We use cookies to collect information about how you use the Police Scotland website We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve our services SelectaDNA tagging spray is being used by officers in the Hawick area are as part of ongoing work to combat anti-social behaviour connected with off road bikes The handheld tagging spray is a very fine mist that can be aimed at bikes clothing and the skin of riders and passengers of motorcycles and electric bikes It does not cause any harm or damage and does not wash off so over time it can help provide a forensic link to offenders through a uniquely coded invisible DNA mark that can only be seen under a UV light said: “Like many places around the country there are concerns in the Hawick area about anti-social behaviour associated with various types of bikes and this will not be tolerated “This handheld spray is another tool that officers have at their disposal to help detect illegal and anti-social activity of this kind “Officers continue to carry out patrols and work with partner agencies to combat anti-social behaviour and anyone with concerns or information should report it to police via 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.” Police Scotland support those who wish to become police officers special constables or police staff by hosting various online and in-person recruitment events throughout the year supported victims and a thriving workforce Read about our 2030 vision and three-year plan Worried that your partner or the partner of someone you know might have an abusive past we'd appreciate your feedback on the service we provided Police Scotland has been working to make its websites more accessible - read our accessibility statement THERE was a time when my biggest headache of the week was the phone call I’d receive as the sports editor of the local newspaper in the Borders to ask why I’d not been able to get all 500 words of the Hawick Trades’ 3rd XV match report in that week’s edition but like the town’s other ‘junior’ clubs – the level below the senior club at Mansfield Park – Hawick Linden they would field two sides every Saturday without fail and occasionally a third team The kids of the PSA and Wanderers aspired to join them football in the town was also popular then with Hawick Legion the amateur sides below the semi-pro Hawick Royal Albert They would put out two teams every week too How I wish I could hear again from the Trades’ report writer I say it was a headache only because his passion was such that nothing I could say could appease him; I knew it as I lifted the phone I’d listen to his re-telling of the game knowing my suggestion that he cut his report to less than 100 words to help me would again be met with: “How do I get all the try-scorers the lead-up to each try – because they don’t just happen you know there’s a lot of skill that goes into every try – into 100 words W6N: Two uncapped players in Scotland squad to face Wales Ben Vellacott recommits to Edinburgh with unfinished business to take care of URC: Glasgow v Munster: Warriors boosted by the return of Sione Vailanu and Kyle Steyn And so the 500-word report would be on my desk on a Monday morning at 8am along with reports for the Trades 1sts and 2nds somewhere in a sizeable pile of individual hand-written reports delivered to The Southern Reporter from across the sports-mad region I was reflecting on that on Saturday when I sat in the Mansfield Park stand commentating for Rugby Radio in the way I did 30 years ago for BBC Radio Scotland or Radio Borders and watching Ayr run in 15 tries against the modern-day ‘Green Machine’ The clubs all appreciate the coverage they receive from Stuart Cameron’s rugby service and so captains unfailingly trudge up to the back of the stand for post-match interviews but it was a long walk on Saturday for Hawick’s Shawn Muir You had to feel for a guy who has played over 250 games for his hometown club whose young family waited patiently for him to finish his captain’s duties before enjoying a run with ‘dad’ out on the field but it was his mind that concerned me more it’s not nice to be part of shipping 90 points but it’s no’ easy trying to find words to explain that But I’ve spoken here after some good days in the last few years and you can talk them up and give them all the plaudits under the sun and rightly so because they’re probably champions in waiting but for any team that pulls on the Green Jersey “I’m hugely embarrassed and I apologise to the people who’ve paid their money to come and watch us And it’s up to us to work harder and sort it out and give people some pride back in the games we have left.” There were obvious reasons for the gulf we witnessed on Saturday Ayr have benefitted from five seasons as a semi-pro team with significant investment in the club and players and are coming back to the club game at a time when numbers across the board are shrinking Their work behind the scenes to create a great ethos and environment has persuaded most semi-pro boys – some former full-time pros – to stay with passionate backers of rugby in Ayrshire all receive payment and expenses which helps too But don’t believe all you hear about the oft-inflated sums Hawick have apparently managed just three Tuesday night training sessions in 2025 – yes three – due to lack of player availability and have had fewer than 15 at some Thursday night sessions have 50-60 players involved in 1sts and 2nds training Hawick’s injury list this season has been unprecedented and on Saturday they lost Lee Armstrong before the game to illness and their best back Hawick is not where it was when I was fielding match reports from all quarters in the 1990s and too few in Hawick either recognise that or are willing to grasp the nettle and get with the programme of 21st century rugby in Scotland shipped over 100 points a fortnight earlier in the National League Division One version of Saturday’s Mansfield match – when they met Stirling County fresh out of their Stirling Wolves semi-pro skins but the way they ravaged a Jed side – which now has more 20-30-year-old players living and working in Australia than are at Riverside – revealed a similar gap When Hawick had two strong youth clubs and four strong junior clubs – well over 200 players training and playing three/four/five times every week – vying for top dog status in the town the competitive pressure that that created in a town of around 15,000 people was such that to get into the Hawick 1st XV you had to be ultra-committed Sean McGaughey’s … to play for your town team you had to be thinking EVERYDAY of what else you could do to be a better rugby player and Linden and the Harlequins working overtime to keep players engaged and get one XV out – training shunned by many for extra work shifts instead – that pressure has long since evaporated The real concern among many in the Borders town now is that the evaporation process has not yet run its course; that over the next few seasons it will continue until the Linden but there is a worrying acceptance about it now The ‘youngsters of today’ are often blamed What many of the older generation – including many shouted at by their elders for ‘wasting their lives away mucking about at the Mote’ – fail to recognise is that we are all merely products of the environment around us You rise or fall to the standards being set Ayr RFC appointed a full-time social media manager a young lad who came through university and sees a career for himself in a world many of us didn’t know existed to ensure the club connects with its younger generations Not in the public parks where we used to connect The UK has witnessed a decline in sports participation since 2000 to the extent that we now have one of the biggest levels of drop-out from sport through teen years in the whole of Europe The biggest declines have come in the most popular sports rugby and golf have witnessed the biggest falls Borders towns once led rugby because football took most of the top athletes in the rest of the country – and offered money to play early on – and areas of agriculture produced men better suited to rugby But professionalism changed that; money in rugby changed the dynamic and the growth of the game we love comes when towns like Ayr Selkirk have found a way to remain competitive in a town of less than 5,000 with a local high school of around 400 pupils – just ahead of the Borders’ smallest school Part of that is spending money on attracting players like Jack Fisher from Prestonpans and Corey Tait from Hawick but the more sustainable part has been the dedication of Jake Wheelans to developing the town’s youngsters over the last 30 years Kelso are benefitting from shifting its focus from a narrow investment in the 1st XV to developing the youth of the town They have worked hard off the pitch to secure sponsorship to continue funding a development officer who is like a pied-piper working between the club and local schools Player-coach Bruce McNeil and co-coach Nikki Walker are paid but payments don’t run much further at the small club The bulk of their Premiership team is under 23 Their focus last season was simply to avoid relegation and they over-performed by finishing fourth This season they have been tested by injuries and remain in a fight to avoid relegation They cannot compete with Ayr and Heriot’s either they need everything to be going their way to remain part of Scottish club rugby’s elite Melrose are finding a new path after re-emerging from the shadow of the Super6 and Southern Knights and digging deep to shape a new approach after major financial concerns their town’s relatively new football club has a similar number of youngsters the sports in that town are working together to create a bright future they need everyone pointing in the same direction to survive and that – not the performance of players against Ayr on Saturday – is where the real problem lies in Hawick The Greens are not yet free from relegation Currie Chieftains at home and Marr away to come but there are genuine fears that if they survive this season it will be harder next What was a strength through the 20th century Where there were well over 200 players 30 years ago Too many still clutch the old rivalries to keep them warm at night rather than embrace the new world of rugby I hear of some Hawick club members no longer feeling welcome in other clubs in the town and rugby people crossing the street to avoid each other depending on their club allegiance The prospect of a joined-up strategy for growing the game seems as far away as it ever has despite the decline in numbers being a decades old phenomenon people putting their own agendas ahead of the future of the town is killing rugby in Hawick Everything that can be done should be to retain the proud identities of the Linden PSA and Wanderers should never be forgotten The sport owes these clubs and the volunteers behind them massively – and to criticise any for their passion no little skill and dedication to rugby is to massively miss the point But time is now running out for these proud Hawick men and women to find a 21st century way to come together and ensure a new future for rugby in this most famous of towns behind a plaque that reads: ‘Where once there was rugby’ You know what they say: pride comes before a fall URC: Glasgow v Munster: Warriors boosted by the return of Sione Vailanu and Kyle Steyn Arnold Clark is the UK’s largest independent car retailer With over 70 years of experience in the automotive industry As proud partners of Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) we’re committed to supporting both professional and grassroots rugby across Scotland aligning our passion for driving forward excellence on and off the field Whether you're looking for your next car or cheering on the national team Arnold Clark is with you every step of the way Website: www.arnoldclark.com a topic that has stirred up several comments challenging current sporting and societal environment Just give it some further thought…. if not compelling jounalistic fodder while also setting the stall for others to weigh in the subject is actually pretty simple and straightforward as any relevant sports management academic or sports industry professional would attest before even breaking into an intellectual jog Scottish grassroots domestic rugby union with its expanded match-day squads of players & support alikadoos is hugely and impossibly exposed to the depredations of societal and demographic changes allied to burgeoning economic pressures on individuals All of this is becoming ever more apparent in the Borders with its distinctive regional characteristics – industrial Already lacking critical mass (in every significant aspect – go figure!) moving into the modern professional era we know the competitive game of rugby at club level in Scotland is clearly contracting going forward Less rugby is being played by fewer clubs despite the inflated guff regularly emanating from Murrayfield clubs and the increasingly financially-constrained Governing Body may apply their collective best efforts to reversing the inexorable slide down the slippery slope to oblivion (see above…) all their good ideas innovations and hard work will ultimately represent little more than tinkering around the narrow margins of an ever-changing sporting landscape it shows you that Rugby in Scotland is broken Hawick Harlequins & Hawick Linden fight every week to put a side together to play on a Saturday both clubs are fighting to keep their clubs alive Then we have Hawick who are going to try & revive Hawick Force next season this will only damage the Quins & Linden Hawick 2nds will need a pool of players of atleast 22 players to survive where will all these players come from you ask They will take the players from the Quins or Lindean I think either one or both of these great clubs will close their doors forever they will ditch the notion of a 2nd fifteen they can use the Quins of Lindean as feeder clubs too Hawick 1st fifteen so if Hawick RFC care about their two remaining junior clubs they will not go ahead with a 2nd fifteen next season!! They all can’t go too the 2nd fifteenas they will have to many players & excess players won’t get a game week in So these players will be lost to the game in Hawick it will be interesting to see what route Hawick go down and we will see soon enough if Hawick RFC care about the remaining two junior clubs left in Hawick Hawick showed great resilience to bounce back from the Ayr debacle to beat Melrose at Greenyards today Bonus point win… There’s life in the club yet it seems “Time and tide wait for no man…..” remorseless societal shift continues to gather pace in many respects to the detriment of higher-level community club rugby Think we are all getting carried away here Take away the money and Ayr would be back playing in Division 5 or whatever they were 20 years ago An Ayr 2nd XV would have been Hawick last week Narrow mindedness around the future of rugby Let’s go back to unpaid rugby and watch the standard fall while their first team played in the premiership last Saturday and were relegated with a record of played 18 And you think they would have beaten Hawick This article should be circulated across South Wales as we have an identical problem,to that of Hawick in many of our former strongholds of Rugby Welsh rugby is in freefall because grass roots through to semi pro and regional clubs have not moved with the times David Ferguson has identified many of the problems we all face and we ignore them at our peril Very good article and having been brought up watching the great Hawick team of the 70s pretty depressing Obviously issues within rugby in the town