Glasgow Hawks 39
Selkirk 26
IAIN HAY @ Balgray
GLASGOW HAWKS prevailed in the battle of basement sides in breezy conditions at Balgray, claiming full points to heap a pile of pressure on Selkirk to beat the drop.
The visitors did manage to claim a try bonus-point through Braden Stewart’s last-ditch score but with only three games remaining – at home to Heriot’s, the daunting prospect of the trip to Millbrae to face runaway leaders Ayr, and finally play-off chasing Kelso at home – they now have a three-point deficit to make up on today’s opposition at the foot of the table. Hawks also have a game in hand from which they could potentially take points.
“Obviously there was big pressure coming into the game with the way the league table is but I thought the boys played really well,” were the summary thoughts of Hawks’ scrum-half and assistant coach Scott Steele.
“We played smart rugby, we played in the right areas. Fair play to Selkirk coming back into it, they kept playing and played some really good stuff, but overall delighted with the boys. We stuck in, we did what we talked about in the changing rooms beforehand, and when things click and our set-piece is working we’re a hard team to stop

“At 26-19, ut took a few of the older boys to just say: ‘Calm down, you have to respect good play when they do it’. And Selkirk do keep hold of the ball really well. They move the ball around, and then one missed tackle, they make a break and finish it really well. We just had to do what we did in the first half — play in the right areas, get back down their end. I thought our forwards today were outstanding, boys like Isaiah Malaulau just carrying for days, they put a really good shift in.
“This season’s been frustrating because we know we’ve been quite far off what we know that we can do, and on paper we feel like we should be doing better than we have, so it was nice to get that reward for the lads. If we stick to the process and the boys do their jobs, we can cause teams problems. If we stick to that game-plan, and that sort of process and we’re that accurate, we can pick up more points going forward.”
The hosts got off to the ideal start with tight-head propMalaulau crossing after less than three minutes, and it may have been even sooner if a new ball had been made available more quickly after Liam Brims had kicked a penalty to touch over the hedge.
Hawks were then forced into a bit of defensive work with the elusive Andrew Grant-Suttie twice wriggling out of challenges and getting well over the gain-line, but Selkirk weren’t able to turn pressure into points.
Hawks, on the other hand, were clinical when given the chance. A Brims 50-22 gave them possession in enemy territory and after being awarded a free-kick at a scrum caused by an injury stoppage for James Bett, Malaulau was over for a second try.
Jack Fisher finally got Selkirk on the scoreboard after Grant-Suttie had again made inroads into the Hawks’ half, but Logan Jarvie crossed again for Hawks on the cusp of half-time after a further period of pressure.
Brims had the chance to extend the lead from the kicking tee early in the second half but his effort drifted wide, and opposite number Morris Clementson then had a good moment with a terrific step and break. Selkirk moved the ball nicely through the hands of Grant-Suttie and Oliver McClymont for Ben Pickles to go in between the sticks.
Malaulau had won a scrum penalty in the first half for Hawks and when his propping partner Tom Banatvala got the better of replacement Ryder Joyce at the next scrum, Brims went to the corner. Penalty advantage was being played for a maul infringement when Seb Hastings powered and spun his way over the line for Hawks’ bonus-point score.
Hawks’ discipline started to escape them, penalties mounted up, and Selkirk moved their way up the pitch until finally breaking through, a big miss-pass from Clementson being collected on the left wing by No 8 Braden Stewart, who was over in the corner.
Although McClymont missed the tough conversion, it was still a one-score game, until another big carry by Malaulau got Hawks on the front foot. Stewart appeared to be the man penalised for a tackle without the ball, and Brims stroked over the three-points to extend the Hawks lead to 10 at 29-19.
Another Brims penalty, not so convincingly struck as it only just cleared the crossbar, pushed the score out further and, in their haste to get possession back and get some points, Selkirk’s restart didn’t go 10 metres.
From the resultant scrum, Steele’s replacement Callum Reidy banged in a 50-22 to give Hawks field position, before Malaulau’s replacement James Campbell, who had been on the pitch for only a few seconds, crossed.
Brims’ conversion pushed the score out to 39-19, which wasn’t really a fair reflection of how much Selkirk had put into the game, and they battled until the end withStewart able to claim his second and Selkirk’s fourth try, which earned them a bonus point.
“They’ve got a big set of forwards and their gameplan was to rumble over the line, and they were really good at it, but I thought we brought tempo to the game and played the more attacking, creative rugby in my opinion,” said the down but not out Selkirk head coach Gordon Henderson.
“It’s disappointing we just got a point out of the game, we should have got more but we have to step up and challenge ourselves next week against Heriot’s.
“At the key moments we either lost the ball or gave away a penalty which gave them momentum, and with a big team like that, if you get stuck in that corner they make it very difficult to get out, so fair play to them.
“You just never know, we’ll train hard and we’ll go against Heriot’s and see what happens.”
 
Teams –
Glasgow Hawks: E Muirhead; R Flett©, L Jarvie, P Kelly, J Couper; L Brims, S Steele; I Malaulau, T McTeir, T Banatvala, S Lima, M Oliver, C Nolan, Y Shaheen, S Hastings. Subs used: J Campbell, B Sweet, A Rutherford, A Syme, M Plastow, C Reidy, J Hastings.
Selkirk: J Welsh; B Cullen, A Grant-Suttie, B Allan, B Pickles; M Clementson, H Alderson; S Murray, J Bett, B Riddell, K Westlake, J Fisher, A McColm©, M Job, B Stewart. Subs used: F Easson, G Paxton, R Joyce, T Wilson, O McClymont, R Nixon, R McDonnell.
Referee: Ruairidh Campbell
 
Scorers –
Glasgow Hawks: Tries: Malaulau 2, Jarvie, S Hastings, Campbell; Cons: Brims 4; Pens: Brims 2.
Selkirk: Tries: Fisher, Pickles, Stewart 2; Cons: McClymont 3.
Scoring sequence (Glasgow Hawks first): 5-0; 7-0; 12-0; 14-0; 14-5; 14-7; 19-7; 19-12; 19-14 (h-t) 24-14; 26-14; 26-19; 29-19; 32-19; 37-19; 39-19; 39-24; 39-26.
 
Player-of-the-match: Two tries, scrum dominance, big carries. Simply has to be Isaiah Malaulau.
Talking point: Hawks’ crosstown neighbours GHA were relegated a few years ago after Musselburgh pulled off a great escape with victories over GHA themselves and then Glasgow Hawks, but despite Braden Stewart’s last-gasp effort, you feel Selkirk will need to claim at least one win and to claim bonus-points from home games against play-off chasing pair Heriot’s and Kelso. Hawks’ run-in is no dawdle, though. They too face Heriot’s, and two other play-off contenders in Watsonians and GHA, from their final four fixtures. [/b]