Birkmyre 20 Cumnock 4

Report by Moton Houston

Playing one of the strongest side in the West of Scotland Cumnock competed well and will feel the score slightly flattered their opponents.

Cumnock started off strongly in the first of 3 20 minute sessions with some sweeping back moves featuring Calum McClownie and Rob Drummond. It looked as if Cumnock would push Birkmyre well until for some reason most of the forwards switched off and stopped competing in rucks and mauls. This led to a very poor last 10 minutes during which Birkmyre scored 3 unanswered tries.

At the break there were some home truths read out to the players and the forwards came out to perform much better. This session was very even with Cumnock backs pegging back their strong running opponents. The session looked to be heading for a 1 try each draw thanks to a very well taken try by Jamie Drummond. Unluckily Birkmyre capitalised on a loose pass in the Cumnock 22 to score at the death.

The last session was even closer with Cumnock tackling really well and frustrating their opponents. They looked like they might score first when Jamie Drummond rampaged through. With a 2 on 1 beckoning he chose to kick and the opportunity was lost. Birkmyre added a last try to finish the game.

Coach Alan Montgomery was upbeat after the match, “We showed Birkmyre a bit too much respect in the first session. Our backs were slow to come up and our forwards stood off contact. As the game progressed the line speed of the backs improved and we put them under much more pressure. Our forwards started to front up a wee bit more and we started to win some ball. The lineout in particular was fabulous with Cumnock winning all our own ball and most of theirs. Pinpoint throwing from Jamie Caldwell allied to great jumping by Ross Marr and Owen Young really worked well.”