that needs sorting That said I now live in South East and most clubs put out a lot less teams than 10-20yrs ago There are other things for youngsters to do – look at the Luke Littler darts effect Also I know a former English National League player who won’t stop his boy wanting to play rugby but he’s not going to actively encourage it due to the physical way the game has gone As for current Scottish club set-up I’ve seen comments that the other clubs raise their level to the former Super 6 teams but I think reverse may happen without change If I was an upcoming player at likes of Ayr wanting to improve – is winning by 60,70,90pts going to achieve that and only having roughly 6 competitive games a year Probably not I would be looking at teams in English National League 1 or even League 2 North I have read your article David and so much is true except the statement that people use semi pro you can not be half pregnant our game is where it it is semi pro is not part of it the game is not sustainable we have to live with that Hawick deserve what they reap getting rid of Matty Douglas when winning championships and Scottish cups the committee look in the mirror with shame An excellent article which sets out the challenges which all rugby clubs in the Borders have to overcome if they are to get back to anything like the position of strength they once held nationally It’s relatively easy to summarise the current situation but is much more difficult to identify what’s wrong and more importantly the solutions One of the most striking observations is that the downturn in adult rugby bears no relation to what happens most weekends at clubs with very healthy mini and midi sections for boys and girls The drop off in boys and girls after 14 to 16 years is quite dramatic and is symptomatic of competition from other sports and interests It is therefore essential for clubs not only to retain their youngsters but also their parents who will be the next generation of supporters Rugby clubs in the Borders once relied on an army of volunteers who were in the main former players and players’ wives Mini and midi age groups also rely on many volunteers most of whom are parents especially the coaches are also former players who have recently retired Adult rugby still relies on dedicated volunteers but to complete with other sports and clubs has to employ full and part time coaches and administrators In the past these positions were carried out by volunteers have to attract additional funds to meet these costs This coupled with the decision to pay or not to pay players also ratchets up the costs for Premiership clubs wanting to be successful at the highest level Club sponsors tend to fall into two categories those who have a local connection and others who want to be associated with a successful club to promote their business It is easier to attract the former but they also have other local sports and activities to consider If a club is successful and at the top of a league it should be easier to attract sponsors than those at the bottom This means clubs must have a winning team and connect with its local community If a club is in the Premiership it can attract players by paying them Attracting aspiring players can also be achieved by high quality coaching Again quality coaches can command significant sums on a part-time basis Most people would contend that the best solution is to develop your own players but this takes time and is dependent on how strong the pull of the community and ethos is at the club It takes dedicated people who have passion desire and commitment to see their club continue to develop in a changing rugby world some decent points but I would disagree to an extent that the issue hasnt already manifested at mini/ midi level The numbers at mini levels are much lower than they used to be How a mini section flourishes depends on their coaches their attitudes and ultimately the culture in which they operate their mini coaches are under much less scrutiny than the older age grade counterparts and harmful behaviours to the game are already commonplace at this level There are still many examples of coaches viewing success as winning games and meaningless tournaments as opposed to the true mark of success – developing and maintaining a large player base and growing the game Too often there is the temptation to play the strongest team at the expense on whole squad inclusion some of this is because of naive coaching practice but also significant parent pressure who also view success as winning a cup or medal The value of handing over a squad of 30 well rounded squad players to a Youth / Secondary school level coach is huge as opposed to what often happens intolerant animals who will struggle to accept other players into the squad as well as accept defeat and the wider challenges of the game at youth and adult level This issue has been seen for years and when rugby was popular at schools this was probably an easier fix for a sensible rugby orientated PE teacher Unfortunately rugby is not as popular at schools now and nor is there necessarily the same drive from PE teachers to correct the characteristics of players they have inherited PE as a subject involves a number of sports and rightly so therefore rugby is no longer the sole focus as it was some years ago The game at schools in the Borders is again dying when taken alongside the context of other interests rugby just doesnt have the same attraction and its clear to see why player numbers are dropping The new schools / youth system is elitist and will not do anything for the wider game any player with aspirations of playing rugby competitively will have to move to one of these setups as has already increasingly become the case for all of this who can afford it This who cant will simply have to be content with a lower quality development environment and continued frailty around quality and quantity of fixtures Does moving to a Merchi etc impriove a players game Probably to an extent due to the facilities and coaching but even there they are big fish in a small pond rarely losing games because they have pulled in / attracted all the available talent Is this how to develop players and the game in the wider sense or just an attempt to pool a very small number of “ elite “ players for the purposes of the SRU to fill gaps until they can be overlooked for foreign based players which currently fill ipt to 50% of the current international twam The development of this new system really just added to the fact that this has become a money game at youth level unless you are not in close proximity to one of the 3 club sides The exclusion of a Borders team within this setup is a huge blow to the region and will force aspirational players away from the Borders Borders clubs and schools have historically figured heavily in national schools and club finals but again there has been a significant drop off which again highlights a growing issue in the Borders I dont know what the answer is but i dont feel it is the system currently being introduced indeed I feel this is simply another nail in the Borders rugby coffin There are undoubtedly huge challenges facing smaller town clubs but you have to question whether some of the great Borders clubs have moved with the times There are no top women’s teams and youth rugby has been quite insular The focus has to be on youth development for boys and girls Melrose and Selkirk pulling in foreign players and paying players not sustainable and simply scunners the local players displaced reducing the local player pool over time Melrose and Selkirk have been up to 50% non local players at times this year If thats viewed as success you can keep it Where is the sense in this type of strategy Have we not seen enough yoyo teams over the years who go up artificially if the back of bringing in players that dont stay the money runs out and they go back down as quick as they went up There is not the money in the Borders anyway i would much rather see the Borders clubs be much more loyal to their local players and create a much stronger club / community feel rather than what we have at present. its just no longer attractive and clubs dont help themselves by disillusioning the local talent who are the lifeblood of any Borders club Its hard enough to keep rugby attractive given the imbalance between effort and reward nowadays There are far too many other attractive options available now rather than lets train 2/3 times a week give up a whole Saturday for 40 mins gametime sometimes less… and walk anout like a cripple half the time… enticing 😂 Selkirk is a tiny town and punches well above its weight in terms of producing good players through its youth club With regards ‘foreign’ players there are normally one or two but these are guys who come to the club and live and work locally immersing themselves in the club and often staying for several years The basis of the team is always local guys and supplementing them with good players from elsewhere is hardly diluting the spirit of the place It is clear by Selkirk’ league position that by supplementing a core of local players with a handful of recruits they have been more than capable of competing against the top sides If they hadn’t pursued this policy many of the local players would have had to move elsewhere to attain that level of competition Have a look at their social media to see the success of young players being blooded this season Compare this to the likes of Peebles who have an excellent youth system but are unable to retain the best of their talent Hawick had the hest young coach in Scotland Their precision at the breakdown was better than some pro sides If you want an answer to why he left ask the Hawick Committee I appreciate that he is no longer the coach (and Hawick were way better with MD as coach) but in my view last weekend’s result removes any lingering notion that Hawick or any other amateur club operating during the Super 6 period were close to Super 6 level Tell that to Stirling who just finished runners up in National 1 with a largely Super Series squad All Saturdays result tells you is that Hawick are currently struggling and no where near the side that they themselves were two years ago Very thoughtful with a deep understanding of domestic Club rugby structure in Scotland! With the SRU now promoting an elitist u16/u18 structure which does not include certain areas including the borders They are not getting the major problem is participation in senior and especially junior rugby If you get more in the sport you have more to choose from Decisions being made now will have a drastic consequence in years to come Talented young players who are not being challenged at a high level will either leave local teams to progress or stop playing before senior rugby especially if local clubs are struggling SRU start investing now or your sport and national team will crumble What a well written article I think this will be recognised across all rugby clubs in the borders If teams at the bottom are disappearing fast it’s just a matter of time before one or two of the top teir teams disappear just take a look at north berwick this season gala ym gone sad times indeed,a lack of volunteers is a major concern with all sports the modern world leaves little room for volunteers I do what I can I get a lot out of what little input I give if everyone gave just a little bit life would be so much better That is a very difficult read and one I’m sure other clubs can identify with doesn’t mean always as many have discovered before It was pretty obvious that Hawick were in trouble this season as their 2nds called off almost all their Border Junior League games The health of a club is best shown by what is happening outside the 1sts To big a gap between 1sts and 2nds come back to bite you when those 2nds have to step into the 1sts Ayr are to be commended in how they set themselves up for success In 2024 they employed 39 people (28 of them at Bulls) They had the revenue to manage losses of £21k in Bulls and another operating company Let’s not beat about the bush here – very few (any?) clubs can compete with that off field strength but certainly provides a great example for clubs to aspire too Just hope Ayr will be able to play this Saturday with their own players having breakdowns One was on here in tears and unable to type correctly because his emotions got the best of him Hope the SRU reach out to him because he’s obviously not coping I suspect you are the one who needs help coping I recall visiting the Greenyards the week before the Grand Slam showdown in 1990 and marveling at the sight of Craig Chalmers one side and Gary Armstrong on the other in a no quarter given league decider To someone from the other side of the border it was like beholding the secret to Scotland’s success compared to a rudderless club system in England It was sad to see a clearly callow Hawick side outclassed at Kelso the other week and then read of last Saturday’s result I hope that somehow Hawick and the other Borders strongholds can find a way forward Some of us south of Carter Bar will always consider it a cradle of the game Stuart Hogg facing lengthy lay-off and … “If Langholm proves anything, we have to stay focused. As far as the title race goes, it was huge for us that Kelso got only three points at Earlston.” … “We did well to fight back at times, but we gave away some silly penalties, allowed them far too easy access into our 22. When you give them access to the 22 time and time again, it’s difficult to put that amount of effort in.” … Enjoyed this article? Quality journalism like ours is made possible by readers like you. If you value our in-depth coverage of Scottish rugby at all levels and want to see more, please consider supporting us with a subscription or donation It helps us keep delivering the news you love Thank you for being a part of The Offside Line community independent and up-to-date coverage of all aspects of Scottish rugby photographers and business minds bring their talents and enthusiasm to our unrivalled coverage of the game © 2016-2025 Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line | Kept onside by webporty The A7 is set to benefit from an improved road surface with a total of ten nights of resurfacing works in two locations between Hawick and Canonbie set to begin on Monday 20 January The works will see Transport Scotland’s operating company BEAR Scotland resurface approximately 1.2km of the A7 carriageway south of Unthank and south of Chapelhill Junction To ensure the safety of roadworkers and road users during these works the following road closures will be in place: a signed diversion route suitable for trunk road traffic will be in place between Hawick and Canonbie This diversion will add approximately 7.7 miles and 20 minutes to affected journeys Emergency services will be given access through the works at all times and local access for residents within the closure points will be maintained when it is safe to pass through the work area Emergency services and other relevant stakeholders have been consulted in advance to make them aware of the plans BEAR Scotland’s South East Network Manager said: “These surfacing improvements will address defects in the A7 carriageway at these locations resulting in smoother and safer journeys for road users “It’s necessary for safety to close the road while work takes place however we’ve scheduled these closures during overnight hours to minimise disruption “If you need to travel on this part of the A7 during the works our advice is to plan ahead and allow some extra time for your journey “We’re grateful to road users and local residents for their patience and understanding.” Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on www.trafficscotland.org twitter at @trafficscotland or the mobile site my.trafficscotland.org Saturday’s televised Borders derby between Hawick and Melrose is smouldering before could the match has kicked off Hawick are coming off the back of a disappointing display against league leaders Ayr last weekend where they shipped 93 unanswered points at home Melrose on the other hand defeated Edinburgh Academicals in the previous weekend in doing so snagging their ninth win of the season Melrose will welcome the chance to secure their 10th win of the season in the match at the Greenyards The match will be played live on BBC ALBA at a 3:05pm kick off time Sign-up for our newsletter today to receive the latest updates We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Hawick is set to benefit from a package of improvements on the A7 trunk road through the town and the upgrading of two pedestrian crossings Transport Scotland’s operating company BEAR Scotland will carry out the works in January and February 2025 These improvements come on the back of recent flood defence works and represent a total investment by Transport Scotland of approximately £440,000 Pedestrian crossing and footway works will be carried out under temporary traffic lights which will be removed during peak hours whenever possible Temporary closures of the Victoria and James Thomson footbridges will also be required and there will be temporary restrictions on access to Bath Street from Commercial Road Resurfacing of Commercial Road will be carried out over seven nights On these nights it will be necessary to close the road between 21:00 and 06:00 The following diversion routes will be signposted: durations and traffic management for each phase of these works: · Temporary closure of Bath Street at the Commercial Road end This allows the use of two-way lights on Commercial Road · Nights 1 and 2: Northbound diversion between Canonbie and Hawick via B7201 Southbound diversion via Mart Street and the High Street (B6399) BEAR Scotland’s South East Network manager said: “This package of works will provide an improved experience and enhanced safety for motorists cyclists and pedestrians using the A7 in Hawick “We’re doing all we can to coordinate the works so that disruption to road users local residents and businesses is kept to a minimum It is however essential for safety that we close certain routes while work takes place We will restrict closures and restrictions to overnight or off-peak hours wherever possible “We’re grateful to the public for their patience and understanding while our teams make these improvements We’ll issue further updates as the works progress.” Consultations have been carried out with emergency services and local stakeholders to share information about the project in advance All work is weather dependent and subject to postponement in the event of adverse conditions Live traffic information for Scottish trunk roads is available from Traffic Scotland at www.traffic.gov.scot 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 in a match that produced five tries apiece and in which the scoreline oscillated with the frequency of Trumpian thinking 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 it was still something of a heroic turnaround to recover from such a deeply damaging defeat as happened against Ayr 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 The foundations were built on Tuesday night Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Ayr edge epic top of the table clash against Heriot’s Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Currie Chieftains victorious over Kelso in a roller-coaster ride of a match Arnold Clark Premiership: Selkirk secure fifth place with hard-earned win over Musselburgh “There was a lot of reflecting on last week and a lot harsh words said within the group 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 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 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 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 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 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 Melrose seemed to be answering Hawick’s early pressure only for the home side to suffer a setback when Connor Sutherland put Gareth Welsh racing through a gap before the burly scrum-half sent Finlay Douglas racing over for an unconverted try 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 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 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 and when the ball was released Welsh sensed the better direction of attack to give Armstrong a try 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 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 the Greens drove the ensuing line-out for Fraser Renwick to claim his side’s fifth try 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 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 Man-of-the-Match: Hawick had many contenders for MOTM including Connor Sutherland and indeed there were a number of Melrose players who caught the eye 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 URC: Edinburgh let it slip at the death against Benetton England and abroad plus Springjocks etc seems sustainable Having better spread in Prem may help in places For example great for Ayr but few in danger of going pro so maybe share out a bit Anything too wrong with some easier games and a relegation battle Rather contentious final “Talking Point” – a total non-starter on grounds of practicality & finance The Game in Scotland is contracting (as much for societal & demographical reasons as any others) and requires a broader domestic grassroots base before any thoughts of expansion towards to professional end may be harboured…. Just shows the mentality of the Hawick players in a green jersey The comment at end of Talking Point regarding 3rd pro-side I’m of the opinion that the future of the international side needs a 3rd pro team to increase the professional player pot – aslong as not full of overseas players With Wales potentially ditching one of their sides is now the opportunity Problem though would be money and stretching SRU finances to perhaps the detriment of Glasgow and Edinburgh Could they do what English cricket did with The Hundred and franchise partially or wholly Edinburgh and Glasgow and use that money to put into grass roots club rugby What a difference a week makes for the green machine outstanding result and performance orchestrated by the centre pairing of Armstrong and Mitchell upfront some big performances Anderson carried hard and Renwick was a worthy MOM however I think the inspirational tag in that team goes to there captain how lucky Hawick are to have a leader like Muir plays 80 mins every week and never seems to miss a game and most weeks is outstanding Well played Hawick tough one next week against Currie 100% agree Shawn Muir has to be the best Captain Hawick have had in the past 15 years leads from the front every week and is very rarely injured Hearing rumours this year will be his last not sure if in rugby or just at Hawick but what a blow and huge shoes for someone to fill Interesting to see how Hawick go against Currie this weekend real test how they have bounced back of the embarrassing 93-0 loss. Where was your leader last week could not stop the mighty ayr putting 93 points on the board against them. worst Hawick side in 15 years and worst standard of premiership bar the top 3 Someone must be frazzelled trying to remember them all If both the seniors game and the excellent U16 curtain raiser between Hawick U16 and Melrose u16 is anything to go by then it looks like all is not as bad as it seems in Hawick rugby One week doesn’t change it all but games and performances from both Hawick squads yesterday are more of the norm than last week Huge credit to the people who keep churning these players out and huge respect to the Robbie Dyes on the way they’ve came back and showed plenty haters what it’s all about Surely this can’t be the same David Oliver the strength coach from Langholm (lol) who has been having his say on how the Hawick RFC pathway is progressing By the looks of things the game has improved without comparison to the time he was involved What resilience from the Hawick team After the Ayr debacle .there must have been a lot of soul searching during week to bounce back with a bonus point win at the Greenyards Go the Robbie Dyes 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 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 were able to turn things round in the second half and once they brought their effective handling game to the table “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 “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 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 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 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 benefitting from the Greens’ confidence with ball in hand Ford then added the conversion points to magnify the Hawick lead 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 providing five points for the Greenyards men 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 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 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 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 And of course with help from the junior sides in Hawick as well I count 6 players in the squad who have played for one of the junior sides this season Great for development and game time and well done to them for making the step up Great Border Derby Certainly a game of two halves Delighted to see Hawick fielding 21 players that have came through the Hawick Semi Junior system whether it be the former PSA Wanderers or the now combined Hawick Youth Rugby Good to see a lot of Ex Melrose wasps playing for Melrose too it dawns on me that it might be a fake name maybe that is a real life human hiding behind a fake profile Let us not doubt that Melrose have some really good players their squad yesterday was exemplary in behaviour and there is significant talent there Hawick may easily lose at plasticyards on a dreadfully compounded synthetic pitch against a fast attacking melrose i dare say Melrose have too at some juncture or other Rather than fall out let us celebrate the fact that 4 yes FOUR (Messrs Struthlo and the unusually birth name of Bullsman please note) Border sides will be in the Prem next season Melrose play off contenders a few weeks ago…. humbled by the mighty greens and the Rose will do well to avoid the relegation battle… Quick enough to chase Melrose’s best player Alan Ferrie offering him mega bucks and a place in the Hut at the Common Riding next season “But we don’t pay our players” is the cry from Burnfoot and The Stirches Ned Haig is that not what Melrose have done for years with all the borders clubs It’s good to see Hawick getting back into a winning groove with Melrose worthy opponents in another tense Border derby The heavy rain had taken it’s toll on the pitch but the highlight for me was Kirk Ford’s beautifully judged touchline conversion that turned Armstrong’s try into 7 points… would that Ford had been kicking for us at Twickenham Another derby game next week too when Hawick travel to Kelso Lorimer once again provides accuracy and passion in his report We are lucky to have such a talent who has no self-boastful pedigree nor split game loyalties not for him the emperor’s new clothes nor foul mouthed jibes and prejudice …roll over from the beeb messrs english and marler respectively Just a shame you let yourself down with the ending Ayr ran riot against a depleted Hawick side with a 15-0 try score to confirm the wide-held view that integrating former semi-pro sides with amateur club rugby has not been a roaring success So was the trip from the west coast to the Borders a waste of time who suggested that the game challenged his charges to test themselves under match conditions “What this allowed us to do was put our systems under pressure The message at half-time was reset and think 0-0 And even when we brought the bench boys on there was no drop off What we’re trying to do is to get as many people as possible exposed to this environment and playing at the standard we want,” explained Anderson As to the matter of bringing Super6 sides into a league with amateur clubs Anderson opined: “Anyone who was in any doubt about the difference between Super6 and club rugby can now see it In the Premiership you’ve almost got leagues within leagues It will take a wee bit of time to solve itself 6N: France v Scotland live blog: Ireland squeak past Italy U20s 6N: France v Scotland: close but no cigar for visitors in Parisian thriller “We had Jamie Shedden playing for Edinburgh last night Supe6 may not have been the precise answer but there is something needed,” reasoned Anderson The difference between the two sides was palpable right from the start of the game when Ayr’s forwards dominated to an embarrassingly high degree And once the visitors had broken the spirit of Hawick it was then  just a sequence of Ayr tries amplified in the second half when the Millbrae men ran in nine scores three of these by replacement centre Ben Frame this was a dark day in their illustrious history Admittedly the Greens were missing a number of top performers among them Lee Armstrong who was pulled out of the team on Thursday night due to illness Hawick lost the abrasive Andrew Mitchell meaning that their backline was an unfamiliar patchwork Hawick had too many young and inexperienced players taking the field and in the event their lightweight pack made it all too easy for Ayr Hawick’s captain Shawn Muir chose to to offer excuses for what he described as “an unacceptable performance” from his side “Yes they’re the best side in Scotland but it’s not acceptable playing for Hawick and shipping that kind of score There’s still three games to play in the Premiership so we need to bounce back I know there are boys injured but that’s not an excuse,” stated Muir their relentless pressure yielding a predictable result as the visitors used their  forward power to engineer a driving maul try finished by James Malcolm and converted by Scott Watson The Ayr full back was quickly on kicking duties again this time converting his side’s second try by Ryan Sweeney after the burly flanker exploded from a ruck and with stand-in stand-off Cian Riddell the last line of defence the score was unstoppable Ayr continued to use their forward power in the red zone resulting in back-row Tim Brown muscling his way over for try number three successfully converted by Watson for a 21-0 lead The upward trajectory of the Ayr points tally continued as Shedden made the running for the bonus point try finished by winger Thomas Lanni and once more Watson made kicking off the tee look ridiculously easy Shedden then switched roles to finisher after Blair Macpherson had rampaged into open space to create a try for the big centre and yet again Watson proved super accurate with his goal kicking Ayr still had time for another score before the interval and this time it was second-row Rory Jackson who caused havoc with his determined running and then a finely judged overhead pass to former Gala man Fergus Johnston sending Ayr into the half-time break with a more than comfortable 40-0 advantage Matters failed to improve for Hawick after the break as Ayr used scrum ball to attack on the blindside Johnston taking a return pass from Lanni to score his second try The agony continued for