Heriot's 70 - 7 Hawick: Beaten Hawick Green about the gills

Hopeless Hawick crashed to their fourth straight Premiership defeat, completely over-run by a free-flowing Heriot's team that had the bonus point wrapped up inside half an hour, seven tries on the scoreboard by half-time, a round dozen by the end.

Michael Maltman scores for Heriots after just three minutes to spark the 12-try rout of Hawick. Photograph: Ian Georgeson

The Borderers were humiliated and seemed incapable of doing anything to staunch the flow of tries that came from every part of the pitch.

Yet the game began with what looked like two evenly matched teams sparring in the first few minutes and taking play from one 22 to the other. Then, with barely three minutes on the clock, the massacre began.

Heriot’s blindside Michael Maltman picked up a loose ball that popped out the back of a ruck and sprinted 20 metres without a hand being laid on him to score.

Minutes later the second try came, dotted down by centre Robbie Mulveena after a slick interchange between lock Callum Marshall, scrum-half Tom Wilson, and full-back Ross Jones who gave the scoring pass.

The third try was only moments away. Heriot’s No 8 Martin Hughes, a Scotland under-20 player, charged up the right to set up position to take the ball left, Jones once more providing the scoring pass this time for winger Craig Robertson.

It was to get worse for Hawick, much worse. Their captain Bruce McNeil was forced off by injury and centre Dom Buckley joined him on the sidelines after being yellow carded. Heriot’s took immediate advantage with their pack strolling over for the bonus point try by Marshall.

Then former Heriot’s captain Jack Turley, back in the team after a season playing in England, got the first of what would prove to be a hat-trick of tries.

Heriot’s prop Stuart Cessford got in on the scoring act to make it 43-0 at half-time and after the turnaround there was no let-up in the pace of the demolition job being done on Hawick. Full-back Jones had no sooner trotted out onto the pitch than he was crossing the line for Heriot’s eighth try. The half century of points was passed with replacement Alex Ball’s try before Turley’s third, Charlie Simpson’s first, and Tom Wilson’s second.

In amongst all this the only positive moment for Hawick came as Lee Armstrong intercepted a loose pass in midfield and ran in unchallenged for the smallest crumb of consolation.