Glasgow Hawks avenge Edinburgh Accies defeat

GLASGOW Hawks avenged their opening-day defeat at Raeburn Place with an emphatic win at Old Anniesland on Saturday.

Leone Nakarawa: First try. Picture: SNS

The significance was recognised by Hawks coach Jamie Dempsey. He said: “That was a very important win. That’s the first team that we’ve played twice and we lost very narrowly to them over there. Getting this win reflects what we have learned.”

The defeat in Glasgow marked Accies’ fifth straight loss. The Edinburgh side started well enough, Ruairidh Bonner putting them ahead in three minutes and, despite Hawks’ Mike Adamson levelling on 20 minutes, they held the upper hand.

Reward for their efforts came when Nyle Godsmark went over for a try in 26 minutes, when Accies pacey backline took advantage of some poor Hawks defending.

In the last ten minutes of the first half, the Hawks forwards dominated the play and offered a platform for their comeback, and Adamson narrowed the gap with a penalty just after the half-hour.

It was then that Glasgow Warriors’ Fijian lock, Leone Nakawara, made his first impact on Scottish soil as he went over for a try out wide.

As noted by Accies coach Jonny Else, Hawks were dominating the key areas in the match. “They played in the right areas and were very accurate in our 22,” he admitted.

This accuracy enabled Adamson to put over two further penalties before the hour was out. But it fell to Hawks’ Australian lock, Gus Hamilton, to kill the tie as he went over from close range after he had supported a Robert Beattie break.

Scorers: Hawks – Tries: Nakawara, Hamilton. Con: Adamson. Pens: Adamson (4). Edinburgh Accies – Try: Godsmark. Pen: Bonner.

Glasgow Hawks: J Dempsey; G Lowe, A MacLay; J Steele, H McPherson; M Adamson, D Smart; S Findlay, J McPherson, B Cullinane, A Linton, A Hamilton, A Kirkland, S Leckie, R Miller (c). Subs: C Kerr, Z Fagerson, L Nakawara, S Yacoubian, R Beattie.

Edinburgh Accies: A Blair; N Godsmark, C Dean, I Berthenuisen, J Farndale; R Bonner, A Black; A Allan, M Liness, P Cringle, G Campbell (c), A Toolis, R Snape, H Watson, C Reid. Subs: D Morrison, S Strudwick, R Seydak, J Houston, L Jones.

Referee: A Jackson