Hawick as Ayr moved the ball sweetly through eight pairs of hands ending with Ed Bloodworth cantering over for his side’s eighth try to bring up the half century of points There was more misery for the Greens when Shedden cantered over – or rather was ushered  through – for his second try of the match Watson achieving his first conversion success of the second half The scoreboard then yelled out 64-0 when Bobby Beattie converted his own try after what looked like a practice session score This was quickly followed by a try from replacement Frame and the conversion by Beattie The procession of Ayr scores continued as Lanni bagged his second try after Hawick seemed to have introduced a no-tackle rule and then when Frame completed his-trick with two tries in quick succession and Luca Bardelli obliged with one conversion the visitors’ points tally hit 88 Frame then set up an unconverted try for replacement teenage hooker Jamie McAughtrie to complete the Mansfield rout on a day that Hawick will wish to erase from the club’s history Scoring Sequence (Hawick first): 0-5; 0-7; 0-12; 0-14; 0-19; 0-21; 0-26; 0-28; 0-33; 0-35; 0-40 (h-t) 0-45; 0-50; 0-55; 0-57; 0-62; 0-64; 0-69; 0-71; 0-76; 0-81; 0-86; 0-88; 0-93 Man-of-the-Match: Ayr’s massive win was based on the power of their forward pack in which the seemingly indefatigable Ryan Sweeney set the tone with his immense work-rate and ability to offload when the opportunities presented themselves Talking point: A scoreline like this against a club who were Premiership Champions as recently as two seasons ago focuses the mind and one wonders if a suitable successor model can be found The 12 team Premiership was always going to produce some huge scores and perhaps it would have been better to have had a smaller league at the top eight clubs to which ambitious players would have migrated 6N: France v Scotland live blog: Ireland squeak past Italy I have spoken to several neutrals who were at the game and they all said they witnessed no abuse Success in our sport is now governed by money I had 80 minutes of it from the Ayr winger a few seasons back when acting as touch judge It’s important that people don’t automatically assume that trolls like Mr Struthlo are actually in any way associated with the club they have aligned themselves with and are sullying the name of purely for the sake of pushing their own toxic agenda Much like the once prolific AngryGala commenter who left the scene around the time Mr Struthlo appeared (coincidence?) and who was in fact nothing but a long time BTL troll on here and on other sites operating under various pseudonyms My advice to those getting riled up by him and his sort is not to rise to it I suggest you take a basic statistics class Sandy Humans are infamous for spotting patterns where none exist I’d also recommend you read any of my non-club related comments you will see they are far from controversial I call out those from 1 or 2 clubs who displayed extreme arrogance while Super 6 was running that is the extent of what you consider ‘trolling’ i prefer to call it holding those individuals accountable for their comments which persisted for a number of years What would someone brain dead like you know about rugby Fake Douglas Struthlo account making comments to try get banned As are a few of the comments in this article… check the email Has happened on a few premiership articles as a way to wind up people it seems Scottish Borders District Union to the rescue of one its most prominent flagship Premier clubs Do you think Ayr will be able to play next week when their own players are having a breakdown about a little bit of booing just hope that player who is crying on here can get the support he needs Maybe he should step aside if he can’t handle it Just find it amusing that grown “men” want to spend their Saturday afternoon booing and jeering at a rugby match… Make up your mind it was “the 14 year olds seen with my own eyes” It’s OK to admit you made the whole thing up I don’t think you “seen” [sic] anything it speaks volumes about yourself and your club’s attitude towards the game and things in general when you see my comment as me having a breakdown I was simply stating some members of the crowd embarrassed themselves and probably embarrassed your own players I couldn’t really care any less about what a crowd made up of 50 old men and their dogs shout about our team as none of you hung around after the game anyway to have any real conversation If you want a verbal sparring match on here I’m not interested – I’ve just beaten your time by almost 100 points so quite frankly Sorry I think you are struggling to type through the tears Hawick are a magnificent Scottish and Borders rugby club But much of that reputation is rooted in past glories Tomes etc and being given 5 minutes by Bill McLaren and a sookie sweetie-called Hawick Balls But the present day Hawick match day experience is dreadful for a visiting fan I was at Mansfield last month with my club and I was shocked at the language on the banking direct at the opposition coaches and players the visiting fans-actually anyone who was not Hawick To be honest the c word was liberally used and constant baiting of visiting fans and referees- and there were lots of children around it was simply awful to hear the opposition fans and players taunted and abused Hawick people will read this post and deny the extent of the issue One post on here says it is deep rooted behaviour I will not enter into a war of words on this forum And it is dreadful to read the nonsense that the chap Douglas Struthlo constantly posts- he needs to banned Mr Barnes-this is not what Scottish Rugby needs-But I would hope that as a club the decent members of Hawick- there are so many- would reclaim their club and ask abusive members never to return You do not have a right in today’s society to abuse others simply because they do not wear the green…and actually all rugby clubs should stick to this philosophy Are we all squeaky clean??…there are also some challenging visits for the opposition to Poynder Park and Philiphaugh in the last few years… I love tribal taunting or abusing the opposition or their supporters or referees in our game…Let the rugby do the talking I find in rather sad that this comments page has resorted to a juvenile slagging match about what was a completely uneven contest which had it been a boxing match would have been stopped long before full time by its referee We know Hawick have a colossal injury list we know Hawick were champions only two years ago we know Hawick used to be the rugby benchmark club in Scotland but what we don’t know is how to return club rugby back to a more evenly balanced form of competition that is attractive to watch and play Ayr represent the west of Scotland that used to be represented by a myriad of clubs no longer around or lost in lower divisions Were I a player living nowadays in Glasgow Ayr would be the club to go to if was I good enough to get in their team bus each week What we should be discussing is why the second largest city in the UK can’t produce more than one premiership winning side from such a huge population base Scottish premiership rugby is in a mess with the polarisation of talented players in one club such as Ayr not good for the future of our game We need to aspire to match Ayr’s standards and this can only be done by producing more talent across the country Many of us sadly knew that Hawick were in for a hiding yesterday and watching them I genuinely feared for player safety as the game wore on and the Greens tired To see Nicky Little lying face down on the grass one minute then being helped up and right away having to run into a contact situation all because there was no available replacement shows how badly placed club rugby has become If people don’t like what they see on the pitch play or contribute in our game’s future and that is the real issue facing club rugby Is it not just a case players have stopped playing Someone saying 14 first choice were out injured just isn’t true On Saturday Hawick were missing the following players who have worn the green jersey this season: L.Henry L Gordon-Woolley off the top of my head as well as the fact we lost A Mitchel injured early in first half “Were I a player living nowadays in Glasgow Ayr would be the club to go to if was I good enough to get in their team bus each week.” so that is a deflection Hawick clearly had a long injury list Yet only yesterday MrBarnes was telling us (after a few players did well in a Edin A team fixture) that the gap between Premiership and pro rugby isn’t as big as some think And Ayr are still basically the side from S6 a significantly higher level than the premiership Comment by Stewart Bruce on 15th April 2023 “Having watched a bit on Alba of the Watsonians v Edinburgh A game on Friday night one has to wonder what Hawick could do against some of these Stupid 6 outfits?” Perhaps another couple years of being hammered is required Plenty of arrogant Hawick comments like this the rest of the Scottish rugby public had to put up with for years The faux outrage after winning 93-0 is more embarrassing Really engaging with the community and investing their money really well but also taking advantage of the lack of Glasgow clubs at the top flight to attract top players leagues within leagues and compare the Hawick side of the previous couple of season is where I really struggle with Scottish club rugby Super 6 was an unmitigated failure and had little to no difference bridging the gap between amateur and professional rugby than the old premiership did The displacement of players who had to go to super 6 for ambition of playing top level rugby has clearly had an effect on other clubs where players have not returned injuries and unavailability regardless is a terrible look for our game Some of the tears in here over a little bit of jeering the hawick lads on the pitch were good blokes and fought hard in every collision also strung together some good phases at times one of those days where every offload goes to hand and every gap gets spotted Our most complete performance of the season by far We do have a lot of depth and it is unfortunate but in rugby squads get depleted with injury the crowd did embarrass themselves at times Having been on the receiving end of scorelines such as today myself in the past I can say that’s probably the last thing the boys on the pitch want Looking forward to being back at Mansfield next season I have no interest in either club but how refreshing to read a post that is actually about the rugby Guys let’s use this sight for robust conversation about the sport we enjoy Hawick youth parents and supporters are also terribly behaved.Deep rooted behaviour Not sure why any decent person would use one On 1 occasion today a group of 14 year olds made noise at a conversion,not booing.we are sorry about that they were reminded not to do so and to be sportsmanlike and it never happened again No lack of skill or endeavour by either team so please get your facts right One very big and fast team against one missing 14 first choices and having a bench of 4 plus a gallant jethart lad clearly a huge talent pool and executed moves well Unfortunately mr struthlo didn’t come to say hello and explain his troubled bile…if he exists A whole season unbeaten is an incredible feat Hawick did it and this talented Ayr side may very nearly do so this season but are clearly on top of the league so far for good reason I believe I have got my facts right Mr Bannerman Grown men booing and jeering with the 14 year olds seen with my own eyes Fair play to the Hawick boys on the pitch though Look at the excuse making he needs to make The youth learn from their elders – and it was definitely booing Ayr would never make excuses about missing players Hi Douglas you where not even at the game there was 2 ayr supporters and a dog and bus driver that’s all that was counted Unfortunately there are moments individuals let our clubs down and I have first hand experience of individuals who should know better from Ayr letting your club down These incidents however do not fundamentally affect how great our game is and what makes it so special to be part of Hawick are a great club and Ayr are a club which I have admired in recent years for what they have achieved and the actions of individuals will never change my overall view of either club Hawicks unbeaten season is meaningless – half the top teams were playing in a higher league Fake trophies your lot boasted about for years Another post from the sanctimonious deluded hypocrite Struthlo What a joke mixing the Super rugby and amateur teams in this manner with little thought My prediction pregame was Hawick 8 – Ayr 87 and for members of Hawick to be crying afterwards (read the previous article) The Hawick captain was certainly trying to hold back tears in the post-match interview and voice extremely shaky He also seemed to suggest that some senior members of the club (not playing members) are playing too much politics instead of doing whats best for the club… although did not finish what he wanted to say as ‘he had to be careful’ Sort yourself out Hawick – the borders are supposed to provide strong teams – this was pathetic and not even worth mocking Well done Ayr – can only beat whats in front of you Hopefully next season we see better competitive games How many of that Ayr squad came through their youth set up What does winning matter if you can’t do it with your own people there was 7 players in Ayrs squad who have worked their way up through ayr and earned their spot in the 1st XV Mr I’ve had it with these snakes on this mutha truckin’ train 7/22 isn’t a great statistic to brag about How did the S6 boys at Stirling County n Bmuir get on with strolling to an easy promotion? HHHHHHawick wouldn’t stand a chance in the Super 6 I saw plenty of fear (mainly from the stands) You don’t concede 100 points if you’re putting the body on the line Another post from the sanctimonious deluded hypocrite Struthlo who doesn’t even have the intelligence to realise 93 is less than 100 trying to defend a 93-point loss rather than a 100 You sound like a Hawick fan “lets keep it under 100 lads Hawick fans need to take a long look at themselves Booing and jeering at the Ayr kicker when taking goal kicks when going in at half time at 40-0 absolutely pathetic swap Biggar for Hawick and I strongly suggest the contest would have been close That’s all Hawick fans are good at doing this season Panties IT is one of those final scorelines that many might be blinking and reading a second time as the side sat sixth in the table were comprehensively turned over by the one in ninth and fighting relegation Kelso have been an improving side since the turn of the year with their experienced players all back from injury and so that they gave Hawick a real game was not a surprise but the way in which they dominated the first half at a packed Poynder Park this afternoon and went into the break 27-5 up on the scoreboard was met with disbelief in the stands Hawick had to dig deep as they emerged from the break and knew they had to score first and when Kelso scored twice in four minutes before the hour-mark it was game over Having shipped more than 100 points in their last two games at Mansfield Park this win had a sweet taste for Kelso co-captain Dwain Patterson Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: conversions key as Currie Chieftains banish play-off rivals Selkirk Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Melrose pile misery onto Marr Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: pack power key to Heriot’s win at Glasgow Hawks “We have really