Rugby: Donaldson hails bottle of stand in Currie kicker

Currie coach Ally Donaldson has hailed scrum half Richard Snedden for a bold contribution to his side's 17-17 draw with Glasgow Hawks at Malleny Park.

With no recognised kicker on the field, Snedden assumed responsibility for booting a crucial penalty and slotting a conversion that earned a last ditch share of the spoils in an engrossing, high intensity encounter between two well drilled sides. Indeed, it would have been difficult to find anyone in the Malleny Park crowd who had not been entertained by this 94-minute contest.

Referring to Snedden's contribution, Donaldson said: "He showed an enormous amount of bottle to slot that at the end. He's not a regular kicker. It was a great kick."

Snedden's efforts capped a second-half fight back that earned the Premiership champions two league points. The result means that Donaldson's men are still chasing their first win of the campaign. However, the coach insists that it is only a matter of time until they achieve that confidence boosting breakthrough.

"We know we are not playing to our potential yet," he admitted. "The guys are disappointed with how it's gone so far but it's not a disaster. We lost by three and four points to two of the best teams in the league, away from home, and could easily have won both those games. We're not firing on all cylinders - we know that - but it will come.

"There is a great work ethic in the squad. Everyone is determined to get it right. Training has been outstanding. We just need a wee break in a game to get our confidence up and it will be fine."

That determination was evident in Saturday's performance as Currie refused to concede defeat against a Hawks side that has been transformed from the outfit that had surrendered 59-6 in the corresponding fixture last season.

Entering injury time at the break, the visitors led 17-0 through tries by Tom Preece and Joffy White, both converted by Mike Adamson, who also landed a penalty. That score line reflected Currie's lack of composure in the opposition 22 rather than the superiority of the visitors. And as the half drew to a close, Currie launched a series of attacks that ended with Ross Weston burrowing over for a try, which Johnny Smith converted.

However, instead of building on that breakthrough, the hosts were repeatedly thwarted by a Hawks side that defended gamely and foiled attempts by the Currie to play an open game.

The scoreline remained unchanged as the 80 minutes elapsed and when Snedden booted a penalty that trimmed the gap to seven points, it looked as if Donaldson's men had settled for a narrow defeat bonus point. Not so, however, as the referee added more than nine minutes. And in the final move of the game, Tom Brown raced in for a try, leaving Snedden the task of steering another kick between the sticks to snatch a share of the spoils.

"It was just frustrating with the stop/start nature of the second half", added Donaldson. "We got a try before half time, 17-7 and playing downwind. But we just couldn't get any rhythm and fluency into the game."

The champions have now drawn twice and lost twice in their opening four matches but, while admitting that they have made a disappointing start to the defence of their title, Donaldson is far from downbeat about his side's performances. He need look no further than Saturday's opponents, who took the title in 2006 after suffering three defeats and a draw, to realise that there is still hope for his team.

Donaldson remains confident that a change of fortune is imminent, saying, "We are not a million miles away. We just have to keep believing in what we are trying to do. We need a break - a bit of luck here and there and it will turn round.

"There is a long way to go. We are just looking to next week. The biggest disappointment for all of us is that it has been the same things week in, week out - soft tries and unforced errors. We will work really hard to try and eradicate them."

Scorers:

Currie: Tries: Weston, Brown; Cons Smith, Snedden; Pen: Snedden.

Glasgow: Tries: Preece, J White; Cons: Adamson (2); Pen: Adamson.

Currie: J Smith, T Brown, J Johnstone, A MacMahon, D Fife, A Binikos, R Snedden, J Cox, F Scott, A Hamilton, R Wilson, A Adams, M Cairns, M Entwhistle, R Weston. Subs Used: N Scobie, R Merrilees, S Burton, M Scott, A Turnbull.

Glasgow: A White, J White, D Kelbrick, T Preece, K Gossman, M Adamson, P Jericevich, A Smith, E Milligan, G Hunter, R Hamilton, A Kirkland, R McKay, B Karalus, R Miller. Subs Used: G Strain, N Nyemba, A Hill, R Hare, K Hamilton.