GHA left to lick wounds after Heriot’s rapid start

Heriot’s Blues coach Jamie Parker praised the way that his side came out of the blocks flying to secure a Scottish Cup victory over GHA on Saturday.

Given that Heriot’s are in Tennent’s National League Division One and GHA are in the Tennent’s Premiership, the visitors might have been expected to put up a better fight at Goldenacre.

However, experienced Heriot’s’ players like Stewart Mustard and Graham Wilson linked well with their young players and six tries in the first 40 minutes left GHA shell-shocked.

After the 48-12 win, Parker said: “We know when we get things right we’re a tough side to play against and that first-half performance was the best rugby we’ve played all season.

“The experienced guys in our team are key and have been there and done it, but I am really pleased with how the younger guys are learning about playing at this level and are getting better as we go along.

“We must now refocus on the league campaign and this result and the tries we scored will give us confidence going forward.”

In the one-sided first half, the Heriot’s tries came from John Rae (2), Craig Robertson, Graham Wilson and Louis Meynier (2) with Wilson kicking four conversions.

Sean Fisher scored a try for GHA after the break while they were awarded a penalty try, but Heriot’s sealed the victory with a try by Ross Hutchison and a final one by Rae who completed his hat-trick.

Highland and Gala are the two other National One sides joining Heriot’s in the quarter-finals.

At Canal Park, Highland saw off Stirling County Wolves 38-18, while Gala raced into a 25-0 lead against Kelso at Netherdale and never looked back as they claimed a 35-12 win.

Five Premiership sides made it through.

Hawick defeated Cartha Queens Park42-10,currie Chieftains won 44-21 at Selkirk, Edinburgh Accies got the better of Musselburgh 32-24, Jedforest saw off Boroughmuir 23-12 and Marr won their derby at Ayr 45-26.