suffered at their hands in the past two seasons at Mansfield and we really wanted to show that that wouldn’t happen here,” he said “The Poynder factor does help a lot and we’d really like to praise our supporters for how they backed us today and the backing they give us home and away to be honest “From one to 22 the boys really stuck in very well today to get the win The first half there was quite a stiff breeze and we put a big emphasis on getting a good start to the game and we got ourselves on top and managed to get the tries “They have some very good players and they can be very dangerous if you let them But our forwards were outstanding again – Jack Utterson was immense and he goes into the front-row and plays like a veteran; Liam McConnell coming in just immense; and boys like Murray Woodcock and Cammy Thomson are really punching above their weight And that makes it much easier for us backs to play off front-foot ball.” There was utter dejection in the other camp Just how frustrated Hawick felt was visible in a couple of all-in rammies in the final minutes where players – and replacements – were launching themselves into the melee for the sake of taking out their frustrations on someone The fact that the game’s man-of-the-match McConnell was a key target underlined as much The most frustrating thing is probably that there was nothing surprising about what happened out there today We highlighted this week the effect of the crowd here if you let them get on the front foot early on and talked about how we had to match them physically from the start and so you can’t say that scoreline is a surprise The Kelso we played at Mansfield in October [and beat 52-12] was a team of lots of young boys but we are missing a few older heads at the moment and with guys like Bruce McNeil and Keith Melbourne they just dominated us from the start but we’ll learn from it and pick ourselves up We have to because our next game is at home to Ayr I’ve beaten Ayr several times at Mansfield so we’re not scared of them but we need to have a good look at ourselves after this and bounce back quickly or we could find ourselves in that relegation battle.” As critical as Hawick will be of their performance it is difficult to know how they could have dealt with the early Kelso onslaught any differently Every time they picked up ball and made a couple of yards they met one of the most aggressive defensive lines witnessed at Poynder Park; one which knocked ball-carriers back metres Their totems Muir and Andrew Mitchell fought like dogs but were regularly battered backwards and that visibly hurt the team’s confidence Utterson has been allowed to develop in the adult game with Kelso as a back-row but with Scotland under-18 games to come he was switched to the No 2 jersey And he produced an incredible performance in defence and attack with impressive ‘darts’ – his lineout throwing was very dart-like He was far from alone with notes made at one stage or another for every player in the pack But the all-round quality of blindside forward McConnell released for a second time this season by Edinburgh to his draft club was another element that put Kelso on a superior level in this encounter finishing off a series of forward breenges to the Hawick line after ten minutes before stand-off Liam Herdman showed his alacrity when he latched on to Utterson’s one mistake of the day – an overthrown lineout – and duly beat a sleeping Hawick defence to touch down Scrum-half Logan Henry pulled one back for Hawick with a neat loop of Matt Reid to score in the corner to take a wonderful Finn Russell-esque miss pass from Herdman after hard work by his fellow forwards to score in the corner Patterson converted again from the touchline and Hawick were staring down the barrel at 27-5 down at the break The third quarter was scrappy as Hawick fought tooth and nail for a way back Hamish Tweedie showing his power and pace after 53 minutes and Utterson finishing off on 57 minutes – Patterson converting both – took the game to 41-5 and out of sight Hawick’s pride meant they finished strongly winning a penalty-try with ten minutes to go – home replacement Euan Knox was yellow-carded for a high tackle though he insisted it was a case of mistaken identity – and Deaglan Lightfoot darted round a maul to score in the final minute as the game ended in all-in scuffles there was no hiding the visitors’ frustrations this win takes them 11 points clear of Edinburgh Accies in ninth spot for all the historic delight of claiming a first national league win over Hawick since the Kelso championship-winning team of 1989 claiming the Border League bragging rights and getting their name engraved on the Bill McLaren Shield co-captain Patterson is not about to relax and to win like that against Hawick … well it’s certainly been a long time our supporters have had to wait for that Our club logo is ‘history is our strength’ and we’re trying to make our own history at this club so getting that monkey off our back with beating Hawick and putting our name on the Bill McLaren Shield “But after tonight our focus is back on the next one We have to go to Goldenacre in two weeks’ time Marr have still got Accies and Musselburgh to play and will back themselves to win those so we still have games to win to make sure we stay in this league and keep writing our history.” Utterson; Cons: Patterson 5; Pens: Patterson 2 Scoring sequence (Kelso first): 3-0; 8-0; 10-0; 15-0; 17-0; 20-0; 20-5; 25-5; 27-5 (h-t) 32-5; 34-5; 39-5; 41-5; 41-12; 41-17 Man-of-the-Match: There were contenders right across the home team this week with the experienced players Bruce McNeil Andy Tait and Frankie Robson key pillars of the victory and still under-25s Liam Herdman and Dwain Patterson took Kelso to a new level of performance that had their club president Eric Paxton saying it was the best Kelso team he’d seen in 15 years McConnell claims the MoM gong for a terrific all-round display Talking point: There were two that dominated the clubrooms after this one – the unexpected margin of victory and players and supporters of several generations trying to work out the last time Kelso defeated Hawick in a national league game Teri legend Jim Renwick’s suggestion that it was ‘when Moses was a boy’ turned out to be incorrect Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: conversions key as Currie Chieftains banish play-off rivals Selkirk Kelso very hungry and thoroughly deserved their big win Quite why the shameless Struthlo has to bring his bile to a report on a game that he had no other interest in is quite beyond us mere mortals you need to think long and hard about allowing such denegration of our great game to sully your pages This needlessly unpleasant conduct has no place in modern society What’s Interesting is you take my comment as being directed as an insult to Hawick rather than a compliment to Kelso Basically he is just a sad sanctimonious hypocrite Pathetic over-reaction by the over-sensitive RB – to a DS comment that appeared essentially to compliment Kelso Maybe both should be banned from future commenting along with the perpetually snide and shallow Joe Smith they add nothing to the conversations here on TOL Oh the irony from the perpetually hypocritical Einy and asserted their dominance over this hapless Hawick side Onwards and Upwards Kelso – an interesting mini battle for the ‘best of the borders’ trophy awaits in their pursuit to top the middle of the table Good evening Mr Strutho hope your bearing up You clearly Sir have a particular dislike of Hawick Rugby for whatever reason does a somewhat infantile disservice to Kelso who we’re absolutely magnificent yesterday Bruce McNeil and the Kelso boys played out their skins yesterday aided by a tremendous Coach in Nikki Walker Without doubt Hawick were absolutely outplayed by a committed skilful and totally focussed Kelso team who from 1 to 15 plus subs were totally focussed on attempting to remain in the top ranks of Scottish Rugby Nobody will feel it more than Shaun Muir and the Hawick lads but Hawick of course will come again and being in the Poynder Park bar after the game yesterday even as a disappointed “ teri “ I’ve never been as proud of the Border Rugby Scottish Rugby as a whole is without doubt Mr Strutho in a much stronger place going forward the more Borders representation it has but you may clearly have a different angle which I totally respect It’s of course swings and roundabouts Mr Strutho enjoy the ups cos it’s enivitable them downs are never far away but true Rugby Men enjoy it all As a Kelso supporter you don’t mind having an Edinburgh draft player as MoM when you have outstanding home grown talent like Utterson Survival was the key aim of the season and 6 wins from the last 8 should secure it Easy to say now but as a neutral I always fancied Kelso at home desperate for points,and especially with the boy McConnell in the back row ( he needs more game game time at a higher level ) Hopefully today’s five points is enough to keep Kelso and four Border teams in the Prwmiership Kelso showed how to put in an eighty minute performance exuding power and determination ultimately destroying Hawick early in the second half Kelso are a team building cleverly into title challengers for next season and with this approach may well become the strongest of the Borders quartet in Prem 1 Well done the Tweedsiders IT was one of those post-match briefings every coach dreads Events elsewhere meant that for Kenny Diffenthal despite the result of a tight and nervy game full of determination looked like he had found a penny but lost a pound It was a bitter blow for the coach and the club especially since it came after the players had shown so much commitment in eking out the victory only to have the chance of Premiership salvation snatched from them when news filtered through that Glasgow Hawks the only team that could have been relegated in their place “We worked hard through the week trying to worry about ourselves,” said Diffenthal Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Glasgow Hawks push past Selkirk to safety Challenge Cup: Edinburgh see off Lions to progress to quarter-finals Glasgow Warriors to return to Hampden Park for next season’s 1872 Cup It was never a game where Marr could relax but they knew that to give themselves the slightest hope of a miracle recovery to stay in the Premiership They did just that and then endured a patchy nervy final quarter as Hawick came back into the game and threatened to snatch the result right up to the final seconds when prop Alex Apthorpe stole a turnover to end the game but almost as soon as the cheers and hugs began as word filtered through that it had all been in vain fly-half Colin Sturgeon and scrum-half Grant Baird and now any attempt to make sure they go out on a high is bound to ring a little hollow “Some boys want to play in the Premiership,” he admitted they enjoy enough of what we’re doing that they stick around but then we lose the likes of Scott Bickerstaff so we’ll have to try and entice a few other lads to join us.” The real frustration was that if the team had been able to produce this level of performance in some of their earlier matches they would probably never have been in relegation trouble in the first place they kicked off and were ahead within two minutes though he was brought down short of the line prop Craig Miller picked up and finished the job under a pile of bodies Where Marr did have trouble was in securing the benefit of their scores as Hawick proved that when they did have the ball Scrum-half Gareth Welsh started things in midfield with No 8 Connor Sutherland and centre Lee Armstrong carrying things on until a couple of huge passes out to the left gave wing Charlie Welsh space to squeeze in for the levelling score It stayed that way for a while as both teams found the wind and the intensity of a game that spilled over into a couple of brawls tricky to adjust to but it was mostly Marr in charge and Hawick resisting the best they could There was a limit to how long the visitors could survive with centre Logan Jarvie wriggling through enough tackles to pressure the line and hooker Blair Jardine completing the job Marr’s frailty after taking the lead was exposed as Hawick hit back immediately setting up on the left until Armstrong shifted play and found Fin Douglas with acres of space to cross for the levelling try though there was an element of controversy about the deadlock-breaking try Hawick clearly thought the referee had stopped play while a player was injured only for Sturgeon to take another tap and this time find wing Euan McAra on the outside to step the final defender and score With the wind at their backs in the second half the Greens were always going to come into the game more but there is no point in simply recycling the ball without any real plan to stress the defence it was a moment of brilliance from Marr that brought the next score Jake Jacobsen launched a solo run from his own 22 racing clear of the defence until he was eventually tracked down by the cover He had support there with Jarvie acting as the link next in line to take the pass stride in unopposed under the posts from 30 yards out A high tackle from lock David Andrew earned him a yellow-card and Hawick were able to turn the screw with a series of line-out drives until flanker Russell Anderson smuggled himself and the ball over the line That set up a grandstand finish in a game that Hawick coach Graham Hogg said pretty much summed up their season “We had bits of attack and stuff that was really that had us pulling our hair out,” he said We knew it was going to be an interesting journey this year and I think that last 80 minutes there showed exactly where we are “The club’s got a fair few decisions to make over the summer in regards to where we go the Marr players knew they had done all that was asked of them in this game Then word arrived that it was all too little Scoring sequence (Marr first): 5-0; 5-5; 12-5; 12-12; 17-12 (h-t) 24-12; 24-19 Player-of-the-Match: Tricky one in a game that was rarely about individuals Hawick were best served by centres Lee Armstrong and Andrew Mitchell while Ben Johnston carried superbly for Marr There is always something memorable about a prop on a 30-yard charge to score Talking Point: What makes relegation hurt even more for Marr is that they know there is going to be a brutal fight for promotion from next season’s National One division Four or five teams are going to be close to Premiership quality and they can’t all make it They showed in this game they can certainly match Premiership mid-table quality but that may to be enough to get them back up Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Glasgow Hawks push past Selkirk to safety coached and supported Marr for over 40 years and am with Michael the rebels are correct Many of the “ Joe Smiths”.never met him once The bottom line the league table tells a story the blazers condoned unacceptable behaviour but likely similar to other clubs The ambition has obviously not matched consistent outcomes Micheal makes a great point about the DNA of the club I see too many Marr supporters that have only known success We have always had good youngsters but the club needs a structure and qualified leadership to “let them play” opposed to recruiting randims The current coaching team has been a sticky plaster and a new approach is needed Sanctimonious deluded hypocritical delusion is an entirely different matter As of course are strawmen arguments Marky Boy Can you provide one shred of evidence that I have used multiple aliases To quote one of the moderators who had to warn you before The challenge Marr had