Crunch time in Hawick

Feb 6 2009 by Alan Rennie, Stirling Observer Friday

WEATHER permitting, the Mansfield Park clash of Hawick and Stirling County tomorrow (Saturday, kick-off 3pm) will effectively decide which one of these clubs is going to be relegated.

The contest between Premiership One’s bottom two won’t be pretty but it’s sure to be a tense and exciting affair.

County recorded their first victory of the league campaign when Hawick lost 34-24 on their visit to Bridgehaugh on November 1.

The Stirling coach Ian Jardine said this week that County would be on similar lines to the team that went down at home to Melrose on Saturday.

Still missing is star stand-off Robbie McGowan, who has been wrapped in cotton wool by the Scotland under-20 selectors prior to the game tonight (Friday) in Perth against Wales.

Jardine is hopeful, however, that skipper Alex Moffat (right), crocked in a clubs international training session on December 22, will have no reaction to Tuesday night’s training session.

Under-19 international Stevie Wilson is also likely to be drafted into the squad for the trip to Hawick.

Prop forward Wilba Davies is still struggling to shake off a flu virus that has affected his performances over the past couple of games.

That’s why coach Jardine was quite tetchy when he learned that pro prop Ryan Grant is likely to return after injury for the Edinburgh back-up squad against the Welsh select side, Crawshay’s XV, at Lasswade tonight.

The availability or otherwise of professional players seems to have worked to the detriment of Stirling compared to other clubs this season. Comeback games after injury are meant to be with clubs – but not in Ryan Grant’s case it seems.

It will be interesting to see if another Edinburgh professional prop, Bruce McNeil, who can play at tight or loosehead, is available for Hawick tomorrow. It will be a surprise if he’s not.

A study of the Mansfield Park website shows he has played in almost all of Hawick’s games this season, including his 11th consecutive appearance for the Greens against Hawks last week in an ever-present run that started on October 18.

By coincidence, McNeil’s flat-mate in Edinburgh is fellow pro John Houston, who is attached to Stirling County but has played just twice for the Bridgehaugh club all season. One wonders what the pair of them think about such matters.

As a footnote, congratulations to Stirling-born forwards Ally Hogg and Simon Taylor, who have both been named in the Scotland team to play Wales at Murrayfield on Sunday.