After Hawks’ convincing victory over Hawick a week ago, this game was billed by the press as ‘Match of the Day’ and a possible cracker. On this mild January afternoon the large Malleny Park crowd was not disappointed, although the one-sided final score might suggest that Currie had things their own way, that would be considerably wide of the mark. If the visitors’ accuracy had matched their endeavour at crucial times, the outcome could have been far closer.

In the first 5 minutes Hawks gave notice of their physical power with a couple of intimidating scrums, the second of which produced a penalty kick, but the ball hit the post and Jamie Forbes thumped a mighty clearance deep into Hawks’ territory. The lively end-to-end tussle continued with Hawks getting the better of the early exchanges and testing Currie’s defence with a number of penetrating attacks. The tables were finally turned when DJ Innis executed a tremendous turnover and Currie broke away. In their effort to stem Currie’s passage to the line, the visitors infringed, and Gregor Hunter kicked the home team into a three point lead on 15 minutes.

With both teams running the ball at every possible opportunity, it was the home side who looked the more assured with their non-stop flowing play, orchestrated by Ryan Southern, which eventually resulted in a fine try for Cammy Gray. Gregor Hunter converted, and on 25 minutes he added another penalty goal after Joe Reynolds had turned over Hawks as they tried to run from deep.

Before the break the Chieftains’ exuberant play was rewarded with two more scores, as the luckless visitors felt the strain of constant pressure. Ryan Stewart collected a wayward Hawks throw-in at the back of a lineout and scampered over virtually unopposed. Then following an interception by Gregor Hunter which was carried forward by Wallace Nelson, Cairn Ramsey and Graeme Carson, the ball zipped across the pitch for Jamie Forbes to crash over in the corner for the only unconverted try of the match.

‍Halftime score – Currie Chieftains 25 pts, Glasgow Hawks 0 pts.

The second half was a similar story, with Hawks going through the phases and getting most things right until they lost possession at critical times when a score looked possible. On a good number of occasions the Chieftains were defending deep inside their 22, but a well-drilled determined approach kept their line intact. Gregor Hunter was quick to latch on to an interception which wrong-footed the opposition and opened the way for Currie’s bonus point try. Hawks defended bravely, but a stunning 40 metre run from Charlie Brett and Adam Hall was finally rewarded after Jamie Forbes made ground, drew two defenders and flipped an overhead pass to Rhys Davies who took a couple of tacklers over the line with him.

With 20 minutes remaining there was still plenty of excitement left in the contest, as the entertainment ranged the length of the pitch, but small errors and clinical tackling from both teams prevented much threat to either goal line. In the closing stages Currie had to call on all their resources as the visitors exerted considerable pressure in an effort to get some points on the scoreboard. Were it not for some outstanding work from Ryan Stewart, Hamish Ferguson, AP McWilliam and Gregor Nelson, they would have collected a score. Joe Reynolds, Gregor Hunter and Paddy Boyer were always sharp to clear their lines when Hawks coughed up the ball; the unfortunate story of the visitors’ afternoon.

‍Full-time Score – Currie 32 pts (t 4, c 3, p g 2) v Glasgow Hawks 0 pts

I.J.S. – 16.1.22.

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