Glasgow Hawks 13-23 Melrose: Stirring stuff as 'Rose sniff title

There's life in the club game yet! This match drew a decent crowd that pretty much filled the little stand at Anniesland and it was played in brilliant sunshine and at a pace and intensity rarely witnessed in Scottish club rugby. It was only marred by a slew of errors that prevented it from being a classic.

This encounter pitched first against second so, with just two rounds of matches left to play, the winner was always going to take a big step towards the league title and, at the final whistle, it was Melrose who had edged that little bit closer to their first championship since 1997.

The Borderers won with surprising ease in light of the fact that they played the final 25 minutes with just 14 men after John Dalziel earned his second yellow of the day, and the inevitable red card, for a head-high tackle on Hawks flying winger Robbie Hair. The final quarter was a classic rearguard action from Melrose who showed great character in holding out for the win. After Dalziel left the field Hawks scored seven points, thanks to a penalty try, while the visitors kicked two penalties for a net loss of one point. It was stirring stuff.

In truth it should have been even easier than it was because the normally-reliable Scott Wight almost blew it for Melrose. The skipper somehow managed to convert just one penalty from four attempts in an opening half that his side had bossed. His confidence was such that, when awarded a penalty early in the second half which was well within range, Wight dinked it into the corner rather than take on the posts. Still that lineout led to a try and the fly-half emerged from the game with credit. He dictated the tempo, his kicking from hand was excellent and he eventually made amends with the boot by kicking two decisive penalties in the final quarter which denied Hawks the comfort of a bonus point.

Melrose dominated huge swathes of this match largely thanks to their pack, who had an harder edge.

Hawks also made the tactical mistake of attempting to run over rather than round the visitors who had the bit between their teeth and were in no mood to be bullied.

It wasn't the only mistake from the home team, because Melrose's win was aided and abetted by Hawks' own countless errors and hopeless indiscipline. The home side conceded penalties when they didn't have the ball, five in the opening 15 minutes alone, and when they did have possession someone would inevitably drop it long before any momentum could build. Even at the death Craig Gossman threw a scoring pass to Dean Kelbrick that was too far in front of the centre who could only get his fingertips to the ball for yet another knock-on.

With 12 minutes remaining, one try down and one man to the good, Hawks looked like they might just pull off the great escape and earn themselves a draw at the very least. That was when skipper Rory McKay let Melrose off the hook by leaping over a breakdown, scragging the scrum-half and getting himself sent to the sin-bin for his troubles. That move evened up the numbers for much of what was left of this match, a grateful Melrose grabbed the lifeline and tackled themselves to a standstill.

The Border club deserved the win, if only for scoring two tries to one and they came either side of half time. First to score from short range was centre Joe Helps who took advantage of some slack defence to dive through a gap in the line. Ten minutes into the second half and reserve hooker Graham Innes followed him over the line again following a long period of pressure.

For their part Hawks marched a set scrum back over the Melrose try line and, while Ross Miller looked to have claimed the score, the referee ran under the posts to indicate a penalty try.

With just two home ties left to play at the Greenyards, against Dundee and Ayr, the title is almost within touching distance for the Border club.

Scorers: Hawks: Try: Penalty. Con: Adamson. Pens: Adamson 2. Melrose: Tries: Helps, Innes. Cons: Wight 2. Pens: Wight 3.

Hawks: Shaw, Gossman, Kelbrick, Milne, Hair; Adamson, Hamilton; Smith, Milligan, Strain, Miller, Campbell, McKay, Karalus, Strang. Subs: Cameron, Nyemba, Hamilton, Preece, Jericevich.

Melrose: Thomson, Anderson, Murray, Helps, Dodds; Wight, Christie; Bevan, Mitchell, Holborn, Elder, Mitchell, Dalziel, Runciman, Miller. Subs: Innes, Higgins, Johnston, McCormick, Jackson.

Referee: N Paterson.