Frustrated Gala coach George Graham looked back on his side's dramatic and controversial defeat by Glasgow Hawks and claimed referee Duncan McClement had been "above his station and out of his depth." Graham delivered his verdict as he attempted to understand why the official awarded the hosts the clinching penalty try in the dying seconds of the tussle at Old Anniesland.

Frustrated Gala coach George Graham looked back on his side's dramatic and controversial defeat by Glasgow Hawks and claimed referee Duncan McClement had been "above his station and out of his depth." Graham delivered his verdict as he attempted to understand why the official awarded the hosts the clinching penalty try in the dying seconds of the tussle at Old Anniesland. The 16-13 outcome left the Maroons with a mountain to climb of they are to challenge for the Premiership crown. And former Scotland prop Graham declared: "I don't think the ref understood what was going on in the scrum. "We obviously were under pressure a bit, but when a tight head goes in, the loose-head has got to follow him, yet he seemed to penalise us all the time on the five-metre line. "He either got bad information or just made bad calls. I just think that in terms of the scrimmaging he was a wee bit out of his depth - above his station "We have been going through a bad patch, and while I am not making excuses we do have a huge amount of injuries. "We showed a lot of character against Hawks, but we fell just short because of some poor refereeing decisions." The fateful set-piece was reset nine times before the penalty touchdown was given, prompting Hawks supremo Jamie Dempsey to say: "I think we're going to rename that part of the pitch 'scrum corner' because it is the same place where we had the put-in against Edinburgh Accies and won in stoppage time." Dempsey defended the ref, insisting: "Conditions like these make it very difficult for players and officials. "Everyone is doing his best to perform. Duncan is a young up and coming referee and this is his first year in the premiership. "Refs don't get the luxury of being bled into a game, like being brought on as a sub. "He and his assistants were kept busy from the confrontational nature of the conditions and the play. "I think he was very brave at the end. "It was the fifth penalty scrum in quick succession, so while it was a big decision in the context of the game, we thoroughly deserved the try." Meanwhile Heriot's coach Phil Smith labelled his team "brilliant" in the wake of the 29-14 success per Stirling County at Bridgehaugh. Smith stated: "In tricky conditions, we did the right thing in the first half by keeping it enclosed. "Then after the interval we played in the right areas to make sure of the win. "That is two weeks in a row that we have had good opponents, putting it to us - and we've come away with five points each time."

Max Learmonth set the tone for the Goldenacre brigade with a try after just four minutes and scrum-half Graham Wilson capped a fine all-round display by slotting four pinpoint kicks. Hawick bounced back to peak form to deliver a championship blow to pacesetters Ayr, winning 27-22 in thrilling contest at Mansfield Park. In a remarkable action-packed first half, Hawick grabbed all of their points, with Jack Cuthbert in deadly form with the boot, slotting three conversions and two penalties. Ross Curle continued his fine form for the seasiders with a tally of 17 points, including two tries in quick succession, but in spite of his efforts they couldn't snatch the glory. Melrose ran in five tries to heap another dose of relegation worry on Boroughmuir at Meggetland. Joe Helps emerged as the man who mattered most in the 37-10 victory as he claimed a haul of 17 points from a touchdown, three conversions and two penalties. Edinburgh Accies' quest or top flight survival was boosted by a shock 18-15 home turf success over Currie. Winger Jack Marples was the hero of Raeburn Place with two superb tries, including the clincher three minutes from time.