A View from the Touchline – Tennent's Premier League: 8.10.22.

Glasgow Hawks 12 pts (t 2, c 1) v Currie Chieftains 38 pts (t 5, c 5, p g 1)

There was some weak sunshine and periods of drizzly rain on this chilly autumn afternoon, which made conditions a little slippery on the lush, green Balgray pitch. Following their recent successes, the burly Hawks team were looking confident, and they soon took play into the Chieftains’ 22 with some dynamic running and a couple of powerful scrums. The early signs did not look good for the visitors, who were coming under considerable pressure. If Ryan Stewart had not conjured a superb turnover on his 5-metre line, the home team would have been on the score board. A fine clearance from Jamie Forbes moved play away from the Chieftains’ danger zone, and for 15 minutes the game settled into a pattern of surging attacks and ping-pong kicking for positional advantage; at which Jamie Forbes was superb.

The home team's lineout wobbled throughout the contest, and when Jamie Forbes made splendid use of a turnover ball; his neat chip-kick flat-footed Hawks. Kody McGovern sprinted to collect the loose ball and motored to within a few metres of scoring. This was virtually the first time that Currie had been anywhere near the Hawks line, and the ensuing phases put the home team under pressure. Despite a tremendous defensive effort, a gap finally appeared for Greg Cannie to score; Jamie Forbes bagged the first of his five conversions for the afternoon.

Hawks continued to attack, and but for several dropped passes they would have taken the lead. On the half hour, their concerted forward effort finally brought reward. The converted try was the start of a dominant period for the home team who continued to use their exciting, pacy runners to cause Currie plenty of problems, which included a yellow card. An adventurous run, started by the Hawks fullback, went from end-to-end; it culminated with superb inter-passing and a tremendous try which was not converted. Just on halftime, Jamie Forbes pulled back 3 points with a penalty goal after Hawks had drifted off-side.

Halftime score – Glasgow Hawks 12 pts, Currie Chieftains 10 pts.

The visitors made a few changes for the second half, and they gradually took control of proceedings. After 10 minutes, Rhys Davies picked up at the back of a mid-field scrum; Jamie Forbes exploited the space and sent Kody McGovern on his way for the converted try. The speedy wing had two more fabulous runs deep into Hawks’ territory, but on both occasions the support was not on hand to press home any advantage. Hawks did have an opportunity to get back into the match with a kickable penalty, but like many of their promising build-ups, the chance went begging. A few minutes later, after the electric Jamie Forbes had started a lightning attack, Hawks had a player sent to the sinbin for obstruction. The Chieftains pack secured the penalty lineout and edged forward, but it took several phases before the ball was released to DJ Inness who powered his way to the posts.

Into the final quarter and a flowing Chieftains attack was halted 10 metres short; from the resulting scrum Paddy Boyer darted for the line but was held up. Some excellent forward play ended with Ewan Stewart crashing over for the bonus point try. Hawks went tantalisingly close to scoring on several occasions, as their frequent exciting attacks chased for a result. Unfortunately, their ambitious handling became rather loose, and DJ Innes intercepted a wayward pass to score in the closing seconds of the match. The try may have put a cherry on top of the Chieftains’ cake, but the final score did not truly reflect the intensity of a hard-fought match; particularly in the first half.

I.J.S. - 10. 10.22

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