Hawick 52

Gala 14

Atholl Innes

at Mansfield Park

IT was a learning experience for Gala in the BT Cup on Saturday at Mansfield Park.

The Maroons competed well in spells, but never recovered from a yellow card to Terry Logan and two tries in the opening 15 minutes.

Gala rallied well in the second half and were rewarded with two scores only to concede a late double to allow Hawick to pass the 50-point mark.

“It was a step up for us and you always want to play at a higher standard that you can ,” said vice-captain Graham Speirs.

“We had a few new young faces getting exposure at that level; they put some great tackles and bodes well for going back into the league campaign, which is our bread and butter.

“We came with a chance to show what we could do and we now have to focus on that.

“We made a few basic errors early on, dropped balls etc, but I do not think that the occasion ‘got to us’. Hawick are a physical side and they run hard, and I think that was the major difference between us. You cannot get away with things like that, especially at Hawick.”

The early Hawick pressure paid off after a string of penalties that inevitably led to a penalty try by referee Johnny Perriam and a 7-0 lead before Matty Carryer, the former Gala hooker, was driven over for a score.

Gala responded to push Hawick back, but the the Greens’ experience told as Lee Armstrong broke the visiting ranks and in injury time Bruce McNeil, after being sidelined for a week due to concussion, scored and Armstrong added the goal points for a 24-0 interval lead.

Gala’s slim hopes of any surprise vanished in a dramatic four minutes after the break, with both Kirk Ford and Shawn Muir touching down.

The Greens made a host of changes that arguably opened the doors for Gala, who had started to dominate play.

Alan Emond and then Simon Birchall scored with Dean Keddie adding the ‘extras’ before Dalton Redpath and Callum Renwick ended the scoring with Armstrong kicked the conversions.

Gala should not feel embarrassed as coach Opeta Palepoi kept them on the field for a good 15 minutes after the final whistle.

But Hawick, with eight tries, showed there is no substitute for experience as Gala felt the step up to Premiership a step too far.

Hawick: A. Weir, K. Davies, A. Mitchell, G. Walker, K. Ford, L. Armstrong, D. Lightfoot, S. Muir, M. Carryer, N. Little, D. Lowrie, D. Redpath, S. Graham, D. Davidson, B. McNeil. Replacements C Renwick, T Hope, G Lowrie, G Welsh & R McKean.

Gala: R. Cooke; J. Frew, G. Speirs, A. Emond, A. Turner; S. Fairburn, G. Hamilton; M. Christie, C. Keen,. T. Logan, R. Irvine, J. Easson, C. Pate, E. Dods & L. Scott. Replacements: K. Scott, D. Keddie, S. Birchall & D. Kerr.