Rugby: O’Hagan kicks on again to give Musselburgh the edge

DAVID O’HAGAN was the hero of the hour for the second week running, as Musselburgh defeated Hawick YM 26-25 at Stoneyhill to go top of the RBS National One table.

The 23-year-old stand-off slotted an ice cool conversion from wide on the right to inflict a first defeat of the season on the Borderers. Earlier in the match he had sent over a 40 yard-drop goal and contributed 16 points in total.

“He is kicking goals for fun at the moment,” said coach Brian Hughes. “He got all our points when we beat Murrayfield Wanderers last week, and then got some pretty important points for us again. He’s not only consistent, he’s got a good range too, and it is vital to have a guy like that if you are looking to grind out results at the top of the table. He’s one of three or four guys at the club who could step up to any level of club rugby in Scotland.”

“We’re obviously delighted with the way things are going at the moment, but there is absolutely no danger of us getting complacent,” insisted Hughes.

James Cook scored a try for Musselburgh in the first half, and Robert Lovett rumbled over in the final minute to set up that thrilling conversion.

Elsewhere, RHC defeated Garnock 21-16 at Barnton but it was a disappointing afternoon for the Capital’s other representatives in this league with Edinburgh University paying the price for not having trained this week by going down 10-17 at home to Kilmarnock, and Murrayfield Wanderers being squeezed out 12-13 by Dunfermline.