Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Hawick bounce back with Border derby win over Melrose
03/22/2025 05:05 PM
Melrose 29
Hawick 39
ALAN LORIMER @ The Greenyards
HAWICK rose from the ashes of a 93-0 shellacking last weekend by Ayr to return to winning ways with victory over their Border rivals, Melrose, in a match that produced five tries apiece and in which the scoreline oscillated with the frequency of Trumpian thinking.
Crucially, Hawick had a several senior players back in action this week, including Lee Armstrong and Fraser Renwick, and that certainly helped to inspire the younger members of the team. Even so, it was still something of a heroic turnaround to recover from such a deeply damaging defeat as happened against Ayr.
"Let's not beat about the bush, last week was horrible, and it will hurt for a long time" admitted the Hawick coach Graham Hogg. "There's been a lot of talk about the numbers in the squad, but I can tell you this week we had more than ample at training. And that's where today's victory was set. The foundations were built on Tuesday night.
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"There was a lot of reflecting on last week and a lot harsh words said within the group. And the players responded. That's the character of this squad. We showed that quality during the game today when we went 10 points down but had the strength to get back in and win the game," suggested Hogg.
Arguably, Hawick were helped by Melrose mistakes at crucial points in the game, notably when the home side failed to finish off a move that should have resulted in a try, and early in the second half when they overthrew at a five metre line-out.
But looking at the game from a positive angle, Hawick had the better of the forward battle and behind the scrum the footwork of Armstrong was crucial.
For Melrose to lose a game in which they matched their opponents on try count was a bitter conclusion. The Greenyards side, too, will question their game management when they let slip a 24-15 lead in the second half.
"We just weren't consistent enough over the 80 minutes. When we're scoring tries we're probably one of the best teams in the league but when you bottle scores we're probably one of the worst teams. We allowed them to achieve big momentum swings.
"When Hawick had momentum in the second half we really struggled to get it back. That's very frustrating. So it's important that we come back next week and finish on a high and then regroup over the summer. But credit to the boys who have put a lot into this season.
“You have to remember that a lot of them have come from playing National One rugby for five years. Our primary job this year was surviving – staying in the Premiership. We just have to ensure that this group of players are learning from this season. What has been annoying for us is that we just didn't play well against Border teams this season," concluded Wight.
Hawick, playing with tempo, certainly looked hungry in the opening minutes of the battle an turned down a chance of early points, opting for a kick to the corner in favour of a kickable penalty. In the event ,their decision to go for a try yielded zero points, their attack from the ensuing line-out coming to nought after Melrose forced a turnover.
The visitors' total dominance in the first 15 minutes, however, finally produced a dividend, the Greens moving the ball from a five metre line-out and setting up a series of forward drives on the Melrose line. The Greenyards men resisted initially but when Andrew Mitchell chose a clever line to take the ball at pace, the big centre was able to cruise in for the game's first try, ably converted by Ford.
Melrose seemed to be answering Hawick's early pressure only for the home side to suffer a setback when, from a set scrum, Connor Sutherland put Gareth Welsh racing through a gap before the burly scrum-half sent Finlay Douglas racing over for an unconverted try, only seconds after coming off the bench.
The Greenyards men replied when Hawick, down to seven forwards after the yellow carding of Nicky Little, could not defend a retreating five metre scrum giving the Melrose back-row Will Ferrie an easy try, converted by Kieran Clark.
The Melrose fightback continued with a decisive break by replacement Donald Crawford, who was making his first appearance since suffering a serious pre-season injury. The stylish centre galloped through a gap before sending the pacy Morgan Gabe in for an unconverted try to level the scores at 12-12.
Hawick then edged ahead with a Ford penalty goal but should have been reined back when Melrose, again through Douglas Crawford, created an overlap, only for the final pass to go astray leaving the Greens with a narrow 15-12 interval lead.
