Biggar are through to last eight

Mar 19 2008

BIGGAR booked their place in the Scottish Hydro-Electric Cup quarter-finals with a comfortable win over Premier 2 rivals Musselburgh, setting up a quarter-final at Watsonians next month.

Having beaten Burgh twice in the league, Biggar were confident of victory but took nothing for granted with their preparation.

Biggar set out their stall early, with opening salvos taking play deep into the Musselburgh 22.

An early penalty miss was quickly forgotten about as Ted Tauroa brought the travelling support to their feet with some barn-storming runs.

But it was Craig Parker who opened the scoring after just eight minutes, the winger benefiting from the adept distribution of stand-off Murray Thomson, although he missed the conversion.

Burgh hit back with a Neil Ross penalty but Parker was on target with the conversion following Jeff Wright’s 37th-minute try for a 12-3 lead.

A last-minute try from Chris McKeand, again converted by Parker, stretched Biggar’s advantage to 19-3 at the interval.

Musselburgh’s case wasn’t helped by a yellow card given to back-row forward Ron Simms ahead of half-time.

And they fell further behind early in the second half.

A couple of penalties provided the position for a huge forward drive, allowing Chris McKeand to grab a second try, following a scrum and good work by Alan Warnock, and Biggar led 24-3.

Musselburgh came back into the game, with a charge from veteran Grant Talac taking play 40 metres upfield, ending with a clearance by Biggar that fell to James Doig.

His pace and quick feet took him around and through the Biggar defence, and Chris McKeand’s last-gasp tackle wasn’t enough to halt the Musselburgh man, who crashed over for 24-8.

But McKeand made amends when he grabbed his hat-trick in 65 minutes, although Parker was again off-target with the conversion.

The final score fell to Eady Manawaiti, who was at the bottom of another big forward drive, as Biggar ran out 34-8 winners.

Biggar’s quarter-final clash is scheduled for April 5.

On Saturday, they return to league rugby, travelling to face Lanarkshire rivals Hamilton at Laigh Bent. Kick-off is at 3pm.