Magnificent Reds are left hungry for more

They dominated in every department against a side that has not had its troubles to seek in recent weeks and the ruthlessness they demonstrated continued after the final whistle.

''I was pleased but disappointed at the same time, because there were a lot more points there,'' their coach Richie Dixon said afterwards.

''We knew that we were capable of playing at a pace that we haven't seen in Scotland below international level and we demonstrated that, staying true to the kind of rugby we're trying to develop here at Glasgow Caledonians.''

His opposite number, Ian Rankin was generous, meanwhile, refusing to use his side's injury problems or their late return from France last weekend as an excuse.

''I was on the other side last year and I know which I prefer,'' he said, looking slightly shell-shocked. ''We were simply out-gunned. We simply couldn't cope with the support running of their back three. Shaun Longstaff and Glen Metcalfe's running from deep was just too much for us.''

Dixon had called for his players to maintain the mentality they had taken into their Heineken European Cup matches and after Tommy Hayes had given them the lead with an early penalty they produced the game's first try with just the sort of rugby he has been demanding.

Admittedly, the move originated from Stuart Lang's weak clearance, but from the moment Roland Reid caught the bouncing ball at full tilt the Reivers were in trouble.

The flanker powered down the right touchline and found support inside from Shaun Longstaff and Alan Bulloch. The centre was held up in midfield, but released the ball quickly and skipper Andy Nicol and Glen Metcalfe quickly shovelled the ball out to Reid, whose pace again stretched the defence before his inside pass put Nicol in for a fine score.

As the Reivers attempted to respond immediately they looked to Chris Paterson for inspiration, but his attempts to round Alan Bulloch were twice thwarted by excellent tackles by his opposite number.

However, the Reds again demonstrated their lethal finishing strength as the pace in their back-row again caused their opponents problems.

This time it was Jon Petrie who charged down the right flank, dragging defenders with him and when he was hauled down referee Jim Fleming awarded a penalty for offside deep inside the Reivers 22.

Rather than take the easy three points on offer Nicol showed his alertness with a quickly taken tap penalty, Ian Jardine provided the link and, with team-mates lining up outside him, Longstaff offered the dummy before slicing through the defence to score close to the posts.

Hayes added the conversion and, after a Duncan Hodge penalty from midway inside the Reds half got the Reivers on the scoreboard, he re-established the three score cushion from much closer range as the visitors were again put under the cosh in their own 22.

The pace the Reds were looking to inject into the game at every opportunity again paid dividends after Matt Proudfoot was penalised for collapsing a scrum, under pressure from international rival Dave Hilton.

Hilton's front-row colleague Gordon Bulloch took the penalty quickly, but it looked as if he had run up a blind alley as the Reivers wrapped him up in the middle of the pitch.

Yet Nicol somehow managed to wrestle the ball away and after Alan Bulloch's half break Hayes looped around him to roar away on the left, fending off Kevin Utterson's challenge as he entered the 22 before drawing clear and claiming a try which he converted himself.

Reivers' problems continued early in the second half as Hodge missed with a long range penalty attempt, but more worryingly, Paterson hobbled off with what looked like a recurrence of knee trouble and Proudfoot also made an early departure.

The Reds suffered an injury blow, too, when Reid, whose rampaging runs had been such a feature of the first half, limped off.

That Hodge had attempted that penalty indicated that there was a sense of the need for damage limitation in the Reivers camp and they showed a real appetite for the fight for much of the third quarter.

However, the home side's expansive approach again set up the position from which they re-commenced their onslaught as Longstaff broke away on the right and deep into the 22.

The drive from the lineout was held up on the try-line, Reivers conceded a penalty from the ensuing scrummage and two quick phases of play from the tap penalty ended with replacement Marty Waite piling over for the try.

Yet another Longstaff run sparked the move which brought their fifth try shortly afterwards.

He was well tackled by Lang midway inside the Reivers half, but the ball was swept left and Donnie McFadyen almost forced his way in, being denied only by Utterson's tap tackle.

However, again the ball was kept alive and when it returned to the right touchline Waite held it up before feeding Glen Metcalfe the scoring pass as the full back cut infield.

The Reivers mounting problems were compounded yet further when Marty Leslie went off clutching his shoulder, giving the Scotland selectors another major worry just two days before they select their side for the Six Nations opener against Italy.

His side showed commendable spirit once again, however when replacement Dall worked his way through a gap deep in the Reds 22 to make it easy for Andy Lucking to slide in close to the posts for a try converted by Hodge.

However, the Reds deservedly ended the match with play again sweeping from one side of the field to the other before Hilton appeared in the back line to spin out of a tackle and put Gordon Bulloch in, Gordon McIlwham also having shown good handling skills earlier in the move as the front-row showed their eagerness to join in the fun.

Glasgow Caledonians - G Metcalfe; S Longstaff, A Bulloch, I Jardine, I McInroy; T Hayes, A Nicol (G Beveridge 19-27min); D Hilton, G Bulloch, G McIlwham, S Campbell, J White, R Reid (M Waite 47 (A Watt 24-34)), D McFadyen, J Petrie.

Edinburgh Reivers - S Lang; K Milligan, C Paterson (M Di Rollo 46), K Utterson, C Sharman; D Hodge, I Fairley; B Stewart, S Scott, M Proudfoot (R McNulty 51), A Lucking, I Fullarton, C Mather, M Leslie (G Dall 70), C Hogg (G Dall 14-32) (Proudfoot 24-34).

Referee - J Fleming (Boroughmuir).

Scoring sequence (Glasgow Caledonian Reds first): 3-0, 8-0, 15-0, 15-3, 18-3, 25-3, 28-3 (half-time); 33-3, 40-3, 40-10, 47-10.

Scorers: Glasgow Caledonians: Tries - Nicol (6), Longstaff (13), Hayes (32), Waite (57), Metcalfe (60), G Bulloch (78). Conversions - Hayes (13, 32, 60, 78). Penalties - Hayes (4,27,40). Edinburgh Reivers: Try - Lucking (72). Conversion - Hodge (72). Penalty - Hodge (22).