Rugby: Cairns and Currie still in the hunt

The flanker, who again deputised as captain for injury victim Andy Adam, was reflecting on a 58-25 win at home over Hawick in their opening fixture of the league's play off phase. And, he made it clear that, despite a string of inconsistent results in the first half of the campaign, the Malleny Park men still believe they are contenders.

Pointing to the cutthroat nature of the post-split play offs, which means that fortunes can change quickly, Cairns said: "All the games are important now. We feel that if we win them, we've got a chance. But we've got to just take each week as it comes . . . it's not done and dusted."

The clash of the league fixtures with international matches is far from ideal in promoting the club game which is serving up some hugely entertaining rugby this season. But the supporters who opted for Murayfield on Saturday missed out on a fiercely contested match.

And for Currie, the intensity will persist with leaders Melrose next on the agenda at Malleny Park on Saturday, and a trip to meet Glasgow Hawks scheduled for the following Sunday. Little wonder Cairns is refusing to concede just yet when wins in each of those encounters would blast open the race for the silverware.

The five point haul from Saturday's encounter featured flashes of Currie at their best - running the ball at every opportunity with a 15-man game that was epitomised when prop John Cox displayed his pace and dexterity when he raced from inside his own 22 and delivered a deft offload. "

The home side dominated the early exchanges and there were a couple of uncharacteristic penalty misses by the normally reliable Hayden Abercrombie who later proved he had rediscovered his range when he blasted over the touchline conversion after his side's eighth try.

It was the 25-year-old Kiwi who set the scoreboard ticking when he pounced on a loose ball inside the opposition half and sprinted over for the try then added the extra two points. Hawick full back Neil Renwick landed two penalties before Abercrombie matched the Borderer to re-establish a seven point advantage after 28 minutes.

Despite having Alex Dunbar in the sin bin, the visitors drew level when Renwick raced in then added the conversion. Hawick - who were later forced to call for uncontested scrums - then had Matt Landles red carded for punching and his lack of discipline was to prove expensive as, almost immediately, Andy MacMahon ploughed through two tackles to touch down and Abercrombie slotted the conversion for a 20-13 interval lead.

A converted penalty try for the hosts was countered by a touchdown from Craig Robertson before Cairns raced clear then freed Richard Snedden for the bonus point score that finally broke Hawick's resistance.

James Johnstone outpaced the opposition defence for try number five then did the spadework for Ryan Wilson to claim number six.

Finlay Gillies then marked his debut for Ally Donaldson's side with the penultimate score and, although Renwick was rewarded for his perseverance when he crossed for a second time, the hosts had the final word when winger Andy Turnbull bolted through a despairing Hawick defence to bag a fine solo touchdown, with Abercrombie's boot delivering the final points of the afternoon when he thumped over the conversion from the left flank.

Scorers: Currie: Tries: Abercrombie, MacMahon, Penalty, Snedden, Johnstone, Wilson, Gillies, Turnbull. Cons: Abercrombie 6. Pens: Abercrombie (2).

Hawick: Tries: Renwick (2), Robertson. Cons: Renwick 2. Pens: Renwick (2).

Currie: D Fife, A Turnbull, H Abercrombie, A MacMahon, J Johnstone, M Scott, R Snedden, J Cox, S Simonsen, A Hamilton, R Wilson, G Temple, M Cairns, M Entwhistle, R Weston. Subs: N Scobie, R Merrilees, S Burton, F Fillies, A Binikos.

Hawick: N Renwick, C Robertson, G Johnstone, A Dunbar, S Anderson, G Hogg, G Cottrell, R Sutherland, L Gibson, S Linton, C Charters, M Robertson, D Lowrie, D Denton, B McNeil. Subs: B Campbell, C Ritson, K Davies, N Mactaggart, M Landles.

Referee: R Kelly (RFU)