Howe of Fife 7 - 75 Currie: Giant-killers bow out of cup as Currie show their might

THERE was a whispering before this Scottish Cup quarter-final that another giant-killing was probably beyond the spirited young Howe team.

• Currie's double try scorer Andy MacMahon leaves a string of Howe of Fife players in his wake as he leads another charge for the line from the Premiership One leaders Picture: Toby Williams

Out loud it was all defiance and bluster: the scalp of West of Scotland from the last round, the memory of last season's victory over Glasgow Hawks, the impressive record of two years without defeat as they climbed the leagues to Premiership Three.

However, there was an unspoken undercurrent of realism among the home crowd gathering to watch the visitors warming up on the pitch.

Currie, looking down from the top of Premiership One, were at full strength with five Scotland club internationals and four Scotland under-20s players. Howe's chances were dutifully talked up because that was what was expected, but in the heart of Fife they knew this was likely to be one match too far.

And so it proved. Currie were not only physically bigger, they were mentally tougher. Within the first few minutes their formidable pack had bludgeoned their way to the Howe line and No 8 Ross Weston had barged over the line for the first try, setting a predictable pattern for a game that sometimes seemed to have the visitors playing on a steep downward slope.

Howe were, to a man, brave, willing and persistent, but out of their depth and very much second best. They only reached the visitors' 22 once in the first half. Currie lived up to their billing as Scotland's best team, running in 13 tries to remain on course for the league and cup double.

Howe coach Garry Horne said: "You have got to give our guys credit for sticking with it right to the end. I will tell them to forget the result and just enjoy the experience. They kept battling and they kept trying to play rugby and they can take pride in their performance against the best club side in Scotland. Currie have a great blend and so many options every time they run the ball. It was good to be able to benchmark ourselves against the best and we learned a lot out there."

The learning process was pretty relentless, as was the home side's rising tackle count that inevitably sapped their strength and eventually prised open huge gaps in their defence for the second half deluge.

Currie were only 24 points ahead at half-time with four tries, one of them a harsh penalty try after a five-metre scrum disintegrated on Howe's line.

The crowd noted that although the referee decided to enforce the letter of the law on this occasion, he would later show leniency to Currie lock forward Ryan Wilson for a premeditated late tackle on winger Andy McLean that was worth a yellow card.

No luck then for Howe, who lost a fifth try minutes after the break but then momentarily shrugged off the label of plucky underdogs to score a scintillating try of their own.

Scrum-half Stuart Lathangie passed to stand-off Ross Aitken who off-loaded inside to flanker Iain Wilson coming in at an angle and he gave it back the other way to No 8 and skipper Chris Mason to go under the posts.

It was a move that bamboozled Currie, who didn't get within a metre of the ball as its was shifted swiftly through Howe hands. It underlined how good this side can be when the play flows.

However, Mason's try was to be Howe's only real moment in the sun. Individual players like second row Graeme Steedman and winger Girvin Imrie showed up well in the frantic loose play but it was obvious that Howe were being run ragged as the tries came thick and fast.

Currie staged a masterclass in creating and converting different options, retaining total concentration, showing no mercy and fighting for every ball even when the score went past the 50-point mark.

Currie coach Ally Donaldson said: "For us, it was all about getting the win and a good performance as we got our team back together. It was good for us. Not many teams have scored that amount of points against Howe."

Currie remain focused on a highly successful conclusion to the season while Howe, currently lying third in Premiership Three, seek to direct the lessons learned from Saturday into beating the odds by winning the second promotion slot. It is out of their hands, for even if they manage to beat fellow challengers Falkirk they still need another team to do them a favour.

Perhaps, though, after such a bruising afternoon they are due some luck.

Scorers: Howe of Fife: Tries: Mason, Con: Clark. Currie: Tries: Weston, Fife (2), penalty, MacMahon (2), Cairns (2), Smith (2), Scott, Moala, Wilson. Cons: Smith 4, Walker.

Howe of Fife: M Daly, A McLean, W Wardlaw, F Clark, G Imrie, R Aitken, S Lathangie, S Player, M Keeble, G Henderson, A Kennedy, G Steedman, P Crawford, I Wilson, C Mason. Subs used: T Turpie, C Dow, E Jack, M Calcutt.

Currie: J Smith, W Moala, J Johnston, A MacMahon, D Fife, M Scott, R Snedden, J Cox, N Scobie, J Thomson, A Adam, R Wilson, S Burton, M Cairns, R Weston. Subs used: A Reekie, A Walker, A Hamilton, J Thomson, S Walker.

Referee: P Allan.