Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Hawick blow Melrose away in the second half

Today at 07:48 PM

Hawick 36

Melrose 17

ALAN LORIMER @ Mansfield Park

A STRONG second half performance by Hawick, aided by an implosion in the same period by Melrose, gave the Greens an unexpectedly high-scoring win over their traditional Borders adversaries in a game that took its time to crank into action on a clatchy surface at Mansfield Park. 

"We didn't execute well in the first half. Our kick-chase was not good and  we gave away a lot of penalties that allowed them to get into the game" was Graham Hogg, the Hawick coach's summary of his side's poor first half performance when they were second best to the visitors.

Hawick, however, were able to turn things round in the second half and once they brought their effective handling game to the table, their confidence grew, allowing the tries to accumulate. "We played some excellent rugby in that second half period and got the reward," observed Hogg.

6N: England v Scotland report: hosts escape to victory after late Finn Russell miss

6N England v Scotland reaction: Gregor Townsend upbeat in defeat

U20s 6N: England's pack power prevails over error-prone Scotland

Just why Melrose dropped off so far in the second half was something of a mystery given their confident showing before the interval when they scored to excellent tries to one by Hawick. "It was a tale of two halves," said the Melrose coach, Scott Wight, ruefully.  "We had a chance in the second half with a driving line-out which started to move forward but the decision went against us.

"I think our defence out wide was poor in the second half. First half we were so controlled and composed and played rugby in the right areas into a strong wind and then we turned around at half time and it seemed a totally different Melrose team. There were loads of good stuff today but we have to be consistent over 80 minutes. The game is not 10 minutes long."

If spectators at Mansfield Park had been hoping for an open game of rugby between these two age-old Borders rivals then the opening 15 minutes of attritional rugby played mainly in the middle third of the park would have left most disappointed.

Then when Hawick appeared to put themselves into a strong position via a 50-22 disappointment turned into frustration when Connor Sutherland was carded for an illegal shoulder charge at the ruck.

In the event, Melrose made good their numerical advantage by breaking out through a determined run by flanker Elliot Ruthven, who interchanged passes with the alert Roly Brett to score the game's opening try. The conversion attempt by Struan Hutchison rebounded off the upright,  but minutes later Kirk Ford showed super accuracy off the tee to kick a penalty goal from 42 metres, reducing the Melrose lead to just two points.

Melrose's willingness to move the ball then generated further profits as Kieran Clark completed an attack down the right flank by Declan Mulcahy in tandem with Bruce Colvine to score his sides second try, this time successfully converted by Hutchison to give the visitors a healthy 12-3 lead.

If the match looked as though it was slipping away from Hawick then the Greens managed to shore up their shortcomings and reassert themselves.  The repair work followed a break by Andrew Mitchell, transference of the ball to the Matt Reid and then a chip ahead by the supporting Lee Armstrong, who had the pace to win the race for the touchdown. From wide out Ford slotted the conversion to make it a two-point game going into half time.

Hopes for a more action-packed second half were quickly fulfilled after play resumed, Hawick showing a more positive attitude to ball in hand and Melrose countering with similar. Melrose, playing with the stiff breeze, should have made more of the situation when Hutchison put a penalty kick to the corner.

But almost immediately Melrose themselves were penalised giving Hawick an easy exit and a chance to move the ball and gain a foothold in the Melrose 22 crucially claiming the first points of the second half from a try by Shawn Muir after Ford and Reid had taken the ball to the line with delicate passing.

To the delight of the home fans Hawick wasted no time in striking again, after moving the ball wide to right wing to Owain Gray whose inside pass created the space for Hughie Donaldson to bag the Greens' third try, Ford adding the extras for a 22-12 advantage.

The question now was whether Hawick could achieve the bonus point score. The answer came quickly after Ford, benefitting from the Greens' confidence with ball in hand, broke clear before passing to Logan Henry,  who although tackled on the line,  had the momentum to carry him over. Ford then added the conversion points to magnify the Hawick lead.

Melrose, however, were not  out of the game altogether, and after a massive hoof upfield had created an unequal foot race between the visitors' pacy full-back Morgan Gabe and a less than 100 per cent Dalton Redpath, the former was the inevitable winner, providing five points for the Greenyards men.

The Hawick response was physical, Andrew Mitchell taking short ball from a set scrum before battering his way over for Hawick's fifth try of the match, safely converted by Ford to round off an impressive second half performance by the Greens and leaving Melrose to enter a period of self reflection as to why it went so badly wrong.

Teams –

Hawick: K Ford; O Gray, A Mitchell, L Armstrong, M Reid; K Brunton, L Henry; S Muir ©, F Renwick, N Little, M Renwick, H Donaldson, S Frizzel, M Brogan, C Sutherland. Subs: A Cannon, T Huggan, D Redpath, E Hamilton, F Douglas, G Huggan, G Lowrie.

Melrose: M Gabe; K Clark, C Goldsbrough, R Brett, D Mulcahy; S Hutchinson, B Colvine; J Dobie, L Kirk, A Kirk, A Weir, A Runciman ©, E Ruthven A Ferrie, C Fairbairn. Subs: A Ceballos, W Ferrie, M Rutherford, J Wilks, D Crawford, C Spence, M Bertram.

Referee: Chelsea Gillespie

Scorers –

Hawick: Tries Armstrong, Muir, Donaldson, Hendry, Mitchell; Cons: Ford 4; Pen: Ford.

Melrose: Tries: Ruthven, Clark, Gabe; Con: Hutchison.

Scoring Sequence (Hawick first): 0-5; 3-5; 10-5; 12-5; 8-12; 10-12 (ht) 15-12; 20-12; 22-12; 27-12; 29-12; 29-17; 34-17; 36-17.

Yellow cards –

Hawick: Sutherland (17 mins)

Man-of-the-Match: Hawick had a number of players who made their second half winning performance tick. Kirk Ford who contributed hugely with his goal kicking was key to the handling game as was Lee Armstrong but it was the powerful ball carrying and tackling of Connor Sutherland that ultimately proved to be the go forward factor for the Greens and he is the deserved recipient of the MOTM accolade

Talking point: Hawick's win against Melrose should have eased any Teri tension about their overall form this season. This was a display that exuded confidence in the second half after a diffident start but one that should instill self-belief for the remainder of the season. Crucially, too, Hawick were able to expose a number of younger players to this level of rugby.  For Melrose it seems that having adapted so well to a plastic surface,  playing on a grass pitch and especially one that is heavy is difficult for the Greenyards men and one senses Melrose will be happy to return to the fast surface of their home ground next week for an important match against Marr.

Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Freddy Owsley brace helps Watsonians to win over Glasgow Hawks

The post Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Hawick blow Melrose away in the second half appeared first on Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line.