Nine tries without reply take ​Hawick up to second place in rugby’s Scottish Premiership

​The 61-0 scoreline the Greens ran up at Jedburgh’s Riverside Park to claim their fifth win of the season might look as emphatic as could be wished for but it was anything but a foregone conclusion, according to Gary Muir, their director of rugby.

“Saturday’s performance against Jed had the potential to be a very tough Border derby, and regardless of the situation they are in, you have to respect them as, on their day, they are a dangerous side, especially at Riverside,” he told us.

“I felt the coaches and players delivered a very clinical and professional performance, and to nil any side in the premiership is an achievement not be underestimated.

“We have scored some very impressive tries this season and none more than Sean Goodfellow’s on Saturday, but at the same time we showed we can also use our big guys up front equally as effectively, and that’s the most pleasing thing for us as a management group.”

Hawick’s other tries at the weekend, besides an Andrew Mitchell hat-trick, were scored by Kirk Ford at the double, Tom Hope, Jae Linton and Charlie Welsh, with Ford converting eight of them.

That result sees Hawick and Jed’s campaigns heading in opposite directions, the former now up to second in the table, with 23 points from six fixtures, two shy of league leaders Marr, and the latter still occupying the relegation place, winless after six matches and with only two points to their name, six adrift of second-bottom Glasgow Hawks.

Jed have a chance to make up some ground on Hawks this coming Saturday as they’ll be paying them a visit, with kick-off at Balgray Stadium at 3pm.

Head coach Matty Douglas’s Hawick side are at home at Mansfield Park to fifth-placed Musselburgh, also at 3pm, a game offering the East Lothian outfit the chance to leapfrog their hosts as they’re only four points behind them at the moment.

Muir is hopeful that things won’t turn out that way but isn’t taking anything for granted, saying: “Looking ahead to Musselburgh this weekend, it won’t be an easy task.

“Both Matty and myself were involved with a number of their guys during the summer’s South of Scotland inter-district campaign and they have some high-quality operators, so we will show them the respect they deserve.

“We are missing a number of players through holidays and unavailability, but we are developing a real depth to our squad and the guys who step up will be more than ready to perform, and come 5pm on Saturday, we will hopefully be on the right side of the scoreline.”

Saturday match versus Jed was a Border League double-header and it leaves Hawick top of the table in that regional competition, level with Selkirk on eight points from two games but with a points difference 83 superior to the Souters’.

Jed are bottom of the table without any points, like Gala and Peebles, but with a points difference of -91. Second-bottom Gala’s is -22 and the fifth-placed Pees’ is -12.