SRU to rule on Hawick no-show
The Borders club cited a lack of specialist front rows for the game. Not only do teams require to have experienced front rows to start the game but, in the interests of safety, they also must have at least two replacement scrummagers. One of their injured personnel, Bruce McNeil, did play in their sevens team at Gala on Sunday, but the club insisted that he would not have been able to scrummage in a XVs match on Saturday due to back problems.
John Thorburn, secretary of Hawick RFC, said: "We were all very embarrassed at the club by what happened last week and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again, so we're looking at the situation and the whole structure in the town again to see if it is working as well as it could.
"There is undoubtedly a problem with a lack of players now that we didn't have ten years ago, but I don't think Hawick is the only club suffering this way. It's a trend we're seeing all over."