A seventh win in a row for Murrayfield Wanderers saw them leap to the top of the BT East Region League 1 as they saw off Hawick Harlequins 24-3 in the Borders.

A relatively low-scoring contest was ultimately decided by Wandies patience than the runaway performances in their six previous encounters.

Patrick Cooney’s first half try was converted by Murray Hastie, who also added a 10th minute penalty, gave the visitors a 10-3 lead at the break.

From then on, persistence paid off and further tries from Liam Thomas and Chris Beattie saw off a valiant Hawick response in the second period.

Had Wandies not romped to six consecutive wins prior to the trip down to Hawick, Bruce Aitchison’s men might have been content with the 3-3 scoreline after 20 minutes.

The erstwhile league leaders Harlequins stayed in touch up front throughout the match and should have scored more but for a dizzying spell of Wandies execution either side of half-time.

A well-structured set-piece and impressive ball retention allowed Wandies to touch down at their second attempt – having been stopped short on the half-hour mark. Cooney made the most of an overlap on the wing to grab the first try of the match.
Hastie’s conversion gave the travelling side a 10-3 at half-time.

Knowing a Harlequins riposte was on the cards, Wandies struck first after the break. Heavy pressure was stopped by even heavier defence, but it would eventually crumble as Liam Thomas found space in the corner to score the second try. Hastie again successful with the conversion, extended the lead to 17-3.

In an attempt to get back in the match, Harlequins upped the ante and began to spread the ball out wide. They stretched Wandies from side-to-side but could not find a way through the solid visiting defence.

Harlequins were also coming out on top in the set-piece, and won a scrum against the head. Yet not even this period of domination resulted in a try that, had they got it, could have opened the game up once more.

Wandies defence was staunch until the end and they even found time for a final attack. Chris Beattie finished off a near-perfect game from the base of a scrum to run in Wandies’ third try of the match, all but securing a crucial away victory.

Hastie’s conversion took the score to 24-3, and while Wandies went in search for the valuable bonus point try, Aitchison’s side fell just short of bagging the maximum points for the weekend.

Wanderers find themselves in pole position for a tilt at the BT Region League 1 title and sit top of the table on points difference ahead of Harlequins. The team still have two games in hand and know that nothing short of another win against 6th placed Duns this weekend is needed.