HAWICK 33 JED-FOREST 0

Hawick maintained their revival this season with as comfortable a victory as could be expected at Mansfield Park against a Jed-forest side which failed to make any impression on their opponents, writes Atholl Innes.

The hosts set the standard with a try in only two minutes, and by the interval they were 21-0 ahead… and it could have been worse for the visitors.

“It was a great win and that’s ten points in the last two games,” said head coach George Graham following the team’s win at Aberdeen a week earlier. “We are doing everything we do in practice and it is paying dividends, and we could have scored more often with nothing against.

“Jed stepped up their game a bit in the second half, but if I was being critical, we should have scored a lot more tries. But I am very happy with the performance and the result. I think we have turned the corner a wee bit and that is good for the club.”

Jed, who have stretched Hawick in the past, were totally outplayed. The threat of the Young brothers and the danger which they can create was stifled by the home defence, which battled heroically to force Jed into errors and control the game.

Matt Carryer’s early score put the hosts in the driving seat before the pack’s dominance told as Sean Fairbairn and replacement Craig Bachurzewski plundered further tries before the interval and captain Ali Weir, in the stand-off role this time, kicked all three conversions.

Jed did have brief spells of pressure but failed to make any inroads and were denied a consolation try in the final minutes by conceding a penalty close to the Hawick line.

By then, the game was over, and Jae Linton had been twice driven over as the Hawick pack asserted its control and Kirk Ford converted the last to secure a win over Borders rivals that was never in doubt.