A much anticipated final in the west regional bowl took place between Cumnock and Millbrae on Saturday 7th February with the winner to receive the west regional bowl and a place in the national bowl semi-final. Cumnock travelled to Millbrae with a strong squad chosen by player/coach Gordon Laurie who had tough decisions to make when nailing down his starting XV. The Cumnock players had been waiting on confirmation of their opponents after an appeal by Strathaven was to be heard on Wednesday 4th February to decide if their dismissal from the tournament, after being unable to fulfil a fixture just before Christmas, was to be upheld. Strathaven were ultimately unsuccessful. The decision came late on Wednesday and by Thursday morning the 2.30pm kick off against Millbrae had been confirmed. Millbrae had named an experienced starting XV to try and match the youth of the Cumnock squad.

Cumnock started strongly after fielding the kick, they made the necessary first tackles on Millbrae to secure possession and some field position. Millbrae strayed offside at the ruck and Martin Thomson had the chance to take first blood in the match with a relatively simple kick on the 22 metre line just to the right of the posts. Thomson took the 3 points on offer and marched back for the restart. Millbrae had their own chance of a penalty after Cumnock failed to secure the ball from the kick off and a knock on gave Millbrae the scrum on Cumnock's 22. Scott McCall gave away the penalty after playing the number 8 before the ball had been called out of the scrum and the referees whistle gave Millbrae a chance to even things up. Their kick drifted wide of the posts and the chance was missed.

Jamie Thomson was on the wrong side of the referee after his tackle on the Millbrae number 8 was deemed dangerous and he received a yellow card and a 10 minute rest for his troubles. With Cumnock a man down Millbrae came on to the counter attack with some powerful runs trying to break through the tight channels. Strong tackling put the Millbrae forwards backwards and a tight midfield partnership in Robin Montgomery and Jayson McMillan saw the Millbrae backs put under pressure and a number of handling errors kept them at bay. Cumnock had seen out the 10 minutes of their captain being in the bin without conceding any points.

With the Cumnock team being put back up to full complement, they began to make strides into Millbrae territory. Millbrae were guilty of giving away a few penalties in the rucks as well as being called offside numerous times. A penalty chance was missed from Martin Thomson from the same area as where he kicked his first one. A second opportunity came within the half and Steven Lowrie opted to take it after replacing Jayson McMillan at inside centre a few moments before. Lowrie's kick sailed through the posts and Cumnock finished out the last minutes of the half to go in with a 6-0 lead.

Half Time – Millbrae 0 – 6 Cumnock

Millbrae came out in the second half with all guns firing knowing they had to carve out a foothold in the game. It wasn't long before Cumnock had a scrum deep in their own territory and Millbrae could see the opportunity to put some points on the board. The ball spilled out of the far side of the scrum and was hacked on by the Millbrae back row. A late tackle from scrum-half Scott McCall was deemed to be in merit of a yellow card and Millbrae once again had a one man advantage. Rather than opt to take the penalty at goal, Millbrae took lineout from five yards off the Cumnock try line. Feverish Cumnock tackles and a scrambled defence kept Millbrae out. Minutes after the McCall yellow, Wullie Deans was also placed in the bin, presumably for handling in the ruck. Cumnock were down to 13 men for around 8 minutes of the game and all hope of keeping Millbrae out seemed lost. However, Cumnock's men didn't know when they were beat and kept putting in the tackles to force the Millbrae errors. Even replacement JJ Crawford who is usually found in the back row was doing his part out in the centres. Millbrae had one final chance with a scrum 5 yards out and called for an 8 man push over the line. Cumnock's scrum was down to 6 at this point and held firm to keep the Ayr sides pack at bay. Millbrae kicked a penalty and the grand total of their two man advantage was kept at 3 points. McCall and Deans soon took back to the field to bring the Nock side back up to full strength.

Cumnock once more began to take field position and put Millbrae under pressure. The cracks began to appear as Millbrae struggled to keep Cumnock back. Millbrae received their own yellow after a clumsy challenge on Martin Thomson sent the Millbrae stand off to the bin to atone for his sins. Thomson had no further part to play in the game as he was led to the side by the Cumnock physio. Cumnock worked hard to make it deep into the Millbrae 22 and after numerous offences in the rucks, Millbrae had a second yellow to give Cumnock the two man advantage. Cumnock capitalised on this after a strong scrum allowed replacement number 8 Campbell Reid to power over the line for the score. Adam Gilbert had the chance for the conversion but missed. However he had a chance to repent moments later when Cumnock earned another penalty in a kickable position. Gilbert took the 3 points on offer to put Cumnock 11 points ahead.

Millbrae finished out the match back up to 15 men but couldn't find the line for a much needed try, it ended 14-3 and jubilation for the red and black side ensued. They were awarded the west regional bowl trophy and now have a chance to play a national semi-final with opponents and venue TBC. Man of the match was awarded to scrum-half Scott McCall. Player/coach Gordon Laurie spoke after the game that he “was very proud and pleased with how the team played today, especially in defence. We've got some big games coming up and have to keep the effort going.” This week Cumnock travel to Birkmyre on Saturday to continue their battle for league promotion.