Currie turn the tables to stun Hawick in Premiership play-off final - 'our fight was unbelievable'

Men from Malleny survive red card to become champions of Scotland

Currie Chieftains turned out to be the ultimate party-poopers but no-one could say they didn’t deserve their win after playing the second half of the Premiership play-off final with 14 men.

Gregor Christie’s red card just before half-time might have sparked a momentum shift in Hawick’s favour but it actually galvanised the visitors and Currie showed plenty of guts to hang in for a 26-24 victory at Mansfield Park.

The men from Malleny are champions of Scotland, much to the delight of their small but noisy band of supporters who travelled from Balerno to the Borders in hope and expectation. They made the same journey last year only to have their hearts broken in injury time as Hawick, down to 13 men, snatched victory with Ronan McKean’s last gasp try.

Currie celebrate winning the Premiership title after the victory over Hawick at Mansfield Park. (Photo by Simon Wootton / SNS Group)

There was no repeat this time as tries at the start of each half from Rhys Davies and Cammy Gray and 16 points from the boot of the impressive stand-off Jamie Forbes were enough to thwart Hawick and deny them a historic ‘Double-Double’. No team has ever won both the Premiership and Scottish Cup in consecutive seasons and there was an expectation around Mansfield Park that this might be the day.

Hawick snared the Scottish Cup last weekend at Murrayfield, beating Edinburgh Accies in the final, and they’ve also won the Border League this season but there was to be no treble and Currie succeed them as Scottish club rugby’s kingpins. It’s the third time they’ve been champions but their first title in 14 years and head coach Mark Cairns was rightly proud.

“We lost a man just before the break but we stayed positive throughout,” he said. “It would have been easy for our players to have a sinking feeling when there was only two points in it, they had an extra man and possession and were on the attack near the end but they stood strong.

“There were moments when we didn’t get things right but our fight throughout was unbelievable. We hadn’t had a game for a couple of weeks and were raring to go and I was delighted with our start. Some of our scores out there were training ground moves which was pleasing for me as a coach. What we talked about all week became reality out there. Also I felt Jamie Forbes was outstanding for us at ten and controlled the game.”

Currie's Jamie Forbes kicked 16 points in the Premiership play-off final win over Hawick. (Photo by Simon Wootton / SNS Group)

Shawn Muir, the Hawick captain, was magnanimous in defeat as his side’s late comeback just fell short. They outscored the visitors by three tries to two - Fraser Renwick twice and Charlie Welsh touching down - but it wasn’t quite enough.

“We’re bitterly disappointed,” said Muir. “I thought we were going to snatch it at the end but there are no excuses from us. Fair play to Currie, they were the better team. They were probably the better team last year so it’s a bit of karma. We weren’t at our best and they deserve it - they’ve been unlucky in a couple of finals.”

That Currie lost at this stage and this venue last season seemed to act as motivational fuel and and they took the lead after three minutes. Currie won two early penalties and from the second Davies forced his way over for the opening try. Forbes converted with a low skudding effort from out wide, much to the delight of the small knot of Currie supporters stationed on the grass banking opposite the main stand.

Kirk Ford, Hawick’s sure-footed full-back, reduced the arrears with a penalty but Forbes responded with one of his own to make it 10-3. The home side were starting to find their feet and scrum-half Gareth Welsh looked to have stretched over to score after a lineout drive but referee Ciaran Stark thought otherwise after a quick conversation with his touch judge.

The home fans were starting to get a little disgruntled and were further irked when an apparent knock on by Charlie Brett, the Currie full-back, wasn’t spotted by Stark. A few minutes later Currie moved further ahead through a Forbes penalty after a high tackle and the travelling fans were loving it.

Hawick needed a spark and duly got it during a combustible end to the first half. A massive lineout drive by the green machine saw Calum Renwick bag his side’s first try and tempers frayed as Currie took exception to Hawick’s celebrations. Ford seemed unconcerned as he converted to bring his side back to within three points but Forbes made it 16-10 to Currie with another penalty.

As the clock ticked towards half-time Currie were reduced to 14 men when Christie was sent off for an apparent tip tackle on his opposite number Gareth Welsh. The two scrum-halves embraced sportingly before Christie took the long walk.

Currie made light of their numerical disadvantage by scoring their second try two minutes into the second half. A brilliant break by Forbes had Hawick on the back foot and Gray finished it off, cutting inside to score. Forbes converted to stretch Currie’s lead to 23-10.

Jae Linton has been a powerful presence all season for Hawick and tried to drag them back into the match with a lung-bursting run from his own half. He was stopped short but the home side had moved into the Currie 22 and finally made their extra man count. Hawick were camped on the Currie line, patiently building the pressure before picking their moment to spread it out wide where Welsh was in acres of space to score. Ford’s conversion reduced Currie’s lead to 23-17 as the game moved into the final quarter.

Currie didn’t panic and Forbes landed a timely penalty five minutes later after Hawick were offside. Calum Renwick then set up a grandstand finish when he scored his second and Hawick’s third try in the 70th minute after great work by Lee Armstrong and Andrew Mitchell, the home side’s centres. Ford converted to make it a two-point game going into the final minutes. Hawick pushed hard for the win and there were a few harum-scarum moments for the visitors before they were able to kick the ball dead and spark wild celebrations.