BT Cup: Gala push past Hawick to reach last eight

Gala pushed past Hawick 23-15 in the BT Cup third round Borders derby at Netherdale to progress to the last eight of the competition on Saturday. In what was a physical contest between the two teams, the hosts delivered a controlled performance when opportunities were presented both in attack and with the boot.The home side put the first points on the board after four minutes of play with Gregor Hunter making the most of a penalty opportunity in front of the sticks to earn Gala a three-point advantage.Hawick responded minutes later with a tricky penalty from full-back Ali Weir, who sailed the ball over from the right sideline to level the scores.The visitors were then penalised for not releasing in the 22, which enabled Hunter to strike for the second time and extend his side’s lead.A winding run from Dwayne Burrows broke the gain-line from inside Gala’s half sending play up the field and providing the platform for scrum-half George Lott to cause trouble in the close quarters.The Gala forwards supported effectively and it was hooker Matt Carryer who bustled his way over to score left of the posts before Hunter added the extras.Hawick continued to scrap through an impressive effort from the pack and it wasn’t long before Gala’s defence was broken by a clever break from out-half Kyle Brunton who provided an inside ball to Grant Huggan for the visitors’ first try.Weir converted the score after 33 minutes to stay within three points of the hosts, as both sides probed towards the interval but were unable to capitalise on attacking spells.Half-time: Gala 13-10 HawickEarly infringements in the second-half provoked a disjointed display but the hosts soon found momentum. Gala attacked deep inside the 22 and a subsequent penalty, kicked to the corner, resulted in the ball spinning off the line-out for Hunter to find Burrows.The wing located a gap in the Hawick defence to sail over under the posts with Hunter slotting a simple conversion in the 46th minute.A chip through from Hunter put Weir in a spot of bother with the resulting touch down leaving Gala with an attacking scrum, metres from the line. Sean Johnstone knocked on within touching distance on the line after picking up a loose ball, handing Hawick an opportunity to clear their lines with a penalty opportunity of their own.A high tackle on Gala centre Gregor Mein and subsequent yellow card provided Hunter with another penalty opportunity in the closing stages, which the out-half converted to sustain a comfortable lead.Gala’s George Lott then saw yellow in the final minute of the game and with Hawick on the attack against 14 men, the home side proved strong in defence to see out their latest BT Cup victory with progression into the fourth round. Full-time: Gala 23-15 HawickReferee: Sam Grove-WhiteGala: Graham Spiers CAPTAIN, Ross Combe, Lewis Berg, Gregor Mein, Dwayne Burrows; Gregor Hunter, George Lott; Chris Keen, Matt Carryer, Terry Skeet, Sean Johnstone, Rob Louw, Chris Weir, Fraser Hunter, Gary Adams. Replacements: Dean Brooker, Scott Chapman, Fraser Welsh, Paul Hendry, Craig Robertson.Hawick: Ali Weir; Kirk Ford, Lee Armstrong, Grant Huggan, Wesley Hamilton; Kyle Brunton, Bruce Campbell; Shaun Muir, Callum Mackintosh, Matt Landels, David Lowrie, Dalton Redpath, Andrew Horne, Ross Gibson, Shaun Fairbairn. Replacements: Reece Hartegan, Garry Douglas, Stuart Graham, Rory Hutton, Connor Gracie.BT Cup Third Round ResultsGala 23-15 HawickGlasgow Hawks 29-20 WatsoniansBoroughmuir 40-17 Edinburgh AcademicalKirkcaldy 14-36 Heriot’sAberdeen Grammar 12-51 AyrDundee HSFP 12-38 Stirling CountyMelrose 17-10 Currie