East Kilbride...31 Kilmarnock...12
In a game carrying more than a whiff of ‘end of season contest’, East Kilbride Rugby Club did enough to keep their mathematical chances of promotion alive by pulling in the full five-point haul against Kilmarnock.
Perhaps not unsurprisingly, given that recent heavy rain has made training facilities less than ideal and allied to one or two of the squad suffering the after-effects of attending the Friday night wedding of former player Craig Ferguson, the home side started rather ponderously.
The opening quarter saw passes go to ground, tackles missed and one-through-15 position themselves squarely on the wrong side of the match official.
Mid-table Kilmarnock began to sense an upset but were unable to turn their unexpected dominance into points on the board.
Finally, East Kilbride came to life and captain Mark Ellison picked up a smart solo try before the outstanding Jono Ford left defenders in his wake for a second.
The visitors were rewarded for their efforts with a try, before an Aidan Stott break put Grant Dryburgh over in the corner to leave EK 19-5 to the good at half-time.
The second half was much better from EK. The power running of Ford, Chris O’Neil and Evan Middleton softened up the visitor’s defence and there were further tries from Ben McLean, who continued his recent hot streak when he got on the end of a sweeping handling move.
Middleton claimed the glory following a huge drive at scrum time to record the fifth try.
With only two games still to play in the league campaign, East Kilbride, currently second in the table, can max out on 93 points.
Unfortunately, leaders Allan Glens, also with two to play, can get to 97, while lurking in third are Greenock, who, with four to go, are able to hit the 96 point mark.
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Thus, the title and sole promotion place still remains a possibility for East Kilbride but their destiny is in the hands of others.
This weekend sees Strathendrick visit for matchday 21 and Allan Steel’s men know only a convincing victory will do to keep their slim hopes alive.
Kick-off at Torrance House on Saturday is 3pm.
TEAM: 1. Mclellan, 2. Ford, 3. E. Beaton, 4. Irvine, 5. Rosie, 6. O’Neill, 7. R. Beaton, 8. Middleton, 9. Ellison, 10. Murray, 11. M. Brown, 12. Simpson, 13. Stott, 14. L. Brown, 15. Dryburgh.
Replacements: McLean, Aitken and Dalgleish.
• Meanwhile, spring conditions put paid to most junior rugby on Sunday but the U14’s, numbers bolstered by a handful of younger boys, took advantage of Strathaven’s excellent all-weather facilities to get some game time.
And they impressed hugely with wins against their hosts and the young farmers of Dumfries.
The latter carried a decent set of backs but struggled to contain the East Kilbride pack, and the forwards were the bedrock of the win.
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As is always the case though it was the backs who claimed the glory, with Robert Calderwood in particular benefiting, scoring three tries in a 23-0 win, Dylan Gardiner and Carlos Orenes also crossing.
The home side presented an altogether more physical challenge in the second contest but East Kilbride responded well and came out on top 17-9 on the back of outstanding contributions from some of the under-13’s within the squad, particularly Rory Andrew, who scored twice.
With the EK front row slowly turning the screw at scrum time EK were able to control possession and scored further tries through prop Liam Kenny and Orenes.
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