Rugby: Hawks edge out Heriot's as Wilson's radar goes awry

Long after his Heriot's rugby team-mates had retired to the showers, Graham Wilson remained out on Goldenacre polishing his goal-kicking routine.

A 20-22 defeat by Glasgow Hawks really did come down to shots at goal and any realistic assessment is bound to centre around chances squandered. On both sides, though.

How ironic, then, that the only goal-kick Hawks succeeded with after a combination of marksmen had missed four times came with a conversion by Andy White at the death which denied Heriot's anything other than a losing bonus point.

But that would be scant consolation to Wilson, pictured below, whose catharsis hinted at not only perfectionism but the fact that, as captain, he had expected to give a stronger lead than one in which his four penalties went askew.

Saturday's tricky, swirling, wind was probably the main reason why a player who, on his previous home appearance had claimed all 26 of his side's points in a win over Melrose, had come up short. However, the match did display some exciting talent for the national cause. Step forward Struan Dewar, a 21-year-old elite development forward attached to Edinburgh but among a number of prospects benefiting from a prolonged spell of premiership rugby.

"Struan was fantastic," said Heriot's coach Bob McKillop, who referred to the match as a "self-inflicted defeat". "Struan used to drift in and out of play and be quite loose in his approach."

Dewar's contributions included sharp reactions to the loose ball and terrier-like tackling.

McKillop added: "Now Struan is consistently performing and that might have something to do with enjoying being part of the club environment.

"The big question concerns his best back row position. He has pace and can also jump at the line-out. Where best to use an awful lot of talent?"

For Peter Wright, there was dual satisfaction as both the winning Hawks coach and premiership division one club's rep on the SRU.

Wright said: "We were delighted to reverse last season's last-kick defeat at Goldenacre, especially getting a four-try bonus point. Heriot's made it very difficult with their defence and the game must surely have offered good value"