Graham commits to Hawick for another term

George Graham has signed a new contract which will keep him at Mansfield Park as Hawick’s head coach for another season.
George Graham in his playing days for Scotland (picture by Andrew Stuart/SP: Bill Lothian).George Graham in his playing days for Scotland (picture by Andrew Stuart/SP: Bill Lothian).
George Graham in his playing days for Scotland (picture by Andrew Stuart/SP: Bill Lothian).

The straight-talking boss – also a former Scotland prop and forwards coach – took the helm midway through the 2017-18 season and helped the club consolidate after a calamatious start.

They ended the campaign at seventh that year and reached the Scottish Cup semi-final before losing to eventual beaten finalists Stirling County.

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They have repeated the feat this season and are due to play Heriot’s in the last four of the knock-out contest on March 30.

This year has seen another tough league campaign for the Robbie Dyes, who are second bottom in the Premiership, with the new Super 6 league structure due to be introduced next season.

However, a club spokesman said the Greens were delighted to have gained Graham’s services for another season. Knowing they would have his experience and knowledge would provide a super boost for Hawick’s young squad.

Graham was a loose-head prop forward with Stirling County in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, then spent five years playing rugby league in the north of England. He came back to the 15-man game with Newcastle Falcons when the game went ‘open’ in the mid-1990s. He collected the first of his 25 caps against Australia at Murrayfield in November 1997 and the last against Wales in 2002.

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Graham began coaching with arch-rivals Gala before stints with the Scotland national team, Petrarca Padova in Italy and Gala again.

He became involved with Hawick through watching his youngest son Guy play for the club. Oldest son, Gary, has made two appeareances off the bench for Scotland this year in the Guinness Six Nations Championship.