Every club needs to look to the future and preach to the kids and form closer ties with schools so that state schoolchildren can find a route into rugby.”Too often the ties have been of the old-school variety in a city where playground chatter revolves around Rangers and Celtic. “I know that some football people are having a quiet snigger at the plight of the Scotland national rugby side just now,” said the 51-year-old coach. Only suburban West of Scotland, who saw their title hopes evaporate last weekend, have upheld the honour of Scotland’s largest city by producing international players from the current side right back to Peter Brown in the 1960s.The rest just pottered along. Now, following the amalgamation of several struggling Glasgow clubs, the team have barnstormed their way to promotion from the Second Division and believe they may even have the calibre of players to challenge for the First Division title itself next term.While Kelso represent the traditional in Scottish rugby, the Hawks represent a whole new ball game.
Glasgow rugby has been something of a joke for several decades, largely because it has been attached to, and weighed down by, its association with public school roots. The Hawks’ aspirations have soared as high.A year ago, the club did not exist. If Scottish rugby’s synthetic side can match their gridiron counterparts in achieving fast- track success, by defeating Kelso in Saturday’s Tennents Velvet Scottish Cup final, then a new era could be on the cards in club rugby north of the border.
The Claymores may be struggling in the NFL Europe this season, but in 1996 – only their second after being “created” by NFL merchandisers – more than 40,000 local fans crammed Murrayfield to see Edinburgh’s team win the World Bowl. THERE is a neat symmetry in Glasgow Hawks checking into those famous dressing rooms deep in the bowels of Murrayfield just seven days after the Scottish Claymores. Waikato Chiefs kept their semi-final hopes alive by beating Western Stormers 27-6 in Rotorua but Coastal Sharks’ prospects were dented 12-8 by Northern Bulls in Pretoria..
New Zealand showed why they are favourites by hammering Germany 134-6.The holders Auckland moved into the Super 12 semi-finals by edging ACT Brumbies 27-24 in Canberra. Scotland beat Italy 37-8 but Ireland went down 21-0 to Australia and Wales lost 38- 18 to Spain. One year after being relegated from Premiership One, West bounced back with a six-try blitz of opponents who had five touchdowns themselves. Consolation for the visitors, though, came with Bedford Athletic beating Stroud 29-24 in extra time at Twickenham to lift the NPI Cup.Francois Pienaar and Michael Lynagh are both doubtful for the league leaders Saracens’ match with London Irish at Vicarage Road this afternoon. Tony Underwood (foot) and Jim Naylor (ankle) are Newcastle’s other concerns.Pontypridd moved within a point of second-placed Cardiff in the Welsh Premier Division with a 61-19 mauling of Neath Paul John and Gerrant Lewis each bagged a brace of tries. And in a dummy run for the Swalec Cup final, Ebbw Vale seized a psychological advantage by beating visitors Llanelli 26-15.Nicky Brown ran in five tries as England opened their defence of the women’s World Cup in Holland with a 75-0 win over Sweden. Pienaar has a hamstring problem while Lynagh is taking longer than expected to recover from the removal of a growth on his groin.Va’aiga Tuigamala should shake off a calf injury in time for Newcastle’s home league game against Leicester tomorrow for which over 8,000 tickets have been sold.