Langholm 29
Hawick Harlequins 0
RBS BORDER SHIELD
JOHN SMITH reports from Milntown
LANGHOLM remain top of the RBS Border Regional Shield table after running in five tries against Hawick Harlequins last Saturday.
The match took place on the bottom pitch at Milntown, as it was in slightly better condition than the main ground.
It was dry throughout the game, but after several days of rain leading up to the fixture, the ground was rather muddy which made it very difficult for handling rugby.
Both sides did endeavour to open out and there were some promising passages of play, but there were also long periods of mediocre stuff, which was not surprising as the forwards looked more like mud wrestlers.
Langholm had the better of things for long periods, although their opponents never gave up and did well to keep the Milntown men at bay on a number of occasions. They made a huge effort to get points on the board in the closing minutes, but without success.
The hosts took the lead after 15 minutes when the pack drove for the corner and No8 Stuart Graham got the try, which Niall Cubbon failed to convert from the touchline.
Smart passing along the home backs ended with full-back Gavin Campbell going over in the corner, but Cubbon missed another difficult conversion and it was 10-0 after 25 minutes.
Fly-half Colin Jardine collected a pass at pace to sweep through the visitors’ defence for a try, which Cubbon superbly converted to make it 17-0 at half-time.
Five minutes after the restart, Jardine scored again after slicing through the defence from 35 metres out and Cubbon added the extras.
The Milntown pack made several surges at the line which had the Hawick defence stretched. Eventually the ball was fed wide and skipper Steven Nicol virtually walked in at the corner for an unconverted touchdown.
With 30 minutes still remaining, Quins could so easily have folded, but to their credit they battled away.
Langholm: G. Campbell; L. Miller, C. Davidson, A. Cavers, J. Pool; C. Jardine, N. Cubbon; M. Salaman, S. Kitching; C. Little, D. Nordon, R. Taylor, S. Howatson, S. Nicol, S. Graham. Replacements used: J. Ratcliffe, S. Jardine.
Hawick Harlequins: N. Douglas; A. Hall, R. Anderson, G. Lothian, L. Gibson; C. Ritson, N. Anderson; A. Bell, E. Robb, S. Robson, A. Pretswell, M. Pringle, H. Montgomerie, G. Rodgerson, W. Sanderson. Replacements used: B. McGinn, C. Murphy, N. Little.