The Hawick fans won the battle of the tonsils in the west stand, but that was the only edge the Borderers enjoyed at this BT Cup final at Murrrayfield on Saturday.
In every area of the game itself, the men from Mansfield Park were comprehensively outwitted outmuscled and outplayed by their Boroughmuir counterparts. The scoreline looked brutal for Hawick at the finish, but the 38-point winning margin did not flatter Boroughmuir one bit.
There were grumbles from some Hawick followers about the influence Boroughmuir's players had had on the game, but Hawick coach Nikki Walker had no interest in adding his voice to the chorus of complaints. Instead, the former Scotland wing paid gracious tribute to the Meggetland side's clever choice of players who could genuinely make an impact, adding that luck with injuries and selections often played a part as well.
"They've taken on the culture of the club, which is exactly what you want from your professionals," said Walker. "Fair play to them. We don't hold anything against Boroughmuir. Those guys have played for the club all season so why shouldn't they get the opportunity to play in the final?"
Among the paid-to-play ranks, the most conspicuously influential was Magnus Bradbury, the 19-year-old No.8 whose Elite Development contract with Edinburgh will be upgraded to a full-time deal before the start of next season. If this was Bradbury's last hurrah in a Boroughmuir shirt, he bade them farewell in stirring fashion, delivering two of their eight tries and putting in powerfully effective shifts in both attack and defence.
Given Edinburgh's back-row injury woes, as well as their need to rest players ahead of their European Challenge Cup final against Gloucester in London in two weeks' time, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Bradbury could be back at Murrayfield on Friday, lining up for the capital side in their Guinness PRO12 clash with Zebre.
Bradbury revealed that Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons has asked him to focus on the forthcoming under-20s World Cup in Italy - he captained the side to victory over Ireland last month - but the strapping teenager did enough in this match to show that he is already well capable of putting his substantial frame to good use at the highest levels of the sport.
Until now, Bradbury, who was raised in Oban before completing his education on a rugby scholarship at Merchiston, has divided his training time between Edinburgh and Boroughmuir. Over the past couple of seasons there have been encouraging signs that Scottish Rugby is now managing the progression of junior players into the senior ranks far better than before, and there is every indication that Bradbury will now follow successfully in the footsteps of individuals such as Jonny Gray, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Mark Bennett.
For his part, Bradbury paid tribute to the role played by Edinburgh captain Mike Coman, his nominated mentor at the club. "Every so often I sit down with him and just have a chat about my game, to see what I can do better and what is letting me down," he explained. "He has helped me a fair bit."
The romantics might have written a script that involved the victorious Hawick players being lauded through the streets by their adoring townsfolk, but after ripping that one to shreds Bradbury offered heartfelt praise to Boroughmuir's own community of players, officials and supporters, not least for the way they had welcomed him into their fold.
"For me, coming from Oban down here and then moving about a bit, it has been a great thing to be part of the Boroughmuir club," said the 6ft 4in forward. "It is just a really good club to be part of."
On the issue of professional players leapfrogging others into a club side, Bradbury hinted that there could be tensions, but suggested that pragmatism had to prevail. "When it comes down to it, you want to win a game," he said. "If that means playing pro player then that's how it is. It is just what Bruce [Aitchison, the Boroughmuir head coach] thinks is best for the team."
Bradbury had the first of his two tries on the board after 22 minutes, pounding over after Boroughmuir had worked play down the left and lock Trent Suton had released him on his stampede to the line. By then, the pattern of Boroughmuir domination was already well set, their easy command of affairs aided by some wretchedly ham-fisted and error-strewn play by Hawick, who looked for all the world to have frozen on the big stage.
Scrum-half Johnny Adams, who was later named man of the match, had opened Boroughmuir's try account in the third minute, and winger Grant McConnel would add another before Bradbury weighed in with his second, and his side's fourth, just before the half-hour mark. Prop Simon Berghan, another Edinburgh pro, provided the fifth touchdown as half-time loomed.
Boroughmuir eased off a little in the third quarter, but normal service was resumed after flanker Mike Entwistle clained yet another try in the 57th minute. Iain Moody and Sep Visser provided the seventh and eighth scores in the closing minutes. For Hawic, Scott McLeod and Ross Gibson claimed tries either side of half-time.
Hawick: L Armstrong; D Graham, N Walker, J Coutts, S McLeod; R Hutton, G Cottrel; S Muir, R Graham, M Landels, M Robertson, M McKee, N McTaggart, R Scott, B McNeil. Subs used: L Gibson, N McLennan, W Blacklock, K Davies, R Gibson, S Goodfellow.
T: McLeod, Gibson
C: Armstrong (2)
P: Armstrong
Boroughmuir: C Marshall; G McConnell, S Visser, D Reekie, J Edmunds; C Bezuidenhout, J Adams; R Wilson, C Davies, S Berghan, T Sutton, A Best, T Sutton, A Rose, M Entwistle, M Bradbury. Subs used: S Bingham, J Latta, S Johnson, C Laidlaw, C Keddie, R Broadford, I Moody.
T: Adams, McConnell, Bradbury (2), Berghan, Entwistle, Moodie, Visser
C: Bezuidenhout (5), Laidlaw
P: Bezuidenhout
Referee: S Grove-White
Attendance: 10,074
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