this year was to prove they are premiership quality following the return of premiership mainstays Well documented on this site they dismissed there talisman Craig Redpath and had little recruitment over the summer Marr rebels brought this to everyone’s attention and were heckled for doing so The P&G faithful turned a blind eye to the predictable outcome Marr have done incredibly well over the past few years but clearly lost the DNA of a community club Like others have commented the back and forth seemed genuine but disappointing contributors used aliases in fear of reprisal a reset is needed root and branch to maintain many years of hard work So much about the Marr fairy story reflects the potential of community sport in Scotland pity the good name of the club is tarnished in these TOL columns by eejit posts neighbours the huff and puff over the past few seasons and you have been found out when you came up against men you looked like boys Meeks you are a class act and incredibly brave to hide behind a pseudonym Your talent on the understanding of club rugby is outstanding and your intelligence is overwhelming lol And I don’t use aliases as you have been strangely putting out in the narrative the past weeks Oh the irony of the sanctimonious deluded multi-aliased troll FRIDAY night’s rerun of last season’s Premiership Play-Off Final between Hawick and Currie Chieftains at Mansfield Park  – which was scheduled to be televised live on BBC ALBA  – has been postponed due to the arctic conditions which have enveloped Scotland throughout the last week club game to fall victim to the weather this weekend given the temperatures are expected to remain largely below zero degrees across Scotland over the next three days Hawick confirmed the postponement with a social media post which stated that: “Sadly Our Premiership game against Currie Chieftains due to take place on Friday evening at Mansfield Park has had to be postponed due to the severe ground frost This game will now be rescheduled to the next available standby date.” Champions Cup: Glasgow v Racing: five changes to Warriors line-up for EPCR pool clash Bad weather in Scotland can hit anytime between October and the following September meaning games can be called off at any point It’s a shame they couldn’t move it to the artificial pitch that’s used by the Linden but there will be a number of reasons why that’s not feasible including lost revenue which clubs desperately need Melrose match on Greenyards 3G also postponed due to frozen pitch 3G’s are treacherous at the best of times at least with grass the hazards are obvious I’ve seen 3G’s declared playable when the top surface is loose but there is a horrible layer of ice underneath which is lethal Very careful and considered decision making is required when declaring on 3G pitches Some say you can play on 3G if it’s above minus 5 for me anything below 0 degrees and I would be very cautious about declaring a 3G playable Good to see so many early calls on this weekends games I will be interested to see what type of pitch Selkirk run into up at the ground Ayr have moved ithe game to…. there must be an Oasis around the Millbrae men… To be honest even asking clubs to travel in conditions of a potential forecast of -10 and under is questionable and again something that should maybe be taken out of the clubs hands Hi Don the nu.ber one reason the volunteer park was Frozen as well these 3 G pitches Freeze as well This reminds me of Dom Wards article on what can be done to improve participation/games fufilled As i have suggested before – A transition away from a winter rugby schedule is essential Too many games are regularly cancelled each season in January/Feb due to weather conditions Crazy we have a league schedule over a winter period where 50% of the games are always cancelled the weather in scotland is widely unpredictable we’ve had winters where we’ve had no games postponed while we’ve also had pre-season games postponed due to water logged pitches I’ve long thought that having the season run in the same year up here in Scotland (3months spring / 2 months summer break / and three months autumn) would also lead to more crowds coming along to watch the prem matches as well I’m sure someone with way more brains than me could work this out fairly easy……! it could be used to build interest and participation around the prem which could lead to help with additional revenues etc…. “50% of games always cancelled” – utter rubbish Based on the weather conditions you can probably count on one hand the number of games going ahead this weekend THE FAT LADY of relegation hasn’t started to sing just yet but you could say she’s practising her scales As the Arnold Clark Premiership season moves towards its decisive phase the drop zone looms ever larger in the minds of teams hovering around the nether regions of the league There was certainly a nervous atmosphere around Mansfield Park as two of those sides went head to head on the old ground helped by a trio of tries by ceNtre Andrew Mitchell The Borderers have not had their troubles to seek in recent weeks but pride and persistence kept them in the fight and they were deserving winners “I’m really pleased with the way the boys pulled together We’ve had a lot of injuries to deal with and we could have pulled out all sorts of excuses but making excuses isn’t what Hawick are about There was a real spirit about them today and they showed that with the way they pulled away at the end,” he said Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Kelso ease relegation fears with dominant second half versus Edinburgh Accies Celtic Challenge: rampant Glasgow shock Edinburgh to claim first win in competition Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Currie Chieftains made to work harder against Musselburgh than scoreline suggests Yet Hawks coach Andy Hill struck a defiant tone when asked if he was concerned about relegation I thought we were the better side today and it was only a few individual errors that cost us dear I don’t think the scoreline was a real reflection of the game.” it was Hawick who made the first significant intrusion – and posted the first points – when Charlie Welsh carried well down the left touchline the play moved to the centre of the park and full-back Kirk Ford clipped over an easy penaltyy after Hawks had gone offside a ruck near their own posts That opening score had come after five minutes and it wasn’t long before Hawick threatened to increase their lead when a superb break by Mitchell saw the centre carry the ball deep into the Hawks’ half before he was hauled down by the defence who were already showing a tendency to cough up soft penalties and give away yards too easily Hawick did increase their lead soon afterwards when Ford knocked over his second penalty That score finally seemed to wake Hawks out of their torpor and they mounted a powerful assault after winning a penalty near halfway Recycling well from a line-out near the Hawick 22 they got some good carries from their hefty forwards gaining a position beneath the posts from which Scott Steele dived over for a try Yet if Hawks thought their points marked a turning of the game’s tide they were soon disabused of that idea as the home side mounted a powerful counter almost straight from the restart but the gaps that been apparent in their defence in the opening stages opened up again and Mitchell needed no second invitation  before charging through for a try Ford’s neat conversion put the Greens back in front Hawks’ steamroller pack looked if they could start to dictate the game’s patterns but they were met by some ferociously effective tackling by the home defence The physios were busy dealing with the fallen as the physicality ramped up and Hawks were forced into a change when a very groggy looking Craig Nolan had to been helped off the field got their noses back in front shortly before half time when their waves of attack created a gap for Yousuf Shaheen Provan kicked the conversion and then stretched their lead to four points with a long-range penalty two minutes later But while the Hawks pack had dominated the latter part of the first half they were given a scrummaging lesson in the opening minutes of the second when they were driven backwards by a mighty Hawick shove That incident obviously went down well with the home crowd – as did the three points Ford harvested from the subsequent penalty That score meant we had a one-point game again and the tension of the situation seemed to afflict both sides as neither could find their gears to maintain any lengthy period of possession Hawick suffered a setback when Lee Armstrong was sent to the sin-bin – possibly for blocking a quick penalty attempt by Hawks although his offence was not entirely clear – but they weathered his absence well enough and actually moved themselves ahead when the impressive Ford struck another successful penalty Hawick’s lead was both slim and short-lived Hawks found their second wind as they reinforced their side with a posse of replacements and duly got their reward when James Couper nipped over near the left corner for a try that put them 22-19 ahead But Hawick girded themselves again and restored their advantage when just after Steele had been yellow-carded for obstruction Mitchell charged through for his second try of the game The centre had looked impressive right from the start and he pretty much guaranteed himself the man-of-the-match accolade when he completed his hat-trick of tries in the 74th minute but with a nine-point lead and the clock running down but as the game opened up in the final stages it was Hawick who took advantage with scrum-half Logan Henry scooting over for their fourth Scoring Sequence (Hawick first): 3-0;  6-0; 6-5; 6-7; 11-7; 13-7; 13-12; 13-14; 13-17 (h-t) 16-17; 19-17; 19-22; 24-22; 26-22; 31-22; 36-22 Man-of-the-Match: There were some impressive performances on both sides but it’s hard to argue against giving the accolade to a hat-trick hero Talking point: Whoever lost this match was always going ot face a nervous finish to the season It’s hard to imagine a Premiership without Glasgow Hawks but they will need a good run of results in the weeks ahead to keep themselves in the top flight now Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Kelso ease relegation fears with dominant second half versus Edinburgh Accies They had the result the wrong way round for a while the Offside Line had a report on the game and I knew who I could trust Hawks probably only need to win one more game to be safe you’d think that maybe only two of them are winnable Edinburgh Accies have a far easier looking run in They need to beat Marr home and away for sure I’d reckon Kelso v Hawks at the end of March could be a relegation decider they must be worried about GHA’s impending promotion Hawks only real USP is that they are the only Glasgow team in the Premiership Hawks will become a harder sell to players clubhouse or training ground and constant rumours of them folding Their are only advantage is that they pay players and GHA seem not too will they in the market spending to get back out of National 1 Which may make player recruitment even more competitive It certainly will be an interesting off season Fair to say Hawks can’t afford to be relegated GHA would become the premier club in Glasgow with Hawks likely falling behind Glasgow Accies in the pecking order (given they have their own clubhouse etc.) Heard a rumour that one of the other Glasgow clubs will be getting a significant cash injection next season Will see if off season recruitment backs that up I remember the rumour this time last year that Hawks were to fold at the end of the season Probably best to ignore rumours and wait and see what happens I mean the 2 EGM’s they had where they told the players Presumably by people who didn’t understand English then Are you saying the Hawks players don’t understand English effort & skill from Hawks players… Hawks’ persistent lineout woes at crucial stages in key areas of the field don’t appear to have registered with the match reporter A lost attacking lineout on Hawick’s line (Hawks throw from a penalty to the corner) effectively surrendered the initiative and momentum at a crucial point in the 2nd half after which there was only going to be one winner deserving victors Hawick got stronger and stronger Would love to have watched the game through the Glasgow hawks coaches eyes brilliant display with heart and hunger a plenty Some names on that team-sheet I didn’t even recognise Other coaches on here get alot of credit but the job Hogg and co are doing is right up there with the cards they have Any update on the reason for Hawick RFC President’s sudden resignation in recent days Personal reasons was given as the reason he has stood down 6 Andrew Syme who unfortunately got concussed in the first half Edinburgh-based alternative UK network ISP GoFibre has today announced that they’ve managed to sign-up 1,000 customers to their new full fibre (FTTP) broadband network in the Scottish Borders town of Hawick Locals are now being offered a special deal that gives new customers speeds of 1000Mbps for the price of 500Mbps for the duration of their contract The operator’s new Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network is now available to 6,000 premises (ready for service) in Hawick which is home to a population of c.12,500 and gives them a local broadband take-up rate of 16.67% (not bad coming so soon after build completion) GoFibre now has over 22,000 premises ready for connection across the Scottish Borders in places like Galashiels Residential customers of the new service typically pay from £25 per month for a 150Mbps (30Mbps upload) package on a 24-month term with an included wireless router which rises to £39.50 for their top 1000Mbps (100Mbps upload) plan The latter also comes with a bonus Wi-Fi extender (this can optionally be taken on other plans at extra cost) “To reach this milestone in our heartland of the Borders is fantastic with Hawick locals now able to enjoy the benefits of our seamless high speed connection we are offering new Hawick customers our max speed package (1,000 Mbps) for the price of the 500 Mbps [£33] for the duration of their contract We remain committed to adding value to every community that we serve and we would like to thank all of our customers throughout Scotland and the north of England for their continued support.” Re the photo: Kashmir is surely the home of Cashmere Comments RSS Feed THE 2023 Kings of the Sevens title holders put themselves into an almost unassailable position in their quest to regain their monarchial status after triumphing at Hawick with a winning performance in the final over the stylish and effective guests and then picking up a further title 24 hours later by defeating Jed-Forest in the final of the Berwick tournament as a result of the Melrose tournament shifting from their traditional date in April to the last weekend in May Hawick found themselves in the dubiously privileged  position of hosting the first sevens event of the Borders spring season In the event the Hawick Sevens served up some quality rugby despite the obvious problems that participating teams have of adjusting quickly to the different demands of the abbreviated game after a long 15s season Jed-Forest and Kelso had all invested time in assiduous preparation for the sevens all these clubs contributing to a competitive tournament in which Durham University supplied a generous sprinkling of stardust URC: Attack is the best form of defence for Glasgow Warriors, says Kyle Steyn Silver Saturday: GHA complete unbeaten season with Scottish Cup Final win over