Wight’s counterpart, Phil Smith, was frustrated that his team missed out on a bonus point so narrowly. “Based on our defensive efforts, that would have given us something,” he said. However, he admitted that his team had offered little in attack, saying: “We just didn’t get into the game. It was like the charge of the Melrose brigade.
“They couldn’t have felt under any real pressure at any point in the game because we never applied pressure in their half. That’s the big frustration – our inability to create pressure.”
For their part, Melrose had held a three-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but their command of possession and territory in those opening 20 minutes had been enough to put them much further ahead. That their advantage was so slim came down to some admirable last-ditch defence by Hawks, but it also owed more than a little to their own profligacy when scoring chances came their way.
In some ways that opening passage reflected the Borderers’ entire season to date, with lots of good work undone by their literal failure to get over the line. They were worth much more than the penalty Scott Clark had stuck over in the 15th minute, not least for the rampaging work of their forwards, among whom Morris, the hooker released from Edinburgh duties, was the standout performer for his remarkable wor-krate on the ball and in the tackle.
It was Morris who set up Melrose’s best chance of the first half, winning a turnover near his own 22 that set winger Paddy Anderson away on a blistering 60-metre sprint down the left touchline. Anderson looked a near certainty to score – at least he did until Paddy Kelly, the former Glasgow Warriors centre, produced an equally impressive burst of speed to cover back and pull off a superb try-saving tackle.
Melrose were still stuck on just three points at half-time, despite dominating the second quarter as completely as they had dominated the first. They could take some comfort from the fact that Hawks were still stuck on zero points – and, frankly, had never looked like getting off that mark – but their lead was undeniably fragile and events of recent weeks must surely have provoked nervousness in the home dressing room at the break.
At least Angus Runciman, he Melrose captain, seemed determined to set an example to his team-mates. At the start of the second half he rose high above everyone else to collect the restart kick and made some decent yards before his progress was halted. Runciman had gained his side a good position, but Melrose were no better at converting the opportunity than they had been in the first half.
Still, the home side did continue to dictate where the game should be played, and heavy pressure in the Hawks’ 22 brought them a string of penalties. The Melrose crowd were convinced that replacement prop Jack Dobie had broken the deadlock when he thrust himself over the line from one such award, but referee David Young was in the perfect position to rule that Dobie had been held up.
Yet Young’s patience with Hawks had been stretched by their serial indiscretions and when No 8 Seb Hastings wrapped an arm round Runciman’s neck at a line-out, it finally broke. Hastings was shown the yellow card, giving Melrose yet another penalty opportunity a few yards out. Sensibly, they decided to scrum against the seven-man Hawks pack, but even then they could not make anything of their advantage.
Hawks continued to contribute nothing beyond stern defence, but in that regard they had an outstanding figure in lock Max Crumlish, who put in some ferocious hits and also produced a remarkable rip when Melrose were closing in on the line.
But the longer Melrose failed to add to their early score, the more precarious their lead began to look. So when Hawks strung together their first convincing attack shortly after the hour mark, there was a perverse inevitability about what would happen next. And so it came to pass that some slick interchanges down the right side put the ball into the hands of winger Logan Jarvis, who surged over for his try and a 5-3 lead for the men from Great Western Road.
By now the alarm bells were ringing round the Greenyards. The home supporters had been shouting for penalties to be kicked since the interval, and Melrose finally answered the call a few minutes after the Jarvis try, when Clark clipped over his second effort to put Melrose 6-5 in front.
Maybe even that slim advantage broke a mental deadlock as well. The next time Melrose found themselves in a scoring position they got all their ducks in a row to allow Morris to power over for what could count as the most deserved try of the season to date.
Teams –
Melrose: D Crawford; F Douglas, C Goldsbrough, D Mulcahy, P Anderson; L Karl, S Clark; B White, H Morris, A Arkley, O Furness, A Runciman©, W Ferrie, S Derrick, E Ruthven. Subs used: J Dobie, C Scott, Z Szwagrzak, A Weir, H Bowe, J Coull, R Brett.
Glasgow Hawks: J Couper; L Jarvie, M Waugh, P Kelly, J Hastings; L Brims©, S Steele; M Morrison, T McTeir, B Sweet, M Crumlish, M Oliver, Y Shaheen, A Rutherford, S Hastings. Subs used: P Cairncross, F Anderson, A Orr, A Syme, C Reidy, G Cruickshank, E Muirhead.
Referee: David Young
Scorers –
Melrose: Tries: Morris; Pens: Clark 2.
Glasgow Hawks: Tries: Jarvis.
Scoring sequence (Melrose first): 3-0 (h-t); 3-5; 6-5; 13-5.
Yellow cards –
Glasgow Hawks: Hastings
Player-of-the-match: It can sometimes be difficult to identify an outstanding performer in a grim struggle of a game, but not this time. Harri Morris was, by some distance, the best player on the field with his powerful carries and destructive tackles. Melrose must hope that Edinburgh release the dynamic hooker for a few more games in the weeks and months ahead.
Talking point: Melrose looked like title candidates when they hammered Heriot’s on the season’s opening day. But six successive defeats since had rather tarnished that image. They made a meal of turning territory into points in this game, but they looked far more confident in the final few minutes. Can they carry that confidence forward into their next few games?