BILL McLAREN at the Hawick Sevens
EXPERT dovetailing by Neil Crooks and John Amos in dealing with
opposition restart kicks created a fertile springboard for Gala as they
amassed a record 163 points in four ties, 59 of them without reply
against Stewart's Melville FP in the final of the Hawick Sevens, which
England's international referee, John Pearson, mercifully brought to an
end three minutes before the scheduled close.
In scoring 25 tries, nine by Mark Moncrieff who blistered the grass
almost every time he had ball and space, Gala simply sailed through the
tournament with a mighty contribution from their captain, Michael Dods,
playmaker, finisher, goal-kicker, and speechmaker, who was the overall
top scorer with four tries and 19 conversions for 58 points.
It was Gala's first win at the Hawick tournament since 1982, and their
fourteenth in all. Seldom before can there have been such a devastating
demonstration of magical interplay as in the final.
They permitted the college only meagre rations and gave what amounted
to an exhibition of ball manipulation, pass improvisation, and intuitive
support running that marks them out as one of the most complete and
gifted short-game combines ever to take the field.
Moncrieff had two tries in each tie except the final when he had
three. Dods had a haul of 20 points as Stirling County were swept aside,
although not before Colin McRobert had demonstrated his electric
acceleration that kept him ahead even of Chris Dalgleish. Gala's 31-7
margin in the semi-final barely reflected the vigorous challenge posed
by GHK, who levelled at 7-7 when Cameron Little whizzed over 60 metres
for a try converted by Steve Hirini.
GHK, however, had to rejig their back division on the injury loss of a
key figure in George Breckenridge, for whom that remarkable 40-year-old
Ken Hamilton deputised -- but as hooker. Lack of familiarity at
scrummage insertion and between a new half back pairing of Cameron
Dunlop (scrum half) and Little when allied to occasional ball
transference lapses by their highly-industrious props, Dominic Mellor
and Scott Hutton, denied GHK a launch base and two tries by Amos from
scrummage then kick-off sealed the issue.
Stewart's Melville FP owed much to a late try and conversion by Fraser
Pollock for their elimination by 21-17 of the Italian Zebras, who had
bags of pace and a powerful figurehead in the Wallaby flanker Julian
Gardner, but were short of Sevens' acumen and cohesion. The college then
squeezed through against Selkirk with a crucial late try from Adrian
Huett, who could trust more in his enviable pace.
In the final, the college lacked the physical presence to upset Gala's
well-balanced forward trio and spent much of the time chasing shadows as
Moncrieff (three), Crooks (two), Dalgleish (two), and Dods (two) were
the try-scorers of which seven were converted by Dods.
So Gala now take the lead in the 'Kings of the Sevens' series with 26
points, Jed-Forest and Stirling County have 22, and Kelso 20. Results:
First round -- Kelso 28, Watsonians 17; Pringle President's Seven 33,
Heriots FP 7; Selkirk 31, Hawick 24; Stewart's-Melville 21, Italian
Zebras 17; Stirling County 24, Langholm 12; Gala 33, Melrose 19;
Jed-Forest 24, Boroughmuir 17; GHK 38, Ulster 12.
Quarter-finals -- Kelso 45, Pringle President's Seven 0;
Stewart's-Melville FP 26, Selkirk 21; Gala 40, Stirling County 17; GHK
19, Jed-Forest 17.
Semi-finals -- Stewart's Melville FP 26, Kelso 14; Gala 31, GHK 7.
Final -- Gala 59, Stewart's Melville FP 0.
Gala -- C S Dalgleish, M Moncrieff; M Dods, G C Farquharson; J P Amos,
I Corcoran, N J Crooks. Replacement -- D W Bolland for Dods, 17 minutes.
Stewart's Melville FP -- A Huett, L Hamilton; F I Pollock, G G Burns;
N J Penny, P N Gallagher, J Conlin.
Referee -- J Pearson (RFU).
* ALAN Bulloch, Hutchesons' Scottish Schools international centre, who
is in Bucharest with the national under-19 team in the FIRA junior
tournament, is to play for Glasgow South in the match against Glasgow
North at Braidholm on Wednesday evening.
This is the opening event of Clarkston's two-week rugby festival. The
match will be played under experimental laws that have yet to be defined
by the Scottish Rugby Union. Glasgow South XV:
R Little (Cartha Queens Park); I Barnes (Hutchesons/Aloysians), A
Bulloch (Hutchesons GS), D Sharkey, H Feunati; A Healy (all Clarkston),
J Kayne (GHK); R Harvey (Cartha Queens Park), K Malone (East Kilbride),
M Dodd (Clarkston), D Boan (Cambuslang), R Brown (Whitecraigs), J
Clinkenbeard (Clarkston), R Uquhart (Cartha Queens Park), S Aitken
(Clarkston). Replacements -- A Richardson, A McIlwham, I Smith (all
Clarkston).
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