Watsonians 59 - 5 Hawick: Sonians stay on track

The Hawick bandwagon crashed into the Myreside buffers as Watsonians chalked up an impressive win that keeps them firmly on track for a play-off spot.

Craig Borthwick blasts his way through the Hawick defence for the Myreside teams bonus-point try. Photograph: Scott Louden

Hawick’s cause was not helped by the absence of several front line players and, although the home side also had some personnel unavailable, the nine-try demolition was an indication of the strength of the respective squads.

“We lost our shape a bit at the end and we weren’t as ruthless as we might have been,” admitted Watsonians coach Steve Lawrie. “But I was pleased with that. It’s an important result for us.”

Hawick caught the home side cold with a try in the first minute as Ross Combe gathered inside his own half and showed his sprinter’s pace to race down the right flank for an unconverted score.

The hosts responded with a slick handling move that saw Jason Harries dot down in the corner. Ali Harris added the conversion although he was off target with his next effort after Michael Allen sent Rory Steele clear.

However, Harris rediscovered his range to boot the conversion after Rory Drummond crashed over for his side’s third touchdown.

Harries was held up over the Hawick line as Watsonians chased a fourth try. But the bonus point was delayed only briefly and it came from the ensuing scrum with Craig Borthwick blasting his way through the visitors’ defence. Harris again added the extras.

Their task became even tougher when, with half an hour on the clock, Michael Fedo continued his rich vein of scoring form by powering over beside the uprights, leaving Harris a simple conversion.

The visitors ended the half with their best spell of sustained pressure but the closest they came to adding to their tally was when Gary Munro was held up over the whitewash.

Any notion that Hawick might mount a fightback was swept away within a couple of minutes of the restart when Mark Bertram shrugged off the attentions of three defenders to barge over. The conversion by Harris took the hosts’ total to 40 points.

Hawick were looking increasingly bedraggled and another sustained spell of Watsonians pressure yielded a score for Willie Thomson, with Andrew Chalmers converting.

The one-way traffic continued and, after Combe was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle, the home pack rumbled over and Darren Miller applied the final touch with Chalmers again converting. Harries completed the scoring with his second try of the afternoon.

“We had very little shape and there were just too many errors,” lamented Hawick coach George Graham. “Watsonians were ruthless and took their opportunities.”