​Currie Chieftains visit a must-win for Hawick, reckons head coach Matty Douglas

This weekend’s game, kicking off at 3pm, is certainly a crucial one for the Greens, currently third in rugby’s Scottish Premiership, as a win would get them to within two or three points of the table-toppers and a loss would see them fall up to a dozen points behind.

The Edinburgh outfit are four points clear of Marr in pole position at the moment, on a 100% haul of 20 points from four fixtures, with Douglas’s side trailing them by seven.

That gulf between last season’s play-off final rivals is down to Currie’s try bonus point tally of four to Hawick’s one as well as the Greens’ 24-5 loss away to Marr earlier this month, but Douglas is hoping his team’s victory at Edinburgh Academical on Saturday will prove as big a turning point this time round as it did last term.

Last season, Hawick had got off to a faltering start with a 20-20 draw at home to Selkirk, but following up beating Jed-Forest 22-12 the week after with a 13-12 win against Accies at Raeburn Place set them off on a winning run in both league and the Scottish cup only halted 13 months on, and Douglas reckons Saturday’s 20-15 victory in the capital, also a sequel to a derby success, could spur them on in similar fashion.

Hawick’s tries against head coach Iain Berthinussen’s hosts were scored by Lee Armstrong, Gareth Welsh and Andrew Mitchell, with Kirk Ford adding a conversion and penalty.

Jamie Sole and Arran Hain crossed the try-line for Accies, with Jamie Loomes kicking a conversion and a penalty.

“It was a really good away performance,” said Douglas. “The last time we were away, at Marr, we didn’t land a blow, but we’ve since had a good win against Kelso and it was just a case of needing to get a win on the road after that.

“It was one of those days at Marr we just didn’t get right. It wasn’t us at all.

“When you go unbeaten as long as we did, it does build a lot of pressure and the players had to deal with that pressure for 18 months.

“At times we were really good on Saturday but there are also a lot of things we need to fix.

“Accies is a tough place to go but the boys stuck to the task in hand and they’ve put us in a good position heading into this weekend.”

Looking ahead to Currie’s visit to Hawick, their first since their 21-18 play-off final defeat in March, Douglas added: “It’s a massive game. It always is.

“Currie have had a flawless start to the season and they’ll come down here confident, but at the same time we’re a tough side to beat at home if we get everything right on the day.

“In terms of points, I think for us it’s a must-win to try to keep our progression going.

“We know how tough a game this will be, and Currie will probably have the final at the back of their minds a little bit as well so they’ll be out to avenge that.

“We’ll need to be ready for them on Saturday as they’re a good side and they’ve started the season well.”