IT was a kick his father would have been proud of.

A last gasp drop-goal by Craig Dods - son of 1984 Scotland Grand Slam full-back, Peter - gave Gala a 23-21 victory over old foes Hawick at Mansfield Park at the weekend.

The result of the nail-biting encounter, the first Borders derby of the BT Premiership season, keeps the Maroons top of the league for the second week in a row.

And handed them possession of the Bill McLaren Shield which they will look to defend for the first time at home to Stirling County on Saturday, September 27 (kick-off 3pm).

However, having led three tries to one at half-time, Gala know they can’t afford to take their foot off the gas if they want to stay there.

Speaking to the Border Telegraph after the match, Dods, who also added a try, said: “I’m delighted to get the win down here at Hawick but it shouldn’t have come down to that (drop-goal). We scored three great tries and we were on top early doors and, at the end of the day, it’s a point lost rather than four gained.

“I don’t know what it was - maybe we were shellshocked after getting a good start. Fair play to Hawick they made it difficult for us.” But looking ahead to this weekend, he added: “It will be another tough week at training and hopefully we can keep the results going.” With Elite Development Players all missing last weekend’s action, Gala gave run outs to young stars Gary Robertson, Rex Jeffrey, and Keith Young - brother of Braw Lad Gavin - who was making his debut in the Premiership.

And, after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat at Hawick, Gala captain George Graham has warned of more edge of the seat rugby ahead.

He said: “They (Hawick) probably should have won, to be fair. I think we blew them away in the first 20 minutes, and we should have kept on pushing them, but we always knew that they were going to come back at us. Obviously we’ll take the win everyday of the week but we didn’t deserve it.

“We know we’re a lot better than that. And, if we want to compete against the top teams, we need to play for a full 80 minutes.” But he added: “I think there are going to be a lot of shocks this season; Melrose got beat at Stirling last week, Hawick beat Ayr, and they very nearly beat us; it’s going to be an up and down season - and we’ve just got to make sure we are on the up all the time.” While Gala are at home to Stirling in the BT Premiership this weekend, Hawick face Hawks in Glasgow and Melrose welcome Currie to the Greenyards - all games kick-off on Saturday, September 27, at 3pm.

In BT National League One, unbeaten Selkirk, Jed-Forest and Kelso are all at home to Watsonians, Sewart’s Melville and Dundee, respectively, while Peebles make the trip to GHA.

And, in BT East League 2, league leaders St Boswells, who have scored more than 300 points in their first four games, make the short trip up the A68 to tackle Earlston in a Borders derby.