The new rugby season will not begin this weekend as planned.
Stewartry had been due to head to Strathaven in the first weekend of fixtures in the Tennent’s Light West Competition 1, which has temporarily replaced the regional leagues.
However, tightening coronavirus restrictions have seen Scottish Rugby pull the plug on the game’s resumption.
Stewartry head coach, Sandy Currie, said: “We were told a few weeks ago that it wouldn’t be happening.
“I don’t quite understand it as the South league has started up but I guess that’s maybe because there’s less contact there, plus a lot of the teams are quite local whereas we travel all over the country.
“Scottish Rugby has five stages in their return to rugby and we’ve not even been able to move up to stage five, we’re still at stage four which means limited contact and limited numbers.”
Although there will be no competitive rugby for the foreseeable future, the Blacks are still training at Greenlaw for the benefit of both physical and mental health.
Sandy explained: “Mental health is important and we’ve got a partnership with Breathing Space.
“A lot of the boys are farmers and are busy at silaging time but it gets quieter in the winter months and rugby is the main social thing for a lot of them.
“We are still training once a week and it’s important that we do that.
“Some of it is the same as usual and some isn’t – it’s strange not having the reference point of a game the week before and what to work on.”
Breathing Space is a phoneline that takes calls on a range of issues including relationship difficulties, loneliness, isolation, stress, anxiety and bereavement.
For more information, call 0800 83 85 87 or visit www.breathingspace.scot.
