Glasgow Hawks 26 - 29 Heriot's: Second-half fight back

Heriots skipper Rory Carmichael scored from close range. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS

Heriot's produced a terrific second-half fight-back to post their first win of the new season and put the smile back on coach Phil Smith's face.

Constant drizzle and a slippery ball made for handling errors, but, with both sides earning try bonuses, the crowd were in no way short-changed.

Close-range tries from Hawks’ Paddy Boyer and Heriot’s skipper Rory Carmichael, converted by Jack Steele and Ross Jones respectively, had the sides level, before a Jones penalty and an unconverted Michael Liness try put the visitors in front. Hawks claimed the bonus point through tries from Cammy Fenton, Grant Stewart and Robert Beattie, with Steele converting the latter two to put Hawks 26-15 ahead at the interval.

Hawks dominated after the break but could not convert pressure into points before, in the final quarter, Adam Sinclair finished off a great Struan Cessford charge and Craig Robertson scored a fine solo try, Jones converting both.

After two defeats, Heriot’s had won at last. “It’s been a tough month,” said a happy Smith.