Unbeaten start to Tennent’s Premiership rugby season goes on for Hawick against Marr

Connor Sutherland in action for Hawick against Marr, supported by Jae Linton and Gareth Welsh, on Saturday (Photo: Bill McBurnie)

Hawick are now the only team still unbeaten in rugby’s Tennent’s Premiership following a 20-3 home victory against Marr on Saturday.

That result lifts them up to third place in the standings, with 24 points from six games, two adrift of table-toppers Edinburgh Academical and second-placed Currie Chieftains, their next opponents.

The capital sides have bonus points to thank for their current loftier status, both having picked up six so far, four more than the Greens, and the Mansfield Park outfit will be hoping they don’t come to rue another missed opportunity to claim five points rather than four at the weekend.

Home captain Matt Carryer regards Saturday’s haul as four points gained against last season’s play-off champions, a side that won two of their three mettings last time out, rather than one potential extra one lost, however.

Dalton Redpath, right, getting a tackle in for Hawick versus Marr on Saturday (Pic: Bill McBurnie)

“I’m extremely happy to put the premiership champions from last year away on our own patch 20-3. You can’t really be disappointed with that,” he told Borders Rugby TV afterwards.

“There’s a little bit of frustration there that we left that bonus point out there, but we’ll take those four points any day of the week.”

Hawick’s tries were scored by Shawn Muir, Gareth Welsh and their skipper, with Bailey Donaldson adding a penalty and a conversion.

The only points scored by their visitors from Troon came courtesy of a Colin Sturgeon penalty.

Kyle Brunton in action for Hawick against Marr at the weekend, supported by Shaun Fairburn and Gareth Welsh (Pic: Bill McBurnie)

Carryer was pleased with the performance put in by his side against their South Ayrshire opposition, saying: “We pride ourselves on our defence and we’re getting that wee bit of hunger back and we want the ball back as quick as we can.

“Every team’s got work to do so we’ll look back and see what we did well and see what we can work on and we’ll look forward to Currie.”

Honours were even between head coach Matty Douglas’s Hawick side and Currie, last season’s premiership table-toppers and beaten play-off finalists, last time round, the former having prevailed 25-20 at Mansfield Park in their opening game of that campaign in September 2021 and the latter having edged the Borderers out 29-24 at the capital’s Malleny Park two months later.

“It’s always tough to go to Malleny as Currie are a good side, but we’re looking forward to it,” said Carryer.

Shawn Muir on the ball for Hawick against Marr on Saturday, supported by team captain Matt Carryer (Pic: Bill McBurnie)

“We’re full of confidence just now so we can’t wait to get going.”

This weekend’s match at Currie, kicking off at 3pm, is one of three on the bounce against top-half sides overlapping with two Borders derbies.

It’s followed by a visit from fourth-placed Glasgow Hawks on Saturday, October 22; a trip to fifth-placed Selkirk on Saturday, October 29; and seventh-placed Jed-Forest coming calling on Saturday, November 12.

Selkirk are the only one of the six sides they’ve played so far this season that the Greens have failed to beat, being held to a 20-20 draw at Mansfield Park on the opening day of the new term back at the end of August.

The other of their two Borders derbies to date was a 22-12 victory at Jedburgh’s Riverside Park at the beginning of September.