Glasgow Accies Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership play-off: Ayr book final spot with win over Currie Chieftains But as the tournament progressed one sensed that Melrose looked the best prepared and the best equipped to put a block on the exciting and pacy students whose panache-packed performances helped warm up the spectators at Mansfield Park on a cold April day Durham only just scraped through the first round after coming up against a Kelso side that forced the tie into an extra-time sudden death play-off It was desperately disappointing for Kelso to exit in this way and puts into question the wisdom of sticking to a straight knock-out competition when the alternative pool format would guarantee participating teams at least two or three games who looked the part throughout the rounds and who used the physicality of player-of-the-tournament the young back-row able to create holes in the opposition defences and able to cut a straight route to the line when opportunities appeared two traits noted by the Melrose sevens coach “Ruairidh was phenomenal and I think he really found what he can bring to the game too that Corey Goldsbrough and Declan Mulcahy were also very good in the final Melrose came through the top half of the draw by cruising past Berwick in the first round and then dismissing Boroughmuir in the quarter-finals they showed their tournament winning credentials in taming what had looked a strong Selkirk side with tries by Mulcahy (2) Hamish Weir and Kieran Clark to book their place in the final who have pedigree in the sevens game having won the BUCS title for the last three years put behind them their first round scare against Kelso to defeat Stirling County in the quarters before facing a well-prepared and strong Edinburgh Accies side in the second of the semi-finals a first half yellow-card proved costly leaving the Raeburn place men trailing 24-7 at half-time after the Durham students had scored tries through their flier Callum Hyland Dugbo (2) Mitch Lacey Babalola and playmaker Louie Platt with a first half try by veteran Richard Mill scoring three second half touchdowns by Robbie Kent (2) and Neil Armstrong to narrow Durham’s lead to seven points but a hat-trick completing try by Dugbo made certain of a final slot for Durham Durham led 14-12 at the interval with converted tries form Lucas Rowell and Will Windows to answer tries for Melrose by Connor Spence and Mulcahy Melrose had answers both in attack and defence to deal with Durham’s pace Mulcahy and Weir scoring second half tries to give the Greenyards men a deserved 24-14 tournament win But there was little doubt that Durham had contributed immensely to a quality final helped give him ideas about who will put themselves forward for places in the team that plays in the BUCS competition “For a lot of these boys it was the first time they’ve played sevens for the university,” he said “It was good to see those who could challenge for the senior set-up Playing against Melrose was a good learning experience for the lads We know we can’t compete in a physical game so we put a lot of emphasis on speed and the core skills Melrose met Durham University in Pool A but faced a totally different and less strong student side and in the event Melrose had a comparatively comfortable 43-12 win to top the pool Melrose were then pushed all the way by Jed-Forest in the first of the semi-finals before emerging winners by 32-27 to book their place in the final against Kelso winners of the second semi-final over the host club Berwick by 27-5 hoping to atone for their extra-time exit at Hawick on Saturday came close to upsetting the Greenyards machine but in a close game the Poynder Park men eventually lost out by a single score to the double weekend winners Melrose Callum Henderson and player of the tournament Duahan van der Merwe facing anxious wait after ankle op Hawick are letting themselves down as well as their supporters with the 22 league games they played proffered by some as a reason for players being tired after a long season Melrose played in the same league this season and managed to win two tournaments on consecutive days with 8 of their players from Saturday playing at Berwick on the Sunday The Greenyards men have to be admired for their approach to the sevens and must now be favourites to clean up at the forthcoming tournaments Maybe that’s why the article says 2023 champions… Good article but Kelso are the reigning King of the 7s champions Very disappointing performance from home club Hawick .out in first tie of the day You’d have thought they’d give it a go in their own tourney Also Next day they pulled out of Berwick 7s .couldnt raise a team Changed days .Whats wrong down there Colin… We’re Not happy …that’s an understatement Was an embarrassment and website in this browser for the next time I comment THIS hard-fought and well-deserved home win lifted Selkirk into the play-off seedings of the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership with seven games of the regular season left to play and confirmed that Hawick are in a dog-fight against five or six other sides to avoid being one of the three teams relegated out of the top flight of Scottish club rugby next season we did deserve the win,” reflected victorious head coach Gordon Henderson afterwards There were some big hits out there and I thought Hawick played some really good rugby It was tight at half-time and we knew we needed to coming out the traps pretty quickly in the second half and we managed to do that to get over the line The boys put a huge shift in – especially defensively in that last 20 minutes when we were in our half more than I would have liked because we didn’t exit very well I’m really happy with the five points “It is nice to be up in the play-off places and as I’ve said to the guys: we’re there on merit but it is going to take a lot of hard work for us to stay there,” Henderson added we’ve got to go to Heriot’s next week we’ve got to go to Watsonians (on 15th March) and we’ve got togo to Ayr (on 29th March) We’ve also got Currie down here (on 1st March) who we’ve just taken over that fourth spot from but that’s what we play for the game for We won’t be favourites in any of those games but I know we can compete in all those games and if we get to the last 20 minutes and we’re still in the game against any of these team then we’ve got a chance because our fitness is really good.” Pierre Schoeman lands a £125,000 cash prize Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Ayr overpower Marr in feisty Friday night derby clash Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Watsonians see off Currie Chieftains with third-quarter purple-patch Hawick’s build-up to this match was disrupted by a series of injuries to players but head coach Graham Hogg was not looking for excuses when reflecting on the situation his team are now in “I can’t fault the boys for effort especially in the first half when we did a lot of defending and I think that took its toll,” he reflected “We had plenty of opportunities in the second half but just didn’t get into our attacking game That’s probably credit to Selkirk in terms of how they defended for each other and worked hard “We’ve put stuff to the boys over the last two weeks to highlight how important this next month is and especially the next fortnight when we have two home matches against Glasgow Hawks and Melrose which have now turned into must-win games,” he continued “There is stuff form today that we can pick out which was really positive but there is a lot of work to do to make sure that we are not on the end of a result like this again “We’re not a bad team,” he stressed “I’ve not had a week like it in rugby in terms of injuries with five players we’d have hoped would play today being ruled out there is plenty teams have been in this predicament and it is up to the players who are here now to rally round and get the job done so we just need to build the boys’ condfidence back up and fly into these two weeks.” Kirk Ford stroked Hawick into an early lead with a 40-yard penalty from right in front of the posts after Luke Pettie was deemed guilty of languishing on the wrong side of a ruck Selkirk had a chance to even the scores after the visitors were punished for a similar offence a few minutes oater but they kicked to the corner instead of going for the sticks and cashed in when the ball was switched from the line-out to the middle of the park and Ross Nixon bounced Cian Riddell before offloading to Corey Tait who powered over to score the first of his three tries on the day against his hometown club The pendulum swung back the other way again when Andrew Mitchell launched a powerful break from about halfway and when Hugo Alderson got a hand to the Hawick second-row’s offload which seemed harsh given it appeared that a genuine attempt had been made to catch the ball The visitors quickly capitalised by kicking the penalty to the corner and then transferring slickly across the park for Charlie Welsh to scamper over on the left and they hit back whenNixon chipped an excellently weighted diagonal towards the left corner which Ben Pickles gathered on the full without breaking stride That meant the hosts emerged from the 10 minutes they had played with a man less having scored the same number of points as their opponents and then a huge scrum five minutes before the break propelled Hawick off their own ball to earn a penalty on the visiting 10-yard line While Alderson’s long range shot at goal sailed to the right of the sticks another period of Selkirk domination had been initiated which Hawick initially defended well before eventually yielding another penalty (for a ruck offence right in front of the posts this time) and Alderson didn’t need a second invitation to help himself to three more easy points to make it 17-10 at the turnaround Selkirk struck first at the start of the second half with slick hands across the backline releasing Josh Welsh on the left The big winger veered infield then delivered a perfectly timed offload to send Alderson who had run a classic scrum-half support line after several minutes of relentless pressure with Fraser Renwick grounding the ball over the line at the end of a line-out maul which had been created by a not-rolling-away penalty The key in tight matches is to fortify any points you get and make absolutely sure that you don”t hand your opponents a quick way back into the game so Hawick will be kicking themselves that they once again lost a try straight after scoring by conceding another ruck penalty which allowed Selkirk to go to the corner It was Tait who bustled over for his second try of the match securing the four-try bonus-point in the process Hawick tried to rally but they couldn’t seem to catch a break A huge tackle by Pickles on Mitchell turned the ball over Charlie Welsh fluffed a scoring chance on the right when he seemed to dive for the line early then the same player thought he had made up for his earlier error with an acrobatic finish in the corner only to discover that referee Michael Todd had spotted a forward-pass during the lead-up Selkirk lost captain Andrew McColm to the sin-bin and the game loosened up with the home side kicking long and seeming to back themselves to absorb Hawick’s attempts to punch their way back into it Despite the stress this caused their coach it proved to be a fairly effective strategy Tait drove the final nail into Hawick’s coffin on the stroke of full-time when Selkirk pressed their opponents right back onto their own line the ball squirted out the side of the ruck and the recent Scotland Under-20s star – who inexplicably seems to have been catapulted from the Scottish Rigby pathway – looked as fresh as he had in the first minute when picking up the loose ball and charging over for his hat-trick try Selkirk: C Anderson; J Welsh (F Douglas 77) B Pickles (B Cullen 71); Aaron McColm (E Wilson 68) Scoring sequence (Selkirk first): 0-3; 5-3; 7-3; 7-8- 7-10; 12-10; 14-10; 17-10 (h-t) 22-10; 22-5; 27-15; 29-15; 34-15 Player-of-the-Match: There was big performance across the park for Selkirk with Andrew Grant-Suttie a wrecking ball in defence Ross Nixon a shrewd operator at inside-centre and Kieran Westlake a steady-hand at No 8 – but hat-trick hero Corey Tait who started at blindside flanker then moved to his usual position of hooker has to get the nod for yet another all-action display which further underlines the sense of confusion that he is no longer part of the Scottish Rugby academy programme After being the dominant club in the Premiership for the last two seasons with what felt like a clean bill of health every week Hawick’s already depleted squad after retirements and sabbaticals has now been decimated by injuries to the point where getting a competitive team out week on week is proving a struggle But there are still class acts and experienced performers littered across the squad and with the exception of Ayr’s visit to Mansfield on 15th March they can rightly look at all their remaining matches as winnable … if they can build up a decent head of steam It is going to be a battle every step of the way Pierre Schoeman lands a £125,000 cash prize A tough encounter from start to finish with Selkirk the stronger team deserving of their win and place in the play-off positions Nothing can beat a Border derby for excitement and commitment with both sides going all out yesterday Interestingly on 3rd February 2024 at Philiphaugh Hawick won 59 – 3 so a lot has changed these last 12 months Selkirk’s first training session before the start of the season had 15 players and no coach A remarkable turnaround to get to this point Young Teris in team not quite up to speed yet .but will get there Why is Tait not in pro set up ? it’s all down to cash at the end of the day Anderson and Renwick on dosh at the Sourthern Knights and then they come back to Mansfield Park along with Mitchell and Redpath Hawick simply couldn’t afford to pay Corey Tait CURRIE CHIEFTAINS made sure of their place in the play-off semi-finals by defeating Hawick in an extremely viewable match that produced 12 tries shared equally between the two participating sides and which brought satisfaction of different hues to both squads Given what for Hawick was a catastrophic event two weeks ago when they conceded 93 points to Ayr without reply the close scoreline against Currie and the two bonus-points gained represented restorative pride for the Greens Currie’s much stronger and more experienced bench gave the visitors the win they sought but Hawick can take satisfaction from the quality of their tries the best tries are those scored in the corner but that in turn makes the addition of conversion points more difficult Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership round 22: runners, riders and verdict URC: Glasgow v Lions: seven changes for hosts as Six Nations stars return Tom Jordan opens up on Glasgow exit but vows to go out on a high In that context Kirk Ford kicked three from six whereas Sam Leto for Currie presented with mostly much simpler conversions Currie knew what they wanted from the game in terms of points as their coach Mark Cairns explained: “We still needed a point to get into the play-offs and thankfully it’s now there We wanted to come here and improve on last week and also to keep this winning run going “So when we have the semi-final against Ayr we will have built up a bit of momentum away from home Tonight we managed to get everyone in the squad a half We were able to test a new half-back partnership in Ryan Southern and Sam Leto and … we won,”  Cairns said with a satisfied smile this was a game all about exorcising