- Marr were slow out of the blocks at Rubislaw but pulled their act together at half time to blow Aberdeen away with five unanswered tries in the second half. Benedict Grant grabbed a hat-trick but his namesake Fraser won man-of-the-match for a stupendous shift in the boiler room. Top dogs going into the play-offs, they will be very keen to assert their credentials against Hawick at Fullarton next week.
- Currie Chieftains suffered a major scare against Musselburgh at Stoneyhill – but Mark Cairns’ young side showed remarkable resilience in stringing together twenty phases deep into injury time to set up a match winning try for their 18-year-old back rower Hamish Ferguson. Grand larceny maybe – but fortune favours the brave — and Chieftains can now effectively look forward to a home tie in the play-offs.
- Three tries for Andrew Mitchell as Hawick chalked up their tenth win on the trot against Jed at Riverside. They were strong up front with Wienn Griebenow and Mitchell outstanding in the middle of the park. A win at Marr next week would favourably compare with anything achieved by the great Hawick teams of the past.
- Aberdeen Grammar were very much in the mix against Marr at half-time but an injury to prop Ross Anderson shortly after the break and a yellow card for Robin Cessford changed the game – which morphed into one way traffic, as any slim chance of making the play-offs disappeared into the Rubislaw gloom. Disappointing – but as chairman Gordon Thomson suggested fifth spot in the league is no mean achievement, given the way their resources have been stretched at times this season – and the progress made by youngsters like Fraser Sneddon, Craig Shepherd and Scott Renfrew bodes well for next season.
- Jed-Forest fronted up bravely against Hawick at Riverside and fought to the end – but were ultimately out-powered up front and in the middle of the park – though it was, again, a needless yellow card which finally killed them off. When will they learn?
This weekend’s Premiership match reports –
Edinburgh Accies v Glasgow Hawks: visitors lunge for safety
Aberdeen Grammar v Marr: second half blitz keeps visitors on track
Musselburgh v Currie Chieftains: heroic hosts pipped at the post
Jed-Forest v Hawick: Andrew Mitchell grabs a hat-trick as Greens make it 10 in a row
GHA pick up a bonus point to secure top flight status for next season
- Despite Jamie McKinnon leaving his kicking boots in Glasgow, GHA, wholeheartedly led by Jamie McCarthy,did enough at Philiphaugh to secure their place in the Premiership next season — an apposite reward for their sterling contribution to Scottish rugby over the past three or four year — off as well as on the park.
- Ill to bear for Musselburgh with Chieftains snatching victory from right under their noses in the last play of the game at Stoneyhill. “We did everything but win the game,” said Graeme Paterson – and he was right. Fifteen heroes on the day – with the old lags Michael Maltman, Colin Arthur and Danney Owenson showing the young bucks like Sandy Watt, James Ferguson and Freddie Roddick the way home. Mathematically they can still go down – but it would take a Herculean effort from both Hawks and Accies to make that happen.
- Robust defence was the corner stone of Glasgow Hawks crucial win over Accies at Raeburn Place – complemented by a polished display from full-back Liam Brims, rumbustious contributions from Stephen Leckey, Fraser Christie and Ryan Sweeney in the back-row, and a big impact from the bench by replacement prop Lyall Archer. It has been a tough campaign having lost seven games by less than seven points — and five of these games by less than three points — but, though not totally out of the woods, they do now control their own destiny.
- A nightmare of a season for Edinburgh Accies – ravaged by Super6 – disturbed and distracted by the development of Raeburn Place. Never really looking like beating Hawks – they now find themselves looking down the barrel of the relegation shotgun. Where now? Back to basics — they have the history — they have their excellent BATS development programme — and they are close to having the best rugby facilities in the country. It would be a tragedy if they let all that drift.