High-fliers make their own luck

Conversion - Ker

Tries - Maxton, Strang, Maclay, Monaghan

Penalty - Adamson

SO lightning never strikes thrice. Back-to-back BT Cup defeats at Currie's Malleny Park ground might have engendered nervousness in the Hawks' camp, but normal service was resumed in a match where the champions looked increasingly comfortable as time went on.

Their comfort could only have been enhanced by news of Watsonians' defeat at Biggar, a result that may have handled the BT Premiership title to Hawks on a plate.

Currie had the better of the first half, but their 7-0 interval lead owed more to Hawks errors than anything they did themselves. Of those, none was more glaring than the attempt of fly-half Murray Strang to prod a penalty into touch, a kick he miscued into the dead-ball area.

Strang was no more accurate with his kicking in open play, though allowances had to be made for the mud underfoot. Throughout that first period, the Hawks churned around the fringes well enough but never seemed able to get a platform from which to launch a sustained assault on Currie's line.

Indeed, as well as their try by prop Andrew Reekie after three minutes, Currie also enjoyed a succession of chances that were more clearly cut than any that fell to their opponents. Had they been able to finish off a storming run by Anton Edwards just before the break, or if they had managed to get more ball to the eager Geoff Caldwell on the right they could have made the Hawks' task all the more difficult.

As it was, Reekie's score was to be the only return from the first period. It arrived when Currie won a lineout in the left corner, gathered possession, and sent Reekie steaming over from close in.

The match's barometer was always likely to be Hawks' third-quarter response, so they could hardly be faulted for rallying with a try within two minutes of the restart.

It was finished off by Richard Maxton, but on such difficult ground the joy was that Hawks managed the slick left-to-right move to create the chance - Mark Sitch, Steve Begley and Mike Adamson all contributing to the move.

Hawks finally got in front in the 55th minute, some indiscreet handling in the ruck by Currie giving Adamson the chance to clip a tidy penalty between the posts. The deficit seemed to galvanise Currie, but for all their strenuous efforts in the Hawks' half they could not capitalise on it.

Currie's desperation could be measured by the manner of the Hawks' second try. Its origins lay in a bold, but ultimately rash and costly attempt by the home side to move the ball wide allowing Strang to intercept a ballooned pass from Mike Ker in the 68th minute and canter away for the score.

At 7-13, Currie's hopes were not yet buried, but Hawks took to banging in the coffin nails with glee.

Three minutes after Strang's try, Ally Maclay collected the Hawks' third touchdown when he spun over from a ruck near the left corner, and four minutes later the fourth - and the bonus point - was claimed by scrum-half Iain Monaghan, finishing off a characteristic charge from the scrum by Sitch.

Currie: D Flockhart; G Caldwell, A Muir, G Moffat, C Browne; M Ker, G Calder; A Reekie, G Scott, A Edwards, P Huntley, A Adam (captain), B Miller, M Cairns, R Weston. Subs used: D Wilson, B Morrison, F Pringle, D Officer.

Glasgow Hawks: M Adamson; R Munday, A Maclay, S Duffy, S Smith; M Strang, I Monaghan; E Milligan, S Fell, G MacFadyen, S Begley, R Maxton, S Warnock, N McKenzie, M Sitch. Subs used: P Dalton, G Mories, N Caddell, R McKnight.

Referee: I Ramage, Berwick.