the scarred memory of the Ayr debacle and moreover about proving to themselves that they are still one of the better sides in the Premiership “I was really happy performance-wise,” stated Hawick’s coach we probably should have come away with more We felt that from our point of view the first two or three Currie tries were pretty soft “We asked to put some pride back in the jersey – and we did We need to keep building these boys up because some of the rugby they’re playing now is outstanding It’s a massive credit to our boys,” suggested Hogg On a chilly night the frozen faithful at Mansfield Park had just over two minutes to wait before receiving a body-warming score from the home team a try by Andrew Mitchell from a searing run by his fellow midfielder Lee Armstrong Currie wasted little time in replying by attacking from the restart with powerful thrusts by their bulky forwards that ended with No 8 Ed Hasdell dotting down between the posts leaving Sam Leto with an easy conversion kick Hawick hit back immediately with slick handling from the restart that created an overlap for wing Finlay Douglas to race in for his side’s second try The pattern of the game continued with Currie again using their heavier forwards to create another score from the men up front credited to prop Cairn Ramsay with Leto adding the extras The visitors tried to replicate the forward play that had produced two tries but Hawick perhaps with the memory of the Ayr defeat still raw in the mind Then from a line-out five metres out from the Currie line initially using a driving maul and then splintering to the blind side to set up a try for Hector Patterson Ford judged his conversion attempt perfectly to give the Greens a 19-14 lead But it was soon apparent that Currie would produce a riposte such was their eagerness to move the ball Their reward came after some aimless kicking by the home side that was converted into attack by the Chieftains’ centre Scott Robeson who had the skills to put Ryan Daly in for an unconverted try to level the scores Hawick’s determination to wipe clean the Ayr disaster then found expression in a swerving run by Ford and alertness by Douglas for the wing to grab his second and the Greens their bonus point try to give the home side a 24-19 interval advantage Hawick’s lead was extended five minutes into the second half with a bizarre try by Patterson after a Currie clearance attempt was charged down the bobbling ball resulting in defensive chaos that the quick thinking scrum-half used to his advantage to score his second You got the feeling that Hawick might pay for the temerity of moving into a 10 point lead the retribution visited upon the Greens arriving in the shape of frequent forward surges that brought about territorial gains Currie brought their blind side wing Iain Sim into play before the forwards took over once more for Hasdell to crash over  for his second try of the match the visitors adding further points to their tally when Robeson took an inside pass before sprinting to the line for a try under the posts Minutes later Robeson completed a brace after running a clever angle following formidable forward play from the visitors Again Leto was presented with a simple conversion attempt and again the stand-off was unfailing If it seemed that this double blow would crush Hawick then the home team proved any doubters in the stand wrong with a sixth try the score made by a perfectly judged spiralling pass from Patterson that gave wing Charlie Welsh room to squeeze over in the corner Ford kicked the conversion points to bring the curtain down on a match from which both sides derived satisfaction Scoring Sequence (Hawick first): 5-0; 5-5; 5-7; 10-7; 12-7; 12-12; 12-14; 17-14; 19-14; 19-19; 24-19 (ht) 29-19; 29-24; 29-26; 29-31; 29-33; 29-38; 29-40; 34-40; 36-40 Man-of-the-Match: Although not on the winning side Hector Patterson was a huge personality in the game not least in scoring two individual tries and making one for Charlie Welsh that gave his side their second bonus point Patterson missed most of the Scotland under-20 team’s Six Nations campaign through injury and illness but current form would suggest that he will be an asset to the national age-grade side  in the World U20 Championship being played in the North East of Italy in June/July Talking point: This match was originally scheduled to be covered by BBC Alba but the postponement of the fixture meant that the Beeb who had already inked in their television coverage for 28th March were unable to be a Mansfield Park for the rescheduled game between Hawick and Currie And that was a pity because the 12 try haul and the way that both sides responded to the other scoring would have made good viewing Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Friday night lights at Mansfield Park who at some stages looked like they could have caused an upset and beat Currie Currie without their normal 9/10 duo managed to win this with their pack being more dominant pushing Hawick off their own ball on a few occasions and some ferocious ball carrying from the pack was the difference Sets them up well going into Ayr who we know rely heavily on scrum and maul dominance and using their big pack you can’t deny the influence he is having on Cheiftains success this season After the psychological/physical battering of the Ayr game Hawick did exceptionally well Patterson fully deserved the recognition he received for his performance for Hawick For Currie 21 year old Hasdell’s leadership of the pack and all round impact at No 8 stood out brightly Currie have met their target for the season – which was to make the play offs – congratulations to their squad and coaching staff But Hawick deserve praise for regrouping after the Ayr debacle Representing the Shirt and playing with pride HAWICK bounced back to winning ways with a comfortable five-try victory over the league’s bottom club Two tries in the opening quarter suggested the Greens were very much in the mood to blast away the frustration from a one-point loss at Watsonians last week but Musselburgh proved a stuffy side to put away and had they been a bit sharper they could have gone into the break just 12-7 behind the hosts scored in the last minute of the half and added a fourth minutes after the restart to put the result beyond doubt ensuring Hawick move away from the relegation battle and remain in the race for play-off spots Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Ayr take route 66 to storm past Kelso Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Error-prone Edinburgh Accies succumb to Selkirk’s strength Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership: Honours even after Melrose vs Glasgow Hawks thriller the scorer of the crucial third try that proved vital as Musselburgh came back at the hosts in the second period admitted: “They never made it easy for us at all “It might look like it was comfortable but Musselburgh played with a lot of spirit and in the second half particularly we couldn’t quite get going and a lot of that was down to how they played and coming off the loss last week that we didn’t think we deserved we can start building again for the push for the top four.” Musselburgh’s strength has been tested by injuries with leading lights Danny and Craig Owenson and Michael Badenhorst’s key experience missing from the side It showed with Hawick’s experience clear in scrum and lineout dominance a trio of schoolboys stepped up for the visitors – Bruce Weatherhead (17) at full-back his Loretto schoolmate Struan Talac (17) at scrum-half and his brother Jason (18) at hooker – and seeing the game through their eyes was intriguing Struan had a particularly tough battle with Hawick No.9 Gareth Welsh a key figure in Hawick’s tries in the first half and then being replaced at half-time by Logan Henry the Kiwi who has experience of playing Super Rugby with the Hurricanes Struan Talac said afterwards: “That was a brilliant experience making my 1st XV and Premiership debut at such a historic place was amazing “I was buzzing when told about it during the week and I think we improved in the second half And if we’d maybe taken our chances we could have been closer I loved it and we have plenty more games now to try and get ourselves the wins we need.” but the work-rate and spirit suggests Musselburgh will not go down without causing a few bloody noses on the way Hawick moved into cruise control quite early in the game the veteran props of Shawn Muir and Nicky Little helping their own debutant Fergus Bell into the game and the young hooker enjoyed his first start with a fine display in the tight and about the park following scrum-half Gareth Welsh’s dart round a scrum for the opening score after 11 minutes by finishing a lineout drive to the line in the 19th Two glimpses of the home line ended with lost lineouts for Musselburgh a loose Hawick pass almost produced a score and a fine counter-attack by wing Tom Foley was also brought to a halt by Hawick scrum pressure and their defensive play Had either of these chances been turned into points it might have been an interesting half-time but just when we wondered if Hawick’s attacking momentum had been punctured centre Mitchell took it on his own shoulders and somehow covered the last 15 metres to the visitors’ line with one man hanging onto his jersey and two others around his body his pumping legs a joy for the Greens support to behold When No8 Conor Sutherland capped a fine all-round display with a fourth Hawick try three minutes into the second half Hawick seemed to know it as their fluency disappeared and despite the promptings of Muir and Little in particular fine work by Sam Frizzel and Hughie Donaldson in a great battle with Musselburgh locks Jak Haynes and Abe Mataitini and back rows going at it hammer and tongs the number of balls dropped rattled well into double figures Musselburgh enjoyed a far greater share of possession and earned reward when Foley dived into the right-hand corner after 53 minutes sparking a melee of handbags as home players seemed to take exception to Musselburgh scoring but despite a fine -metre charge by replacement hooker Bob Stott there were to be no more chances for the East Lothian men Hawick finally grabbed a fifth try after a series of scrums and lineouts in the visitors’ 22 right wing Morgan Tait appearing on the left flank to take Cian Riddell’s pass to dive into the corner Left wing Charlie Welsh could have been forgiven for some frustration after all the work he put into this game – he had been denied by a forward pass by Riddell minutes earlier and helped build the try-scoring finale by coming off his wing into midfield As straightforward as it ultimately proved this was a significant win in Hawick’s season as it moves them nine points clear of the bottom three and closer to fourth spot with eight games remaining Musselburgh’s young guns have a lot to be proud of after their first appearance but they are going to have to find a significant improvement in set-piece and finishing accuracy if they are to survive in the Premiership Scoring sequence (Hawick first): 5-0; 7-0; 12-0; 17-0; 19-0 (h-t) 24-0; 26-0;  26-5 Man of the Match: Musselburgh’s second row Jak Haynes turned in a fine performance in defeat and Hawick had numerous contenders both scrum-halves superb and the entire pack putting in strong displays Shawn Muir and Nicky Little consistently drove the Green Machine through phases and on to the necessary game-winning tries and continued to shut Musselburgh down with stirring defence Choosing between them is impossible so they share the award this week Talking point: Musselburgh’s introduction of talented gutsy schoolboys and Hawick’s ability to keep bringing through quality local talent is a positive sign for the future of the Scottish club game URC: Edinburgh pick up two bonus points in Scarlets defeat not sure I agree that a side who are bottom of the league playing a bunch of kids who aren’t yet at Premiership level is a positive in any way It shows the gap in player numbers and a lack of Premiership level talent coming through Hats off to the young lads giving it their best but the top club league in Scotland should be of a level that players aspire to get to…. not one they are forced to play in because there is no one else…. It’s the clubs with the most money men that are ruling the roost in this league Doesn’t seem a level playing field at present There aren’t “level playing fields” in any sport Do you suggest penalising rugby clubs that work hard to bring in sponsorship and fundraising for the benefit of their teams Sign-up for our newsletter today to receive the latest updates, content and releases from Scottish Rugby. We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies. We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below. The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. 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These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns. Win HappyPremiumSearch But it wasn't until police got inside the 16-bed property and began dismantling it that it began to cause a real stink Windows were opened as what appeared to be a complex ventilation system was ripped apart and plants dumped in a skip outside The strong smells emanating from the Hawick Hotel - in the town of the same name - had locals complaining of being stoned several streets away One said: "It's smelt like Bob Marley's bedroom the past two days in Hawick." Another added: "Bourtree Place round to Mart Street absolutely stinking today High as a kite before ee got ti work." A third replied: "It brings a whole new meaning to the term 'high' street." Police have today (Friday) revealed the value of the plants seized at the hotel in North Bridge Street - previously known as the Elm House Hotel - is estimated to be over £289,000 Officers say enquiries remain ongoing to trace those responsible Detective Sergeant Andrew Loughlin said: “This is a significant recovery and is an example of our efforts to disrupt the trade in illegal drugs in Scotland “Drugs cause misery in our communities and the public has an important role to play in helping Police Scotland target those responsible for the cultivation “Our enquiries remain ongoing to establish the full circumstances and we are appealing for anyone with any information to contact us.” WATCH: Click on the link below to view our video from the scene.. It's the latest in a series of grows seized in the town which has a population of around 13,000 people and is renowned for its knitwear and rugby cannabis plants worth up to £771,000 were found just yards away in the former Buccleuch Hotel in Trinity Street - which has 20 bedrooms Two Albanians have since been jailed in connection with that seizure Two more Albanians are due to appear in court in the Borders on Monday in connection with a cultivation estimated to be worth up to £105,000 which was found at a former carpet warehouse in nearby Havelock Street last June Anyone with information is urged to call Police Scotland on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 For more stories from the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland, bookmark our new home page - https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/ Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app. Company number 01176085; Bauer Radio Limited Company number: 1394141Registered office: Media House Peterborough PE2 6EA and H Bauer Publishing Company number: LP003328; Registered office: The Lantern London NW1 2PL All registered in England and Wales VAT no 918 5617 01H Bauer Publishing are authorised and regulated for credit broking by the FCA (Ref No: 845898)