THE win was so comfortable for Hawick to preserve their Premiership 1 status that coach Jim Hay must question why his team had been hanging around so long on the fringes of relegation.
The result was never in doubt despite two early Stirling pena
lties for a 6-3 lead. But Hawick's commitment and desire, allied to County's inability to hang on to the ball, ensured a satisfying afternoon for the home side.
Hay admitted: "We had a lot of young guys out there and they performed very well. We played some excellent rugby and scored some fine tries.""
Hawick led 15-9 at the interval with tries from Ryan Hogg and Steven Anderson while Anderson and Geoff Cross touched down after the break. Craig Neish and Neil Renwick shared the kicking duties.
Scorers: Hawick: Tries: Anderson (2), Hogg, Cross. Cons: Renwick (2), Neish. Pen: Neish. Stirling County: Try: Matheson. Pens: Archibald (4).
Hawick: J Coutts; C Murray, R Scott, C Neish, S Anderson; R Hutton, K Reid; S Linton, M. Landels, G Cross, C Charters, D Lowrie, N Mactaggart, R Hogg, R Borthwick. Subs used: B Campbell, G Cameron, H Scammell, R Gibson, N Renwick.
Stirling County: D Adamson; R Aitken, M Tuhakaraina, B Archibald, G Lindsay; A Robertson, G Calder; R Logan, A Moffat, M Hunter, B MacFarlane, P Wilson, C Deacons, J Matheson, T Clark. Subs used: G Mountford, A Simpson, C Fail, G McRorie, R Gray.
Referee: D Hewitt.
The full article contains 254 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
