Allan Steel has called on his depleted East Kilbride side to seize a rare chance to play at Murrayfield.
The Torrance House boss will lead the team into the West Regional Shield semi-final against local rivals Strathaven on Saturday, but a number of key players are likely to miss the clash at Whiteshawgate Park.
Prop Ally Marriot has already been ruled out after breaking his hand in a win away at Irvine last month, while Chris O’Neil, Scott Shankie and Robbie Greenfield could also be absent.
Steel said: “I’ve said to the boys that you don’t get many chances to get to Murrayfield, so this is a big opportunity for them.
“But we know it will be difficult. We picked up a lot of injuries in the last game, so we had seven missing from training last week and two or three of them are doubts or ruled out for the weekend.
“Chris has done his hamstring, Scott has an ankle problem, Robbie has an issue with his calf and Ally broke his hand. There’s players with niggles as well.
"It’s not ideal, but I’m still confident we can put out a strong side.”
The winners of the tie will face either Allan Glens or Cambuslang in the final at the home of Scottish Rugby next month.
Strathaven are top of West Region Division Two, while EK go in as favourites for the tie as they sit fourth in the division above.
And Steel is determined to come through the tie, having set his sights on lifting the shield before the season kicked-off.
He added: “We targeted this trophy at the start of the season and we are in a good position, but nobody remembers the team that gets to the semi-finals.
“People remember the team that goes on and wins it and that’s our aim.
“Strathaven will want to win it just as much as us, so we’ve got to make sure we do the right things to get there.
“Strathaven are a good young side. They are top of their league and scoring a lot of points so we will have to be on it defensively.”
The clash kicks-off at 1.30pm.
