NATIONAL cups might be won on sun-dappled spring afternoons.
But, to have the chance of such glory days, sinews must be stretched on dreich, dark winter afternoons. Hawks, having lost to Heriot's in last season's BT Scottish Cup final, took a massive step towards going one better this season by winning this arm-wrestling glaur-fest at Old Anniesland.
The visitors, third in the BT Premiership, might have started as favourites against their eighth-placed hosts, but, Hawks had a secret weapon - their sense of injustice at how the sides' last meeting, at the Greenyards three weeks ago had ended in a one-point win for 'Rose.
This was pay-back time, Hawks had nursed their wrath at that result through extra training sessions and their team, in particular the pack, made Melrose pay with a dominant display.
"We felt we had been robbed down there, so we wanted to make amends, and revenge was certainly sweet," said Peter Laverie, who has picked up the coaching gauntlet laid down by Jamie Dempster's promotion to Glasgow Academy Manager.
If Laverie was happy, opposite number John Dalziel was the opposite. Nevertheless, he was magnanimous in defeat.
"We started and finished well, but, we were totally outplayed in the middle third of the game." he said.
"We gave away the ball too easily, we picked up stupid yellow cards, we didn't deserve to win and, to be honest - Hawks wanted it more," he continued.
The match was feisty, occasionally fractious, with referee Andrew McMenemy, who was excellent throughout, dishing-out five yellow cards: to Hawks' Gary Strain and David Milne and Melrose's Nick Beavons, Damian Hoyland and Richard Ferguson, as well as issuing a general warning to both sides as one second-half breakdown turned into Black Friday at Walmart.
Blair Hutchison's early try, converted by Joe Helps, put Melrose ahead, before a Penalty Try, converted by Jack Steele, squared the match just before the break. For both tries, the side conceding was shorn of their loose-head prop to a yellow card.
Gary Strain made amends for his spell on the naughty step by putting Hawks in front in 47 minutes, Steele again converting, before Andy Fleming squeezed in at the corner for an unconverted try on the hour, the score only given after McMenemy and his touch judge held a lengthy discussion.
Hawks' David Milne had his match ended prematurely following a 70th-minute yellow card and from the restart penalty, Damian Hoyland scored an unconverted try. But, Hoyland's silly trip on Fleming cancelled-out Hawks' one-man advantage, and when the visiting hooker Richard Ferguson was also yellow-carded, Hawks simply stuck the ball up the pack's collective jumpers and ran down the clock to clinch their last-eight place.
The Old Anniesland side do love the Scottish Cup and, with this sort of forward cohesion and a back division which loves to run when given the chance, who is to say they will not be at Murrayfield for the cup final later this season.
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