Glasgow Hawks 14

Selkirk 17

TWO successive away matches in Glasgow, two consecutive victories – little wonder Selkirk head coach Scott Wight has been praising the character and commitment of his charges as the Tennent’s Premiership programme enters its second half.

“These players never let their heads go down,” Wight said after his side’s come-from-behind victory over Glasgow Hawks at Balgray on Saturday.

“In the first half Hawks made all the running and were deservedly 11-0 up with five minutes of the half remaining.

"However, the boys stuck to their guns, engineered a try, and were able to go into the changing room at halftime only 11-7 down.

“That gave everyone the belief to get back out there and take the game to Hawks, which is exactly what happened. We were able to exert all the pressure, keep them pinned in their own half, and take the scoring opportunities when they came along.

“There’s now a real desire in the squad to maintain this momentum and battle hard to keep our place in the top four.

"Facing Currie on Saturday will be a real test of the players’ character, but after Saturday’s showing at Balgray I’m confident everyone will be up for the challenge.”

Hawks took a 6-0 lead through two Liam Brims penalties, both awarded for scrum infringements.

On the 26-minute mark lock forward Lyall Archer powered his way over for a try to stretch the home lead to 11-0.

Five minutes before the interval Aaron McColm’s beautifully judged line kick took Selkirk up to the home five-metre line.

Donald Nichol’s clean line-out take resulted in a series of powerful surges by the visiting pack, with Luke Pettie (on as a replacement for Bruce Riddell) eventually crossing for a try, aided by the efforts of Scott McClymont and Ewan MacDougall.

McColm’s successful conversion cut the deficit to 11-7, which is how things remained at halftime.

Selkirk looked an entirely different side after the break, and a successful penalty kick from the boot of McColm, following Erland Oag’s ruck infringement, reduced the home team’s lead to a single point.

On Hawks’ first incursion into Selkirk territory for fully half an hour, Brims was able to land his second penalty to increase the city men’s advantage to 14-10.

The game’s turning point came when a scrum pick-up inside Hawk’s ‘22’ saw the ball switched blind by MacDougall, whose off-load to Luca Berte resulted in a series of drives by Josh Mackay, Andy Mackay and Scott McClymont, paving the way for Donald Nichol to burrow over for a try. McColm’s conversion put Selkirk 17-14 ahead.

In the closing stages Selkirk’s supporters had to endure a nervy few minutes as the home side battered away at the visitors’ line. However, a pre-planned ‘no-engagement’ call at Hawks’ final line-out resulted in a scrum won by the Souters, so setting the seal on another fine away win.

Selkirk: H. Bithray, J. Henry, J. Welsh, L. Berte, R. Cottrell, A. McColm, L. Merolle, S. Rankin, J. Bett, B. Riddell, P. Forrest, D. Nichol, J. Mackay, S. McClymont, E. MacDougall. Replacements: L. Pettie, A. Mackay, J. Houston, R. Nixon, F. Anderson,