Stewartry...28 East Kilbride...10
East Kilbride Rugby Club’s title aspirations took a significant dent on Saturday when they surrendered surprisingly meekly at Stewartry.
‘Surprise’, in that while the Castle Douglas side were unbeaten going into the game they had not played anyone likely to be in the top half of the table come seasons end. Further, one need go back to a previous decade to find the last time East Kilbride had lost to Stewartry, home or away.
There were a number of enforced changes to Alan Steel’s side, with the backline particularly hit.
Front-line options Rob Greenfield, Iain Brown, Scott Shankie and Stuart Henderson were missing, and the open spaces would be where the bulk of the problems were to be found.
The pack held their own against the farmers but did not dominate as they have in recent encounters.
Chris O’Neil was noticeably absent, his scavenging and ball carrying badly missed.
The backline, otherwise potent this season, was collectively all at sea. No one individual played badly, they just did not mesh at all on the day and lacked the physicality Greenfield and Shankie in particular bring every week.
A measure of how poorly the backs performed is that Stewartry are traditionally a side which sticks to its strengths, namely the pack, and seldom troubles teams out wide.
On Saturday though, EK managed to make the home side look positively Fijian, with all of their scores coming from sweeping handling moves.
Jono Ford claimed East Kilbride’s only try, Grant Dryburgh kicking the extras.
This Saturday EK face a big test at a third place Lenzie who gained promotion last year without losing. Kick-off is 3pm.
EK: 1. Marriott, 2. Ford, 3. Mclellan, 4. McLean, 5. Rosie, 6. Irvine, 7. R. Beaton, 8. Middleton, 9. Ellison, 10. Murray, 11. Dryburgh, 12. Haggerty, 13. Stott, 14. M. Brown, 15. C. Blackwood. Replacements: E. Beaton, Mason, McGibbon, Smith.
