played to their strengths up front after the interval following a try by Tom Gracie. Bruce Mcneil drove over in the left-hand corner and replacement Fraser Renwick added a fourth but the wind denied Armstrong’s conversion.
Every point was vital and, after uncontested scrums, the Hawick defence was finally breached by Rob Ure, who raced over for a try and Ciaran White added the conversion. But there was to be no 80 minutes for professional flanker John Hardie on his return to action after a three-month ban. He was forced off the field after only 13 minutes with a deep gash to his upper lip.