Edinburgh Acad 25 - 0 Hawick: Clinical Accies edge closer to safety

While the Raeburn Place men have earned plaudits for their open style, it was the win that was preoccupying their coach Simon Cross on Saturday. And his players delivered against a Hawick team that also played attractive rugby but lacked the wherewithal to unlock the home defence.

“Hawick brought huge energy as we always knew they would – they are a spirited, passionate side and they made life very difficult, especially at the breakdown”, said Cross. “So we are delighted to get away with four tries. To be honest, no points against is a terrific result for us as well.”

Accies led 13-0 at the break through a penalty from Ruaridh Bonner and two tries by Australian winger Jake Knight. At that stage, the Borderers were very much in the game but another bout of pressure again proved fruitless, and they fell further behind when Greg Campbell barged over from close range for a converted score.

The visitors, who are currently without a coach and sit rooted to the foot of the table, enjoyed another spell in the ascendancy but once again failed to make their supremacy count.

And Knight marked what was a stunning debut when he took a pass from full-back Jamie Sole and blazed down the left flank to complete his hat trick and secure the bonus point score for the home side.

Scorers: Edinburgh Accies – Tries: Knight (3), Campbell. Con: Bonner. Pen: Bonner.

Edin Accies: J Sole; J Pecqueur, R Browne, I Berthinussen, J Knight; R Bonner, A Black; D MacLeod, M Liness, D Morrison, G Campbell, A Graham, D Teague, J Taggart, T Drennan. Subs used: J Hitchins, C Murray, N Pike, M Campbell, S Evans.

Hawick: N McColm; G Anderson, G Johnstone, J Houston, S Anderson; G Cottrell, L Lawrence; R Sutherland, H Scammel, N Little, K Willison, S Mabon, N McTaggart, K Davies, B McNeil. Subs used: M Landels, D Landels, S Bouglas, L Armstrong

Referee: D Changleng