Hawick defeat Jed-Forest to win Borders League game and Skelly Cup

Hawick’s head coach Matty Douglas says the side has done better that it could have imagined this season and was in a good place as it approached the Premiership play-offs.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Mar 2022, 12:02 BST
Updated 3rd Mar 2022, 12:02 BST
The victorious Hawick team with the Skelly Cup (all pictures by Bill McBurnie)The victorious Hawick team with the Skelly Cup (all pictures by Bill McBurnie)
The victorious Hawick team with the Skelly Cup (all pictures by Bill McBurnie)

The Greens have two free Saturdays before a Borders League game against Gala and then a play-off semi-final away to either Currie or Marr.

There were plenty of positives to take from Friday’s Border League Pool A meeting with Jed-Forest at Mansfield Park, which also doubled as the traditional Skelly Cup encounter.

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Hawick won 53-12, scoring nine tries, and Douglas was happy with such a fine display with such important dates ahead.

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Triumphant Hawick skipper Matty Carryer with the silverwareTriumphant Hawick skipper Matty Carryer with the silverware
Triumphant Hawick skipper Matty Carryer with the silverware

“The Borders League was quite high up on our list, so I was pretty pleased with the way the team performed, with a big couple of weeks for the club coming forward,” he said. “It was good to give some of the young boys a shot as well off the bench – Tom Huggan and Cian Riddell made their debuts.”

The club would use the free time to train and work hard, said Douglas, while former Hawick coach and Scotland international prop George Graham would be offering some help with the scrum.

“We’ve not been beaten by a Border club this season and I think we are in a really good place,” said Douglas. “We have moved forward massively and the players know that.”

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Paul Cranston, Jed-Forest president, said: “It’s been a tough season for us at Jed – we have two games left but the Skelly Cup is always a game we are keen to play. Graham Skeldon was an ex-Jed player, so it means a lot to the club and especially to our second row, Clark Skeldon, who was Graham’s nephew, so there’s a very close family connection between the club and the Skeldons.”

Hawick stand-off Kirk Ford tries to dodge Jed-Forest's Rory MarshallHawick stand-off Kirk Ford tries to dodge Jed-Forest's Rory Marshall
Hawick stand-off Kirk Ford tries to dodge Jed-Forest's Rory Marshall

Jed were without their first two choice stand-offs and replacement Lewis Young went off after 20 minutes with an eye injury. “We probably played most of the game with two back-row forwards playing in the centre,” said Cranston. “The score didn’t really reflect on Jed’s performance, taking nothing away from Hawick, obviously.”

Andrew Mitchell and Gareth Welsh each scored a hat-trick of Hawick tries, with others by Bailey Donaldson, Deaglan Lighftoot and Corey Tait, a conversion by Donaldson and two penalties from Kirk Ford.

Gregor Law and Ben McNeil scored tries for Jed-Forest, with captain Gregor Young converting the latter.

Related topics:HawickPremiership