BT Premiership ROUND-UP Watsonians boss Chieftains and Hawick get off the mark

Currie travelled to Myreside hoping to consolidate their second-place spot in the BT Premiership against a Watsonians team sitting within touching distances of the top half of the table.

If the visitors had thought that they would get a repeat of their comfortable early season win over the home team they were sorely mistaken.

Early Watsonians scores were backed up by tenacious defence, breakdown work and opportunism for them to record an impressive victory.

Patient and physical build-up culminated in a short break to put Watsonians ahead within five minutes before they turned over deep in Currie territory and wriggled over to extend their lead further.

Chieftains looked to strike back immediately and it took a neat line-out move to send them over the whitewash and narrow the deficit to seven.

Currie more than cancelled out a mid-range home penalty with a converted forwards’ effort and cut the gap to just three with half an hour gone.

It wasn’t long before Watsonians struck back with one of their own as the balance continued to shift.

With minutes left before the break, Watsonians’ hooker, Ross Graham, cut a great line and was hauled down metres out and two phases later the home side had notched the bonus point.

The visitors would go on to slot a late penalty but Watsonians held a good lead going into the tunnel.

Half Time: Watsonians 31 – 17 Currie Chieftains

Currie enjoyed the best of the opening sequence and broke through the home defence to score early on but their resurgence was short lived as the home team cantered through from 30 yards minutes later to reopen some breathing space.

Much of the second half was characterised by dogged defence as Watsonians, who had deployed the majority of their bench in the first half due to injury, worked well to protect their lead.

However, centre Rory Hutton latched onto a loose pass on 70 minutes to stretch the lead and put the game to bed.

A late break and outrageous dummy would give Currie the try bonus point but a losing one was beyond them as Watsonians closed out the game in the Currie half.

Full Time: Watsonians 45 – 31 Currie Chieftains

The victory takes Watsonians within a point of fifth-placed Glasgow Hawks and Currie Chieftains, following wins for Ayr and Heriot’s, fall to fourth.

Elsewhere, Hawick got their first win of the campaign in style against Stirling County when they clocked a scoring bonus point at Mansfield Park.

A strong second-half performance from Heriot’s was enough to see off Marr having been all square at the break.

Glasgow Hawks’ late rally from couldn’t quite catch Ayr and Melrose once again registered a bonus point to maintain their perfect season against a spirited Boroughmuir.