“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

At the end of the match a supporter nodded in my direction and said, “How are you going to write about that?” How indeed I thought to myself, the sense of disappointment among the small group of fans was palpable and even although I try to observe the match with a detached view when writing, I am as deflated as anyone else. The body language of the players reflected their own dejection and when former Scotland captain, reiterated the feeling of dejection at the defeat to the press after the match, it was clear that everyone had felt the pain.
Oddly, this is a positive thing, a very positive thing. You see to feel disappointment like this you must have had an expectation of something better. Travelling to the match with another two supporters we were in an extremely positive frame of mind, there we were travelling to the dark heart of Border’s rugby sure that the team would take something away from Netherdale. This is a positive reflection of the journey which the players and coaches have made over the last couple of seasons. Glasgow Hawks are in a positive place…
The early play did indeed go well, the forwards battered and outplayed their canny opponents. After the match George Graham said the opposite applied for Gala, they had planned for just such an attack and their attempts to foil Hawks failed. By the 26th minute Hawks were 10-3 up and clearly in the ascendancy. Indeed on the half hour Hawks had only themselves to blame as they gifted a couple of penalties to their hosts who struggled to get into the Glasgow half.
The Hawks tries had come from two “hookers”, Jack MacFarlane with the first and Finn Gillies who has recently been sent to the back of the pack with the second.
Even Gala’s wing Graham Spiers try on the stroke of half-time appeared to be a minor blip which gave Gala a 1 point advantage at the interval, when Hawks were down to 14 men.
There is little constructive to say about a second half which had Hawks shut out. Gala took advantage of their being a man up much more ruthlessly than Hawks had when Gala were down to 14 in the first half. Stamping their authority on the match with an Opeta Palepoi try in 44 minutes. The 38 year old lock’s performance making a mockery of any perceived aging process.
A steady dribble of knock-ons and a couple of tries allowed gala to pin the visitors in their own 22 and Craig Dods kept the scoreboard ticking. By the time Gala’s other wing, Gavin Young darted up the blindside from the base of a scrum with 5 minutes to go the match was well out of reach and Craig Dods conversion was the final twist of the knife.
On the day, as Jamie Dempsey acknowledged that Hawks had a part in their own misfortunes but that Gala had controlled the match much better than Hawks.
In the end the positive is in the reaction of all the Hawks, players, coaches and fans travel to any ground in Scotland with an expectation of victory and anticipation of a positive outcome. Disappointment only makes the next win all the sweeter and in both the team grows stronger.

“So, I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations