President’s welcome.
Firstly, a huge well done to Matt, Shovie and the Force boys for winning the Border Junior League Cup and to the Hawick lads who played their hearts out to help the South win the Inter District competition.
Now we have another home game at last and an important one against familiar opposition. Hawick were the only Border team participating in the Cup this season. Having won the competition last year, we stayed in because we wished to retain the trophy. We all remember that memorable afternoon in May, 1996 when “the cream came to the top” and Hawick defeated Watsonians to win the first ever Scottish Cup Final. Now with the unlamented demise of Super Six and the resultant uncertain future ahead it is possible that this could be the last Scottish Cup competition. There would be a nice symmetry if Hawick could win this one too. However, an old rival stands in our way.
We welcome Currie President Charles Mullins, the players, coaches and all the team’s supporters who have travelled down for today’s game.
Currie are still comparatively new kids on the Scottish rugby block. They were only funded as Currie Rugby Football Club in 1970. When the S.R.U. replaced the old unofficial championship with a League structure in 1973-74 the Club were placed in the Edinburgh District League, Division 2. From there they progressively worked their way up into and then through the National Leagues. Exiled Teri, sadly now the late Graham ‘Greco’ Hogg, an outstanding coach was hugely instrumental in Currie’s spectacular rise. They won promotion to Division 1 at the end of the 1989-90 season only 20 years after the Club’s founding – a remarkable achievement. They have since consolidated their position as one of Scotland’s leading Clubs, winning the Premiership in season 2006-07 and again in 2009-10 and being serious Play-off contenders in every season in the last decade. Since 2017 the Club have rebranded themselves as Curie Chieftains.
Malleny Park has become a stronghold and a bogey ground for many teams. This was certainly the case for Hawick. One defeat will live long in my memory. It stemmed from what we thought was a good idea which went wrong. We love the Pentland Hills and the fixture falling in early September we decided to walk through them to Malleny from the A702 Edinburgh to West Linton Road but then the rain came down in torrents! We reached the ground like “twae drooned rats”, Hawick lost by 60 points and our spirits were pretty low as we trudged back through the hills! However we won on their patch last season, our first victory there for 17 years and in January the teams fought out a nail-biting draw.
Last season’s Premiership final will never be forgotten by the big crowd privileged to be there. The incredible climax when deep into injury time Shaun Fairbairn and Ethan Reilly combined to set up the try in what will from now on forever be known as Ronan McKean’s corner saw Hawick snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and led to delirious euphoria for one side and dejected despair for the other.
How will this afternoon’s game go? One certainty is that there will be no quarter asked or given and both sets of players will be leaving nothing on the pitch. May the team that plays the best rugby win. Silver Saturday at Murrayfield is the prize.
And don’t forget, we’ll all be back here on Saturday the 4th of May to witness the final instalment in the drama when Hawick and Currie will lock horns yet again in the hope of winning an even greater prize.
Ian W Landles
President
Hawick RFC