“Champions are not the ones who always win races - champions are the ones who get out there and try. And try harder the next time. And even harder the next time. 'Champion' is a state of mind. They are devoted. They compete to best themselves as much if not more than they compete to best others.”

Simon Sinek

Hawks lost out to Scottish Champions, Melrose, who despite an indifferent start to their season showed that they still had the desire to fight to keep their title
This was a significant match for both sides and the relief on John Dalziel’s face was clear to be seen and he said after the match, “Today wasn’t about a performance it was about a result.” Certainly Melrose got that, as they left the match with 4 points and putting themselves into the top half of the table.
Due to Hawks 5th place finish last season, they were scheduled to meet last season’s top four in the first four matches which was always going to be a big ask. It isn’t that any of the ties will be easier but the sides Hawks face in the next five weeks are currently in the bottom half of the table with the exception of Currie. The matches have been open and results mixed but even after four games the top of the table has a familiar look to it.
The match itself was not one for the purists, as Jamie Dempsey said after the match, “Both teams were desperate to win and there was a lack of confidence on both sides.”
Certainly for most of the first half the two sides cancelled each other out as there was a distinct lack of line breaks as the defences smothered any attacking effort. Not that there was an equivalent lack of enterprise, George Horne had a break from his own 22 early on when he intercepted a Melrose pass. His efforts were snubbed out by a covering tackle from Melrose’s Fijian centre Tito Mou.
Hawks suffered a set-back in 18 minutes when inside-centre David Milne was taken off for an injury just before the end of the first quarter. This was to be compounded when his replacement, Neil Herron, had to retire hurt as well after his first contact. Deadlock was broken when Hawks conceded a penalty at a scrum just before the half-hour mark when Richard Mill converted to take a 3 point lead. There was no surprise that a score came from a penalised scrum as the referee, David Changleng seems to blithely ignore the front row where both of Melrose’s loose-head forwards were boring in and disrupting the Hawks set piece. Not only did this deny the home side a platform to start attacks, but they also found themselves being penalized by the referee when they struggled with scrappy ball.
The struggled towards half-time with neither side setting the heather on fire and it was a relief when the break came.
The second half saw the sides attempt to play with a bit more adventure but there remained an edginess in the play. The decisive score came from Melrose in 53 minutes when Mou put a kick over the defence, it seemed to be a simple matter to gather it and clear and there was little apparent danger. As the Hawks’ cover fell to the deck to gather the ball, it took an unlucky knock pushing out of the defender’s reach and pushing it over the try line. Rose’s winger, Austin Lockington, was on hand for an easy score. As Mill converted there was a feeling of despondency across the ground.
both sides had controlled the ball well when they had it, but after Hawks went 10 points behind they started to commit unforced errors.
15 minutes later the tie was killed off as Melrose slowly ground their way through the phases and Mou found a gap which he slipped through to score a second try with Paddy Boyer trying valiantly to stop him. With 12 minutes on the clock Melrose led by 17 points to 0 and as coach Dalziel was to say later that this was a situation that few sides would find themselves in at Old Anniesland this season..
The game moved towards it’s conclusion and Hawks’ initially seemed doomed not to score when Finn Gillies touched down with a couple of minutes to go but was deemed to have put a foot into touch
This seemed to improve the home side’s spirits as they renewed their efforts attacking the visitor’s line. The match was closing when Melrose scrum-half Tom Wilson barged through a ruck drawing a penalty and getting a Yellow Card for his “professional” efforts.
Still the game dragged on and turn over ball seemed to end the possibility of Hawks scoring as Melrose went to kick a clearance. This didn’t allow for the athleticism of 6’8” lock, Andrew Davidson, who charged down the kick as the ball went back towards Melrose’s line Jack MacFarlane gathered to score his second try in as many weeks. When George Horne converted it dis seem like a case of too little too late but in those closing moments the team had shown what they were capable of.
Next Saturday Hawks are hosts to Hawick and as they lie 8th and 9th in the table they will both be keen to pull themselves out of the lower spots in the league. The Greens themselves suffered heartbreak on Saturday they lost to a time added-on Drop Goal to arch-rivals Gala.
Jamie Dempsey is confident that with some hard work Hawks will only improve. “What we have to do is look at those areas of our game where we need to improve, in order to be a little bit more creative and on the back of that capitalise on the chances we do create."