Glasgow Hawks 21
Watsonians 17
LEWIS STUART @Balgray
WATSONIANS’ play-off hopes are hanging by a thread after Glasgow Hawks finally came good in the final moments of the game to create a score for centre Logan Jarvie from a move that started almost on their own line.
It was a dramatic finish to a poor game but for Watsonians, who had come from behind to take the lead late in the game, it means their hopes of a top-four finish depend on the result of next week’s game between Hawks and GHA. Any win for next week’s visitors to Balgray would be enough to take them past the Edinburgh club and earn a visit to Ayr in the play-offs.
Credit to Hawks, though. As Phil Smith, the head coach, admitted, for 78 minutes they had struggled with the basics and were arguably slightly fortunate to be in touch come the final play of the game but, when it really mattered, they finally came good.
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With the result on the line, they managed to hang onto the ball through phase after phase, even manufacturing a cheeky kick-pass to wing Ryan Flett as they moved steadily upfield. Eventually, Jarvie found an inch of space, stepped inside a tackle and had the pace to beat the cover defence to the line.
“It had been 78 minutes of absolute garbage before that,” Smith accepted. “But then to put together something like that – keep the ball, build phases, build pressure, and then strike when the time was right – was good. It’s just a shame it took them 78 minutes to get to that.
“It was a tough week; we didn’t train well, and we didn’t play well. Individual errors mounted and our penalty count was high, so that made it difficult for us to get a foothold.
“Next week, the derby element [against GHA] will make it interesting and we will be hoping to finish the season on a high, with another home win and the chance to get one over our local rivals.”
For Davey Wilson, the Watsonians coach, the frustration was obvious as he reflected on a match that had echoes of many games across the season where their inconsistency haunted them, not helped in this match by losing a chunk of their key personnel to a variety of other commitments.
“It’s not just one moment, we have to look across the season,” he said. “We’ve had opportunities before to win games and we haven’t. As much as we’ve changed quite a few personnel and had to rely on the wider squad, we still had opportunities to come away with a win.
“Ultimately, if you’ve not got your full squad available when you get into these crucial games, it can come back to bite you in the backside. A lot of the detail in things like the line-out goes and under pressure, those cracks get bigger and bigger.
“But then, we had it, but credit to Hawks. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but, as I said, when we look back at it, consistency is the key; the league doesn’t lie, does it?”
With both teams showing a raft of changes from their routine line-ups, predictably they took a while to settle. Watsonians had most of the ball and territory but struggled to make anything of it, the closest coming when Andrew McLean, the full-back, made the line but it took a double movement after a tackle from flanker Craig Nolan to make the final inches.
The result was that the first quarter came and went without either side managing a score, and Hawks having barely seen the ball. When they did get into the visitors’ 22, however, they made it count courtesy of a tap penalty from Callum Reidy, the scrum-half.
He was caught but quick recycling won a penalty and the line-out drive produced a try for hooker Tom McTeir, with fly-half Liam Brims adding the touchline conversion.
In response, Watsonians drove upfield where No 8 Stuart Allison snapped up the loose ball and fed lock Jonny Roberts to run in the score that, with McLean’s conversion, levelled the scores.
Hawks were still struggling to get out of their own half but reaping the rewards on the few occasions they did, another line-out drive ending in a yellow card for Kieran Watt, the Watsonians lock, and a second go for the home side. The maul was stopped but Reidy picked up and nipped over for the try that put them ahead at the break.
The second half saw both teams struggling to put their attacking game together, with dropped passes and poor kicking the order of the day from both sides, but given a spell of consistent pressure, it was Watsonians who were able to take advantage. They ran two penalties to engineer a ruck on the home line where scrum-half Brodie Young turned to the blind side and Allison barged over.
Without the conversion, Watsonians were still behind but the score seemed to inspire them and another scything break from McLean gave wing Zander Walls the space to run in the go-ahead try.
It could have been enough for Watsonians but Hawks had different ideas and in the final moments found that cohesion and handling ability they had lacked all game and mounted a great rescue act.

Teams –
Glasgow Hawks: E Muirhead; R Flett, L Jarvie, A Bryden, J Couper; L Brims, C Reidy; T Banatvala, T McTeir, I Malaulau, R Burke, M Oliver, C Nolan, Y Shaheen, J Morris. Subs used: B Sweet, S Hastings, A Rutherford, F Thomson, J Hastings.
Watsonians: A McLean; S Leweni, R Kerr, L Anderson, Z Walls; C Bell, B Young; D Voas, B Cooper, H McRobbie, J Roberts, K Watt, D Jakeman, H Fisher, S Allison©. Subs used: T Gray, C Davidson, C Murphy, C Davidson, R Russell, F Broomfield, L Jamieson.
Referee: Steven Turnbull

Scorers –
Glasgow Hawks: Tries: McTeir, Reidy, Jarvie; Cons: Brims 2, Thomson.
Watsonians: Tries: Roberts, Allison, Walls; Con: McLean.
Scoring sequence (Glasgow Hawks first): 5-0; 7-0; 7-5; 7-7; 12-7; 14-7 (h-t) 14-12; 14-17; 19-17; 21-17.

Yellow cards –
Watsonians: Watt (35 mins)

Player-of-the-Match: Not, to be honest, a case of picking from strength with few players managing an unblemished performance. Andy McLean, the Watsonians full-back was in the running until the final minute when Logan Jarvie sneaked past him for the only inspirational moment in the game and the winning try.
Talking point: It’s a pity that such a make-or-break match was marred by both teams having to deal with a raft of call-offs and unavailable players. Neither side was remotely happy with their performance, which is not satisfactory for such a season-defining match.