28-0 win at Musselburgh sees Hawick go nine points clear at top of rugby’s Scottish Premiership

​Head coach Matty Douglas’s Greens are now on 68 points from 16 fixtures, with second-placed Currie Chieftains on 59 and Marr, in third place, on 57, both having a game in hand after having their scheduled meeting in Edinburgh at the weekend postponed.

Hawick’s remaining regular-season fixtures are both away – to fifth-placed Heriot’s Blues this coming Saturday, with kick-off at 2pm, and to third-from-bottom Selkirk on Saturday, February 3, at 3pm.

Their try-scorers in East Lothian on Saturday were full-back Kirk Ford, centre Andrew Mitchell, prop Nicky Little and winger Morgan Tait, with Ford converting all four.

Little’s appearance at Stoneyhill was his 150th for the Greens and he was one of five players in their starting XV into treble figures for the club, ahead of Ford’s 104 but trailing fly-half Lee Armstrong’s 203, No 8 Stuart Graham’s 204 and fellow prop Shawn Muir’s 229.

Captain Muir was delighted to see his travelling team claim their 14th win of the season after getting 21-0 ahead of their seventh-placed hosts by half-time, telling Borders Rugby TV afterwards: “It was tough out there at times.

“The pitch was pretty boggy obviously, having had the frost and it thawing out.

“We’re just happy to have won the game but it was a tough battle.

“We fronted up and I thought our forwards, to a man – one to eight and the boys who came on – were outstanding and that’s where the game was won.

“We put our best foot forward and and we’ve done the job today.

“At half-time, we were 21-0 up and made it our target to win to nil. We said ‘don’t let these boys score, don’t give them any easy penalties or tries’.

“Musselburgh have had a great season – they’ve come into the league and they’re now a secure premiership side – but we really put them to the sword, and I’m absolutely delighted with the boys’ performance and just the way we fronted up.

“I really feel we’re hitting form at the right time of the season.”

Looking ahead to this weekend’s trip to the capital’s Goldenacre playing fields, Muir, 30, added: “It’ll be a tough game.

“They’ve got a few boys back from Super6 who’d played in the Heriot’s teams of old that gave us a few drubbings, so it’ll be tough.

“They’re fourth in the league and they’re probably favourites for that fourth spot so it could be a warm-up for a semi-final.”

Hawick will be heading back to the capital looking for a winning double against Heriot’s, having edged them out by 27-25 in the reverse fixture at Mansfield Park in October.

Their win was one of only two premiership fixtures to defy the weekend’s weather and go ahead, the other being a 17-17 draw for Kelso at Edinburgh Academical.

Selkirk’s planned trip to Heriot’s and a visit from Glasgow Hawks to Jed-Forest were both postponed, like Currie’s home game against Marr.