Hawks happy to win ugly and ease pressure in survival fight

● Second-half fightback downs Accies

for Premiership rugby,” said Hawks coach Finlay Gillies. “It won’t have people clamouring to come and watch clubs play. It wasn’t what I would do as a coach usually but when you’ve got to win you’ve got to win, and that’s what we did. We got the job done.”

Two penalties by stand-off Vincent Hart added to tries by scrum-half Robbie Davis and winger Robbie Chalmers, against a try by Hawks flanker Matt Smith, put Accies into a position of strength by halftime but Hawks didn’t help themselves with two yellow cards for centre Mark New and, minutes later, hooker Paul Cairncross.

Accies went 5-18 up early in the second 40 and then Hawks decided to use their scrum like a steamroller, choosing reset after reset, grinding out penalty after penalty and getting both home props – Cole Imrie and James Pearse – sin-binned as the referee went round behind the posts to award the penalty try.

Smith went over the line for his second try for Hawks and it was suddenly a one-point game. It wasn’t immediately obvious but the static scrum episode had drained all the energy from Accies and was key in creating the final penalty opportunity when an exhausted blue and white body didn’t roll away quickly enough at a ruck inside the home 22. Scotland under-20 stand-off Ross Thompson steadied himself and knocked it over to grab the points and leave Accies the only team in the league yet to win. Accies coach Derek O’riardon said: “It comes down to decisions. We came into the second half in a dominant position, we go 18-5 up – it needed to be about playing territory and putting the pressure on them and we didn’t do it. We tried to keep ball and play from everywhere and we paid the price.

“It was unfamiliar territory for us, the first time we have gone into a second half this season in a winning position, and we maybe thought we’d done enough but the reality is that you’ve got to keep going until you have killed them off. You have to develop that mindset. We were too nice in that second half.” Stirling head coach Eddie Pollock was nothing if not candid in his post-match assessment after watching his young team squeak home by the narrowest of margins, writes Martin Laing.

“I’m pleased with the result,” he said. “We had total control of the game but we let them back in by lack of discipline. The penalty count was too high and some of them were stupid so I’m disappointed with that.

“But we’ve got a lot of injuries just now – 11 or 12 first team squad are out

– so the guys who have come up are young players who have worked really hard.”

In truth, County should have won by a far more comfortable margin. They had raced into what looked a commanding lead with two early tries by Andrew Goudie, both of which he converted, and one by Grant Hughes, which Goudie also goalled.

Boroughmuir, in return, had managed only a touchdown from William Wardlaw.

However, the men from Meggetland bounced back when Johnny Matthews, pictured, crossed the County line twice in quick succession, Robin Weersma adding the extras to the first to set up an enthralling second half.

And they went in front when Jordan Edmunds scored a try that Weersma converted before chipping over a penalty. Stirling, though, are made of stern stuff and battered at the Boroughmuir line until earning their reward when Craig Robertson bagged a try that Goudie converted. That set up a thrilling final ten minutes during which County held on.

There was, however, no disguising Boroughmuir head coach Peter Wright’s despondency. “Disappointed would be an understatement,” he said. “To come back from 21-5 down to be 27-21 up put us in a position where we could have won it. We’re disappointed not to have closed it out.”