Hawick 53

Aberdeen Grammar 7

Atholl Innes

at Mansfield Park

HAWICK kept up their chase for a home-play-off tie with a runaway win at Mansfield Park, and at the same time did their neighbours Selkirk a favour.

A nine-try demolition job against a lacklustre Aberdeen side, combined with Selkirk’s win at Edinburgh Accies, sealed a top-four place for both sides, and boosted Hawick’s unbeaten run since the end of October.

After a disjointed start, and with the benefit of a gale-force win, Hawick slipped into gear as the visitors felt the pressure of fielding a less than a full-strength side and the bonus point was sealed at half-time with the Greens leading 29-0.

A fight back into the wind did not materialise as two quick scores were simply the stepping stone to a massive win.

Hawick coach George Graham felt the score might have been greater.

He said: “We took our chances, but for the first 20 minutes we did not play as well as we could have done with the wind in our back.

“But I am very happy to score 53 points, but disappointed that we ‘coughed up’ a try.

“The boys who do not normally play in the first team played really well.”

At one stage, all four subs took to the field at the same time.

Aberdeen took this massive defeat on the chin, not helped with a yellow card, and their only consolation was a second-half try in 63 minutes from Nat Coe, converted by Tom Aplin.

Coach Ali O’Connor conceded it was a struggle to get teams for away games.

He said: “But it is the same for every other team, and the yellow card (Jordan Robertson) did not help us.”

Kirk Ford, Callum Renwick, Andrew Mitchell, Gareth Welsh and Wiann Griebenow scored the first-half tries.

Touch downs after the break from Shawn Muir and Renwick killed off the Aberdeen challenge before Reece Hartegen and Ronan McLean completed the rout.

Ali Weir added three conversions and Bailey Donaldson, one.

Hawick also won the Bill McLaren Shield to add to a red-letter day for the club.

Hawick: K. Ford; R. McKean, W. Griebenow, A. Mitchell, L. Gordon-Wooley; A. Weir, G. Welsh; S. Muir, M. Carryer, D. Johnston, M. Renwick, J. Rowley, C. Renwick, J. Linton, B. McNeill. Replacements: R. Hartegen, D. Lightfoot, R. Toogood, B. Donaldson, M. Bannerman.