Melrose 50
Glasgow Hawks 10
ALAN LORIMER @ The Greenyards
MELROSE celebrated their first home match in this season’s Arnold Clark Premiership with a half-century win over Glasgow Hawks from a performance that showcased the home side’s all-round skills and the strength of the bench in contrast to a zestless and error-strewn display from the Glasgow visitors.
It was by no means a complete performance and in future matches Melrose will surely want to convert unrelenting pressure into scoreboard movement with greater accuracy, but under head coach Calum Anderson, they are certainly trending in the right direction.
Anderson’s charges went into this game aware that they almost threw away a winning position against GHA a week earlier after building a comfortable lead in the first half. This week it was different as the head coach acknowledged.
“We’re really happy how we stuck in after half time,” he said. “We had a very clear message at the break. We’re taking that on board and you can see that came out today.
“I think we were really accurate, especially in our set-piece. I think, too, our ability to adapt and pick where the space is worked well. Hawks had maybe recognised that we’re quite good on the edge with Ben Pickles and Callum Anderson. They maybe tried to close that space and we adapted pretty quickly.”

Unstated but nevertheless an important part of the Melrose game was the athleticism of the Melrose forwards that helped produce, at times, an all-court game. Individually, Melrose had strong performances from backs Anderson and Pickles, front-rows Jack Dobie and Zen Szwagrzak, and back-rows Craig Fairburn and Ru Campbell.
It also helped that stand-off Luke Townsend is now showing good form after his year out through injury, but the other factor was the influence of a strong Melrose bench, who certainly added much in the last quarter.
For Hawks, the defeat and the manner of defeat, was undoubtedly disappointing, particularly so as the Hawks squad is pretty similar to the one that finished strongly last season. Post-match, head coach Phil Smith was clearly a tad exasperated at the way his players allowed Melrose, at times, to score with ease.
“When our players watch the game back, they’ll see probably four big individual errors that led to tries,” he reflected. “If you don’t make those errors, you’re in the game. If we cut those out, we’re in the game. But we didn’t. And that’s two weeks now, we’ve just shot ourselves in the foot, and given opposition easy possessions and easy scores.
“Lack of concentration, or just over-enthusiasm, or lack of enthusiasm? I don’t know which one. But it’s something. I don’t want to pinpoint one of them, but yes, there’s something missing because you can see when they put little moments together, they’re pretty decent.
“The error count is killing us” bemoaned Smith, who nevertheless was heartened by the quality of the bench. “The bench made a difference, so they’ll be well in the mix for next week, all being fit.”
Melrose fans had barely had time to settle in their seats before their team registered first points from clever handling by the Greenyards men and soft hands that put flankerFairbairn through an inviting gap for a try under the posts, Townsend kicking the conversion points.
Hawks threatened to make an instant reply after side-to-side handling and powerful forwards thrusts close to the try-line only to find the Melrose defence more than up to the task of repelling their opponents.
Thereafter in the first half it was mostly Melrose on top, their relentless pressure almost producing a try from a stunning Townsend break. Eventually Melrose reaped the deserved reward when Anderson, running back a missed touchfinder from Hawks, cut through the visitors’ defence before linking with Donald Crawford who had Sam Derrickin support to finish the scoring move, Townsend again adding the extras.
Anderson was instrumental in Melrose’s third try, his strong running taking the home side deep into Hawks’ 22 from where the Greenyards side handled deftly to send Gav Wood in for the score. Once more, stand-off Townsend supplied the additional points to stretch the Melrose lead to 21-0.
Further Melrose pressure pointed towards the bonus point score in the five minute period before the break. This time, however, Hawks’ defence stood firm, but it still left the Greenyards side with a healthy half time advantage.
If the fourth try had eluded Melrose in the first half then the home side had not long to wait in the second period for their bonus point, secured by anAnderson try under the posts following powerful forward play close to the Hawks’ line and then swift passing along the back-line. Townsend’s conversion made it four from four for the fly-half.
Hawks had made several incursions into Melrose’s 22 in the first half without accruing any benefit. Finally their fortune changed when incisive running by replacement Logan Jarvie led to a penalty in the corner, and No 8 Seb Hastingscompleted a line-out move with a try in the corner.
Melrose wasted little time in reasserting their dominance, piling pressure on the Hawks’ scrum and then translating it into a pushover try for replacement back-row Henno Bowe.
With the scoreline at 33-5, it seemed an increasingly hopeless task for Hawks, but to their credit the men from Balgray refused to capitulate and showed their determination with a close-range try by replacement Fraser Muir.
Hawks’ determination to prove themselves was perhaps enhanced by a red-card incident that preceded their second try, shown to Charlie Robbie after the Melrose wing was adjudged to have taken out Hawks’ replacement Murray Waugh as the two players challenged for possession from a box-kick.
Hawks’ minor momentum shift, however, was time limited and in its place came further Melrose dominance that produced a brace of close-range tries for replacement front-row Craig Greer, both converted by fellow benchman Roly Brett, to put the home side in an unassailable position.
The 47-10 lead for Melrose invited more points and the half-century was duly supplied by Brett with a penalty goal for the final points of the game.
 
Teams –
Melrose: C Anderson; C Robbie, B Pickles, G Wood, D Crawford; L Townsend, D Crawford; J Dobie, M Anderson, Z Szwagrzak, S Derrick, A Runciman, C Fairbairn, P Anderson, R Campbell. Subs used: R Robinson, C Greer, J Bell, E Ruthven, H Bow, S Clark, R Brett.
Glasgow Hawks: E Muirhead; R Caldwell, J Pinkerton, G Cruickshank, J Couper ©; D McCartney, C Louden; D Cruickshank, D Casserly, J Campbell, A Orr, A Rutherford, C Nolan Y Shaheen, S Hastings. Subs used: T McTier, F Muir, A Young, A Syme, J Hastings, L Jarvie, M Waugh.
Referee: Sam O’Neil-Thomson
 
Scorers –
Melrose: Tries: Fairbairn, Derrick, Wood, Anderson, Bowe, Greer 2; Cons: Townsend 4, Brett 2; Pens: Brett.
Glasgow Hawks: Tries: Hastings, Muir.
Scoring sequence (Melrose first): 5-0; 7-0; 12-0; 14-0; 19-0; 21-0 (h-t) 26-0; 28-0; 28-5; 33-5; 33-10; 38-10; 40-10; 45-10; 47-10; 50-10.
 
Red cards –
Melrose: Robbie (36 mins)
 
Player-of-the-Match: It was always going to be the case that Melrose would be strengthened by the arrival of Callum Anderson. The former Selkirk player, who was a star for the Philiphaugh club, again showed his kicking skills but it was his precision and judgment in attack against Hawks that made him the player-of-the-match.
Talking point: Melrose have made a really strong start to the Premiership, extracting maximum points from their opening two matches. They will want to build on this but know that the big beasts of this league will present tougher challenges. But for Borders rugby, after the relegation of Selkirk, a high-performing Melrose is essential even if inter-town rivalry might think otherwise