Scottish Cup – Round 1 review

Hawick got the better of Border rivals Melrose in the Scottish Cup preliminary round on Saturday while five other clubs progressed to round one.

The Greens captain Shawn Muir had talked prior to the game about trying to make Mansfield Park a fortress this season and they started well with this 19-3 triumph.

In the first half converted tries from Stuart Graham and Matty Carryer gave the home side a 14-3 lead at the break. David Colvine kicked Melrose’s points with a penalty.

Muir went over for a converted try after the break and Hawick head coach George Graham said: “We didn’t play as well as we could have done because we had so much possession in the first half, but it is good to get through to the next round.”

Melrose head coach Stuart Johnston said: “There were a coupe of errors on our part while brute force by them helped them at times.

“We need to look back on the game, but also ahead to our Tennent’s National League Division On campaign with positivity and look to compete in there.”

Greg Montgomery (2), Richard Dalgleish, Ollie Rossi and Benedict Grant were try scorers for Marr with Colin Sturgeon adding seven points with the boot as they won 32-15 at Aberdeen Grammar.

The Troon men were boosted by having brothers Conor, their captain, and Scott Bickerstaff back for the game at Rubislaw from playing in a high profile sevens tournament in the USA the week before.

Six of the Marr players will making debuts and the win sets them up nicely for their trip to Jed-Forest this coming weekend in the Tennent’s Premiership.

Ross Anderson and Jordan Robertson had scored tries in the first half to put Aberdeen ahead 10-5 while Nathan Brown’s try after the interval put them 15-10 to the good before Marr found their top form.

Tries from Tom Foley and James Ferguson as well as five points from the boot of Danny Owenson gave Musselburgh a 15-5 lead at half-time against Glasgow Hawks.

The Stoneyhill side added further tries after the break through Rory Watt and Freddie Roddick to win 27-17.

The experienced Gary Strain scored a try for Hawks with Craig Shields and Liam Sweeney also going over and Liam Brims kicking a conversion.

Captain Fergus Scott and Wallace Nelson were among the try scorers as Currie Chieftains edged out Biggar 29-24.

Highland defeated Watsonians at Canal Park.

The try scorers for the Inverness side were Kevin Brown, Iain Chisholm, Euan Milton, Callum Carson, Murdo Paterson and Ritchie Dinnes.

Chris Brogan, a member of the Highland coaching team said: ““We knew that Watsonians would be a tough side to beat, but the guys put into practice a lot of the structures we have been working on in pre-season and they came good. It gives us a bit of momentum now heading into the league season.”

Ayr won 18-17 at Dundee HSFP after a tight tussle.

The Ayr points came through tries from James Pinkerton, Johnny McCorkindale, Seth Rae and a penalty from Jamie Bova.

Ayr captain Gregor Henry said:“This was the first taste of senior rugby for a lot of the squad and to dig deep like that every time we went behind is a testament to their character.

“Dundee are a big and physical team, but we managed to contain them well and take our opportunities. I couldn’t have asked for more from the boys.”

Paul Kerr slotted three penalties for Dundee to leave them just 10-9 down at the interval and they were 17-15 ahead with 10 minutes to go after a fourth Kerr penalty and a Connor Lane try, but Ayr got there in the end.

All of these teams will now be training hard this week ahead of the Tennent’s Premiership and National League Division One campaigns starting on Saturday.

Scottish Cup Results

Highland 32 Watsonians 3
Dundee HSFP 17 Ayr 18
Currie Chieftains 29 Biggar 24
Musselburgh 27 Glasgow Hawks 17
Hawick 19 Melrose 3
Aberdeen Grammar 15 Marr 32

Scottish Cup Draw

Boroughmuir v Jed-Forest
Edinburgh Academical v Musselburgh
Gala v Kelso
Hawick v Cartha Queens Park
Heriot’s Blues v GHA
Highland v Stirling Wolves
Selkirk v Currie Chieftains
Ayr v Marr