Graeme Wells, the referee, came under fire from both coaches in the wake of Glasgow Hawks' 24-14 victory over Hawick at Old Anniesland on Saturday.

Jamie Dempsey and Phil Leck did disagree, though, about the effect of his decision to dismiss visiting scrum-half Bruce Campbell for an alleged stamping incident.

"I thought it was an appalling and it did have a bearing on the outcome of the match," said Leck, the Hawick coach. "Immediately after it happened we had to use a guy at No.9 who had never played there before. We were very close to the Hawks line, but he ended up being penalised. I won't deny that they deserved to win, but we could have snatched it."

Dempsey countered: "I don't think it had any real effect because when we scored our try they still had 15 on the field. However, no way was it a red card - maybe a yellow. The ref seemed overly harsh.

"It would be a shame if the match was remembered for that episode because both teams produced a great, tight game of rugby just like all the meetings between us in recent times."

Paddy Boyer led the Hawks charge with a try-double, including the last effort that made sure of the success. Mike Adamson was also in top form with a score and two conversions.

Meanwhile, John Dalziel, the Melrose coach, couldn't disguise his glee as his men pulled off a remarkable 33-11 victory over champions Ayr at Millbrae.

Poor discipline and sloppy handling - along with the power and pace of the visitors - led to the hosts' downfall, who also had Scott Sutherland and Ross Curle sinbinned at crucial times.

Melrose created six tries for Austin Lockington, Peter Eccles, Nick Beavon, Harry Leonard, Fraser Thomson and Bruce Colvine, with only one in reply through Curle.

Heriot's produced a stirring second-half rally to edge out Gala 28-27. Scrum-half Graham Wilson had a hand in two tries and scored five vital goals - including the clinching penalty two minutes from time. Gala salvaged two bonus points with their tally of four tries.

It was Scotland age-group star Jamie Swanson who was the man that mattered most for Stirling County as they surged to an impressive 42-28 victory over Currie at Malleny Park.

Swanson went over twice to help make sure of the full haul of spoils for the Bridgehaugh club. County were on top in every aspect of the game, with Brian Archibald also enjoying a productive day with the boot, which yielded four conversions and two penalties.

Edinburgh Accies made it two wins out of two as they pulled off a surprise 18-17 success over Aberdeen GR at Rubislaw.

Nyle Godsmark and Andy Findlater were the capital side's try scorers, while Ruaridh Bonner slotted a series of kicks which proved crucial in the final shake-up.

Rob Aloe was the pick of the home side with a fine try and two conversions.