Melrose quickly reasserted themselves at the beginning of the second half, taking advantage of some poor kicking from hand by Hawick and ending with Roly Brett running in under the posts, leaving Clark with the simplest of conversion goals.
Clark then became the bonus-point try scorer, the wing fastening on to a clever grubber kick by Brett after Hawick had turned over ball in midfield following an over-complicated handling move.
Then, after a penalty kick to the corner, Little broke clear, sucking in three Melrose defenders, and when the ball was released Welsh sensed the better direction of attack to give Armstrong a try, converted from wide out by Ford.
The Hawick revival continued with a clever run by Armstrong and a slick offload to his fellow centre Mitchell, who had the strength to force his way over for the Greens' bonus-point try, again converted by Ford for a 29-24 lead.
Melrose had an immediate chance to reply after replacement Luke Townsend had put his side into an advantageous position with a penalty kick to the corner for a five metre line-out, only for the home side to fluff their lines with an overthrow that resulted in turned over possession and an escape for Hawick.
Matters deteriorated for Melrose when the home side conceded a penalty in their own 22 allowing Ford to open up an eight points gap with his second penalty of the match.
Hawick were not finished. From a penalty kick to the corner, the Greens drove the ensuing line-out for Fraser Renwick to claim his side's fifth try, Ford duly adding the extras.
The try excess continued as Melrose ran in their fifth try, this time from a kick ahead by Gabe and then a timely offload to Clark who raced in for his second try, the final points of a game that entertained for the full 80 minutes.
Teams –
Melrose: M Gabe; C Spence, C Goldsbrough, D Mulcahy, K Clark; R Brett, Doug Crawford; J Dobie, L Kirk, Z Swarzagak, A Weir, A Runciman ©, B Colvine, David Crawford, W Ferrie. Subs: A Ceballos, B White, R Robinson, S van der Sluis, L Townsend, E Davies, Donald Crawford.
Hawick: K Ford; M Reid, A Mitchell, L Armstrong, C Welsh; K Brunton, G Welsh; S Muir ©, F Renwick, N Little, S Frizzel, H Donaldson, R Anderson, M Brogan, C Sutherland. Subs: F Bell, A Cannon, M Atkinson, W Donaldson, G Huggan, C Riddell, F Douglas.
Referee: David Young
Scorers –
Melrose: Tries Ferrie, Gabe, Brett, Clark 2; Cons: Clark 2.
Hawick: Tries Mitchell 2, Douglas, Armstrong; Cons: Ford 4; Pens: Ford 2.
Scoring Sequence (Melrose first): 0-5; 0-7; 0-12; 5-12; 7-12; 12-12; 12-15 (h-t) 17-15; 19-15; 24-15; 24-20; 24-22; 24-27; 24-29; 24-32; 24-37; 24-39; 29-39.
Yellow cards –
Hawick: Little (29 mins)
Man-of-the-Match: Hawick had many contenders for MOTM including Connor Sutherland, Kirk Ford, Lee Armstrong and Gareth Welsh, and indeed there were a number of Melrose players who caught the eye, among them Morgan Gabe, Roly Brett and Angus Runciman. But it was the inspirational presence of Fraser Renwick that undoubtedly helped the Greens to the win. So Renwick who was faultless at the touchline is the worthy recipient of the MOTM award.
Talking point: Hawick with one game in hand over Melrose are one league point behind the Greenyards side and have the chance to overtake their rivals if they can perform in their final two remaining games of the Arnold Clark Premiership. The shadow of the 93-0 defeat to Ayr will remain long at Mansfield Park but it is to their credit that Hawick were able to revive their charred remains and rediscover their mojo. But perhaps the massive defeat last weekend was more about the gap that remains between those former Super6 sides who have retained the bulk of their semi-pro squad and the rest of the teams in the Premiership. That might suggest that Super6 did indeed provide the level needed to satisfy players with genuine ambition and that a second look at this level might be advantageous. Or … could the best of Ayr/Heriot's/Watsonians form the nucleus of a third pro side?
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